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Taps,
Present Arms
Charles
Kalani
Sergeant Charles
"Charlie" Kalani, 70, died August 22, 2000 in Lake Forest, California.
Charlie Kalani was
born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Iolani High School and excelled
in sports including Jujutsu. In 1948, after receiving a scholarship,
Kalani left Hawaii and entered Weber Junior College (now Weber State
University) in Ogden, Utah.
Kalani was drafted
into the U.S. Army in 1955 and served until 1966. In the mid-sixties,
he was a member of the USAREUR Pistol Team and was selected after the
"All-Army Matches" to compete with the Army Pistol Team at
the National Matches, Camp Perry, Ohio.
After his Army
service, Kalani entered professional wrestling in 1967 where he took
the ring name of Professor Toru Tanaka. During his wrestling career,
he brought his martial arts experience to the ring. He won tag team
championships in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1977 with a variety of
partners, including Mr. Fuji, Dr. Hiro Ota, Mitsu Arakawa, and the
Assassin #2.
Charlie also acted in
a number of films as Professor Toru Tanaka. Notable among these are:
Perfect Weapon (with Jeff Speakman), Running Man and Last Action Hero
(with Arnold Schwarzenegger), and Missing in Action 2 (with Chuck
Norris). He also appeared in a number of television series, including
Airwolf, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.
On the screen, Charlie
was best known as a villain but for those who shot with him; we will
remember him as a happy-go-lucky, gentle-giant with a smile for
everyone. Aloha, Charlie!
Compiled
from reports by Rod Ohira, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, September 15,
2000, and George Arrington's web site: The
Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu Homepage
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