Romeo Joe Critchley

[Eddie Rose]

Whitecloud and Beancounter briefly discussed one of my oldest wrestling friends, Romeo Joe Critchley.

Kellet was a funny (comic) man in the ring. So was another old friend, Pedro the Gypsy. Bernard Murray, Catweazle... Joe Critchley was in the same league as the funniest of these. He had an almost deadpan delivery mixed in with a 1950s Hollywood leading man looks. Do you know, every time I see Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester U) on TV I see Joe Critchley.

Joe was a Wigan lad and brought up in the Wigan way but he was a first class showman, too. He taught me several little slapstick routines that went down a bomb whenever there were a lot of children in the audience, e.g. Butlin's Camps. His sense of timing was spot-on.

He did several amazing things in the ring including a time as the Black Widow (Is it a woman: is it a man? You make your mind up). Super showmanship that had audiences in uproar.

Joe's ultimate performance was at a show in Salford on a foggy winter's evening when half the bill was from Yorkshire and failed to show up. Joe went in the ring and wrestled the Invisible Man. You're correct, Joe went through the motions as seen on the popular TV programme of the time in which the truly invisible Invisible Man threw the villain all over the studio set.

Joe, all by himself, went through a repertoire of holds and thows in which the so-called invisible man threw Joe all over and even out of the ring. If I remember this hilarious bout, Joe even earned a public warning from the ref for fouling his opponent.He won over the audience with his breath-taking audacity. Needless to say, the Invisible Man won. But what a virtuoso performance of improvisation and theatre Joe performed.

I last saw Joe at the Monaco Ballroom, Hindley when he was the manager of the Wigan team in an event versus the USA (managed by Kevin Conneely). The bouts were very ordinary but the highlights were the bits of business involving Joe and Kevin; buckets of water, flying false teeth and all the glorious pantomime. Wrestling it was not. Classic comedy it definitely was.

I'd not seen Joe for several years and after the show we had a chat. It was as if we'd only been together a few days ago. He introduced me to his fiancee and seemed full of life. Sadly, his death was reported the following week. A sad time that, for dear Alec Burton was crushed under his ring lorry on Birch Services (M62) and another old friend, Kevin 'Pit Bull' Cawley died in the ring - all within a couple of weeks of each other.

Joe was a one-off who graced the ring for 30 -odd years and, like Alec and Kevin, is still missed by all who knew them and worked with them. I was only talking about Joe with Dale Storm, former Scottish Middleweight Champion, and how Scottish punters loved Joe and his showmanship.

Eddie Rose

[Hack]

Thanks Eddie for a lovely post. The man does deserve it though. What a great character and all round entertainer he was.

[FCC]

... Great story Eddie. Joe was an awesome personality, Ive worked with him, travelled with him and shared rooms with him. I used to cringe everytime we'd go into a chippy on the road. Joe would insist on 'feeling up' the chips to test wether they were in his words 'reheats'  !!!  I travelled with him a lot in his Triumph Toledo, doing the Butlins Circuit or for Orig etc. At night he ALWAYS drove with full beams on! If you brought it to his attention that he could be dazzling oncoming driver he's just say "ah f**k em" ...... Johnny Palance told us the story when Joe rolled his car in a field, Johnny panicked as he tried to kick out the windows of the upturned car, Joe said " Oi what you doin? you'll damage me f****n car"  ha ha..... If you fell asleep in his car as he drove, he'd pull over on the hard shoulder and declare "if one sleeps, we all sleep" ..... He worked with Rusty Blair at Rhyl Town Hall as 'Filthy Joe Steptoe'  he came in with an old brown paper carrier bag with his towel in, as well as his fags and lighter ! He adorned an old 'Flasher Mac Coat' and wearing ripped womans tights under his trunks.... and yes you guessed it, he lit up a fag between every round.... Hilarious Man....fond memories  :)

[Eddie Rose]

FCC, mate, don't mention chips and Joe Critchley in the same room.

I was with Joe and Mark Wayne in a chippy-restaurant in Scotland and Joe was in one of his funny moods. He asked for something off the menu board that was not available and did not hide his displeasure. He called for the manager and complained. The manager argued and Joe put the boot in, so to speak. "These chips have been blanched (technical term amongst chip shop owners, of which profession Joe was one).

The conversation took an ugly turn and Joe invited Mark Wayne to give his opinion of the chips.  Mark was daft enough to oblige (as Joe knew he would). The result was that four nasty Italian waiters rounded on Mark and knives were threateningly brandished alng with very ripe insults

Joe? He was out back down the street in the car, grinning like a loon, as Mark and me backed very slowly out of the chippy.

The following week we, foolishly, went in a chippy again with Joe, this time at Llandudno Junction. We'd no sooner got to the counter than Joe was at it: "Hey, lady, are these chips blanched?" I saw the red mist of combat appear in her eyes as she fixed Joe with a combative stare. Mark and me got out of it very sharply.

By the way, do you remember "Joe's Corner" on the road just outside Rhyl? Where he ploughed his car right into the grass banking instead of taking the corner. There's a completely un-repeatable story about that incident, too. After all, this might well be a family website.

There are so many stories about Joe and the antics he got up to. What a character but what a great help he was to many of us (at that time) younger wrestlers.

And the other guy you mentioned, Johnny Palance. What a great wrestler, who did not get the credit he deserved for his great m,oves in the ring.

Cheers!
Eddie Rose