![]() “As the years went by I talked Mike into using Theo’s material as he was dependable and if we needed a certain shot for TV we knew Theo could capture it,” said Walton. Jeff Walton started at the Olympic Auditorium in 1968 as the wrestling publicist, and convinced the Los Angeles promoter, Mike Lebell, to use more of Ehret’s photos. He used special lighting set-ups for the posed pictures, giving them an almost 3-D effect. Theo preferred available light photography but excelled at flash photography, which presented other problems. Only one other sports photographer had a special ‘look’ to his photos, Canada’s Tony Lanza. He captured the essence of action and had a special realism to his posed pictures, some of which he took in his studio. He was a true photographer, as he developed and printed his own pictures at his studio. “His pictures were always quite incredibly detailed. Theo’s works were always works of art,” said Westbrook, further explaining what made Ehret great - more than just his Rolleiflex camera.”Theo was best known for his use of medium format equipment, particularly 120 size film,” said Westbrook. “In the 1970s-1980s, Theo’s name was synonymous with Los Angeles boxing and wrestling. They know what they’re doing for the character.”ĭan Westbrook was another ringside photographer in Los Angeles who looked up to Theo (pronounced “TEY-O”). And with someone doing a crazy act like Sheik or (Pampero) Firpo, you really don’t have to tell them what to do. “That kind of posing creates depth and wonder. Mike Lano, one of his students/worshippers shooting at ringside. Never look at the camera directly but tell them to glance diagonally in a straight line away from your lens,” Ehret once told Dr. “I taught Blassie (in the sixties) to look off in the distance and point. But she is an iconic figure in the history of amateur female wrestling, a lady many of us who were around then still have on a pedestal.It certainly helped that Ehret had earned the trust of the wrestlers and the bookers, and was often let in on finishes and the timing of the bouts.Įhret taught Blassie how to properly pose. ![]() Sheri also tried to start her own wrestling company and even sent hand-written notes to fans, but the venture never really got off the ground. She made films for Milco, Cal Supreme, which has a 90-minute video of most of her matches for the company in the late-60s and 70s), Triumph Studios, and Sundance Studios. To this day she remains as beautiful as any girl in the wrestling business. But Sheri's primary appeal was her beauty. Her best hold was her scissors, and unlike some of the other 70s girls who looked more like models than wrestlers, Sheri was not afraid to mix it up with the kind of mat wrestling that was more the exception than the norm. Sheri also had a number of mixed matches, wrestling Dave to a 1-1 draw for Milco, beating a different Dave twice for Triumph Studios, and conquering Ric for Triumph as well. One of her competitive matches was her rematch with Kathy Patronis, possibly the top girl on the underground wrestling circuit when Sheri beat her in 1970. She did wrestle competitively, but most of that was done privately. Judell Du Long, who never wrestled Sheri, even though there was an offer from the Dulong camp for a match, overtook her in popularity, most likely due to her ability and the authenticity of her matches. Sheri Whitlow was the queen of 8mm film amateur wrestling in the first half of the 1970s. Cal Supreme, Triumph Studios and Mildred Burke ProductionsĪssumed Competitive Female Wrestling RecordĪssumed Competitive Mixed Wrestling Record
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