Talk:Adrian Adonis

Need More History
No reference to the East - West connection which featured Adrian Adonis and the future Govenor of Minnesota Jesse the Body Ventura. people magazine did an article on adonis and ventura called living the good life as bad guys.```` There is no mention of Adrian during his Southeastern Championship days when he wrestling with the lots of Austin Idol or Jacque Rougo (sp). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.243.164.17 (talk) 20:16, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Major Cleanup Needed
If I didn't know better I would say the article was more about Piper. OsFan 20:05, 30 March 2006 (UTC) adrian (golden boy) adonis battles began early in life born on manhattan's lower east side, his adoptive parents kenneth and kaye franke moved him to upstate new york in the *buffalo area, where he said he hated schoo, had the grades to prove it and engaged in gang fights every day after school. adonis wrestled his first few years using his real name keith franke and he did the toughest gimmick in wrestling where he challenged fans by offering 10,000 dollars to anyone who could last 5 minutes with him, all comers were made to sign a liability form, he never lost the 10 grand, he did that in 1978 in texas. terry funk gave franke the name adrian adonis. at the time of his death he was residing in bakersfield with his wife and 2 daughters. he is buried in a bakersfield cemetary and his tombstone reads always in our hearts keith franke (adrian adonis) born september 15th 1953 died july 4th 1988. adonis died when he was ejected from the backseat when then the driver swerved to miss a moose, adonis body was thrown and landed in a brook according to the gander newfoundland police report. he did not drown, he died of a fractured skull and broken back in the hospital a few hours after the accident.```` adrian adonis's full real name was keith allen franke````


 * He attended KENMORE EAST SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL in the Town of Tonawanda NY, Northern suburb of Buffalo.  350 Fries Rd, Tonawanda NY 14150

Decapitated? Cite please.
What's the source for this? I had always heard that he (and some of the other passengers) were thrown from the vehicle; some variations have Adonis drowning in a nearby body of water. I never heard about the decapitation until I read this article. he had a fractured skull and broken back but he was not decapitated.

Reliable sources needed
Although it has only been about 2 months since this was tagged as unreferenced, this article has been lacking in the reliable sources department for over two full years, since March 2005. Unreferenced material is to be removed from biographical articles, do not restore it without a solid source. Copy/pasting the text wholesale to the talk page is equally unacceptable, please use this link if you wish to see the material which was removed. Thanks, Burntsauce 17:14, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Gay gimmick?
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that he actually was a homosexual. I'm just wondering if that's true or if it was just a gimmick? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Smart Mark Greene (talk • contribs) 02:43, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

--He wasn't gay; the gay gimmick was punishment by Vince McMahon, who was disgusted by Adonis' massive weight gain. In reality, Adonis was married with children. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.187.112.28 (talk) 21:26, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

I added a link to a television report that includes an article regarding this info. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.186.72.65 (talk) 10:04, 6 December 2015 (UTC)

It is well-established that Adrian Adonis was absolutely not gay in real life, and it was all a gimmick. There is, however, debate over whether his "Adorable" gimmick was truly a gay character, or just effeminate like Gorgeous George. Unfortunately, it's not citable on Wikipedia since I don't still have the magazine, but back in the day when he was alive and doing the "Adorable" gimmick, I distinctly remember an article in a wrestling magazine, likely the official WWF Magazine at the time, where Adonis was quoted in an interview saying "That's right. I'm gay.". However, it seems that that article was a bit rogue with possibly an over-enthusiastic kayfabe writer, and possibly the only place where the character being gay was actually stated. As for the dress code violations that supposedly got him fired from the WWF in 1987, again it's not citable on Wikipedia because I don't still have the magazine, but I remember at the time that the issue was stated in one of the magazines that wrestlers were supposed to be dressed in business attire when they traveled, and Adonis was not dressing properly while traveling. --PoughkeepsieNative (talk) 01:47, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

On season 3 episode 3 of Tuesday Night Titans, they played a clip from a Pipers Pit where Adonis talks about 'coming out of the closet', and then when they come back to the studio interview, he stands up and says 'That's right. I'm gay'. You can currently see this on Peacock TV.

Inconsistencies
This is one of the most confusing deaths I've ever come across; it seems that each and every source has a different variation, i.e.: NOW, the guy above says Adonis was buried in Bakersfield Cemetery, but FindAGrave.com lists his body as being "Lost at Sea"??!! Can we PLEASE get someone in here who has their facts straight and give proper respect for the deceased by letting the world know what actually DID happen to Adrian Adonis? --And please cite your references or else all your contributions will likely be deleted. Thanks. --Schmendrick (talk) 19:51, 26 December 2007 (UTC)
 * They hit a moose.
 * They swerved to avoid hitting a moose.
 * They hit a patch of ice and lost control. (note from a Canuck: It is cool in Canada, but I don't think we get ice on our highways in July.)
 * He was decapitated.
 * He drowned.
 * He didn't drown but his head and back were crushed.
 * He crashed into a lake.
 * He drove off a bridge
 * He was thrown from the vehicle into a creek where he did (or didn't) drown.


 * The FindAGrave entry is complete bunk. The van didn't go off a cliff, and Adonis's body was not "lost at sea;" I recall an autopsy on his body taking place.  As to exact details, I am still researching them (wish I still had my wrestling mags from 20 years ago, which contained the details of the accident), but I do recall hearing that the rental van hit a moose (a very common occurance in that part of Canada).24.187.134.112 (talk) 01:17, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Credible source.
Why don't you look up Bill Arko? He lives in Grand Island, New York.

he is buried in a cemetery in bakersfield, california, the section of the cemetary he is buried at is called the fountain of chimes, the cemetery is next to panorama rd. about a mile away from bakersfield junior college. you can just call or go to the cemetery and ask where keith franke is buried, and both his real name keith franke and wrestling name adrian adonis are on his tombstone.

credible sources his wife bea franke, his daughters angela and gina franke and the bakersfield californian newspaper, two of his former tag team partners roddy piper and former minnesota governor jesse ventura who along with many others in the wrestling industry attended his funeral.```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.49.125.61 (talk) 04:45, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

he is buried at greenlawn mortuary in bakersfieild address 3700 river blvd. bakersfield, ca 93305 ```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.49.125.61 (talk) 05:19, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

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 * Adrian Adonis, circa 1988.png