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Camille Laurent "Tarzan" Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985), better known by his ring name Tarzan "The Boot" Tyler, was a Canadian professional wrestler and manager. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, along with Grady Johnson.
By 1965, Tyler began to wrestle for the WWWF, challenging Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Championship albeit unsuccessfully. He often competed for world championships against such stars as Verne Gagne, Lou Thesz, and Dory Funk Jr. On June 3, 1971, Tyler and Grady Johnson defeated Dick the Bruiser and Ed Farhat to become the inaugural WWWF World Tag Team Champions. Later that year, he would also face Pedro Morales at a show in Madison Square Garden during the main event for the WWWF Championship. On November 12, he and Graham defeated WWWF International Tag Team Champions The Mongols (Geto Mongol and Bepo Mongol) for their titles. They lost the World Tag Team Championship on December 6 to Karl Gotch and Rene Goulet.
In 1973, Tyler was injured during a match with André the Giant, and as a result, he was paralyzed for months. Once he returned from injury, Tyler would start using a loaded boot, where he tapped his boot on the mat three times (to slip a foreign object) before kicking his opponent; this earned him his nickname of "The Boot". By the 1970s, he returned to Montreal and worked for Grand Prix Wrestling initially before it shut down, then appeared as a top heel for George Cannon's Superstars of Wrestling. Tyler was a manager for Gino Brito's Lutte Internationale before his death.
On December 24, 1985, Tourville died in a car crash along with fellow wrestler Pierre Lefebvre and referee Adrien Desbois in Laurentides Wildlife Reserve upon returning from a wrestling event in Chicoutimi, Quebec. Their car had slid on a curve, killing them after they hit a tow truck. He was 58 years old.
Personal life and death
Tourville grew up in Montreal and his friends nicknamed him "Tarzan" by the age of ten.
Championships and accomplishments
(2025). 9780969816157, Archeus Communications. ISBN 9780969816157
External links
Categories: 1927 Births, 1985 Deaths, Canadian Male Professional Wrestlers, Stampede Wrestling Alumni, 20th-century Male Professional Wrestlers, 20th-century Canadian Professional Wrestlers, Nwf North American Heavyweight Champions, Nwa Florida Heavyweight Champions, Nwa Florida Television Champions, Nwa Southern Heavyweight Champions, Nwa Brass Knuckles Champions, Professional Wrestlers From Montreal, Nwa World Tag Team Champions, Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions, Nwa International Tag Team Champions, Nwa Georgia Heavyweight Champions, Wwf International Tag Team Champions, World Tag Team Champions, 20th-century Canadian Sportsmen
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