Billy Two Rivers

Early life Two Rivers was born on May 5, 1935 in Kahnawake, a Mohawk First Nations reserve located near Montreal, Quebec.

Wrestling career

1950s Two Rivers was trained by Don Eagle, a former World Heavyweight Champion in the Boston-based American Wrestling Association. When he, also from Kahnawake, returned to the reservation on a break from wrestling, he met 16-year-old Two Rivers, became his guardian and took him to Columbus, Ohio, for training. This lasted two years, during which time he increased his weight to 205 pounds from 185.

Two Rivers made his professional debut in February 1953 in Detroit, facing Rose Martino of Italy. After losing the championship, Two Rivers considered moving to Calgary, Alberta, to work for Stampede Wrestling. Ray Napolitano, a wrestler from the United Kingdom, told him to consider moving overseas. He flipped a coin to decide and it chose the UK, where he began working in October 1959. He remained in Canada, facing such wrestlers as Sailor White, The Sheik, and Kurt Von Hess, for the rest of his career. and councillor.

In 1990, Two Rivers helped lead the Mohawk nation during the Oka Crisis. A golf course in the village of Oka, Quebec, planned to expand onto land claimed by the Mohawk as traditional land. The Mohawk people objected to the plan to cut down a sacred grove of pines and build on their burial ground. During the dispute, the First Nations group blockaded a bridge, and a member of the Sûreté du Québec was killed.

On his death in 2023, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake described Two Rivers as "hugely influential" during the 1990 crisis as the right-hand man to Grand Chief Joseph Norton.

Acting Two Rivers appeared in several films, including Pocahontas: The Legend, Black Robe, and Taking Lives. He is in the 1973 documentary The Wrestling Queen, and the made-for-television movies Red Earth, White Earth and Northern Passage.

Personal life Two Rivers was the father of British fashion designer Wayne Hemingway.

Death Two Rivers died in Kahnawake on February 12, 2023, at the age of 87.

In popular culture Two Rivers' name has entered popular culture in many forms. A British racing horse shared it. He plays a large role in Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Muldoon's poem "My Father and I and Billy Two Rivers". The poem discusses watching him in a wrestling match and compares the predetermined outcome to the Boston Tea Party.

After learning a photograph of him was to be featured on the cover of Van Morrison's September 2017 album Roll with the Punches, Two Rivers sued the singer and his label, Universal Music Group, in July, claiming they did not seek permission to use his likeness. On August 4, his lawyer announced the parties had agreed in principle to settle out of court, and were negotiating details toward dismissing the now-suspended suit.

Wrestling championships and accomplishments Grand Prix Wrestling GPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) Lutte Internationale Canadian International Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time)

Filmography

Film

Black Robe (1991) - Ougebmat (also Mohawk-language translator) Pocahontas: The Legend (1995) - Mochiqua Bolt (1995, direct-to-video) - Indian Musketeers Forever (1998, direct-to-video) - Elder Taking Lives (2004) - Car Salesman

Television Red Earth, White Earth (1989, TV movie) - 2nd Indian Heritage Minutes (1992, 1 episode) - Chief Tales of the Willows (1994, 1 episode) - Broken Foot Aztec, Pyramids of War (2009, 2 episodes) - Aztec Scribe Mohawk Girls (2015, 1 episode) - Male Elder