We All know and Love 'JUMPIN' JIM HUSSEY!-However I didn't know that apparently he had
a Wrestling BROTHER?? Rummaging in my Vault I've come across a HANDBILL from TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12TH 1946!! Featuring BIG JOHN HUSSEY vs. (and I Love this!)
'ANGEL FACE' JOE BATTEN!!
It Bills him as:-'MANCHESTER- 19 Stone-Brother to JIMMY-just returned from a successful tour of the UNITED STATES- Rugged and Powerful Type which never fails to get Fans going!'
'ANGEL FACE' is Billed as:-'The Film Star Wrestler-one of the most famous figures in Wrestling (I'd never heard of him 'til now!!) wily,wilful and tough,his Wrestling Abilities are known throughout the Country(??) has appeared in several Films with GEORGE FORMBY'!!??
Also just as a Bonus 'Rider' I've found:-
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11TH 1947-
HAL HUSSEY?? vs. JOE BATTEN (No 'ANGEL FACE'-Must have lost it!!)-Billed from BOLTON!!
What's All this about then RON??-BIG JOHN HUSSEY NOT!! in the A-Z!!
MAIN MASK
Not my idea of an angel.
Fabulous contribution Ost. Always wanted to see this guy.
Well done.
Below is a photo of Joe Batten, it took me a while to recall which magazine it was in:
Always a pleasure to talk with you MM , your own archives are so special , without comparison in fact. You are right on Chick Knight and no idea on the other guy , and they never put them in the cast as the parts seem to be deemed so small. The guy with hair won't be Angel Face.
I could not find the old thread but Formby has cropped up before, The 1939 film trouble Brewing also had wrestlers and if I remember correctly the one below was Tiger Tasker.
We need a picture of Angel Face Batten , he was bald and a tough look , could be mistaken for Reginsky.
On both of the bills above, Joe Batten is mentioned as a film star and apparently appeared in several George Formby films?, can anyone confirm this?, I did a quick check on IMDB and can find no mention of him and checked a few George Formby films and did not see him listed, even as "uncredited"?
I assume he must have been in George Formby films, as this is a big claim to make on a poster.
A 19 stone John Hussey is the real mystery.
I know when I joined Heritage Hack and I were looking very hard at a Jack and Joe Alker.
It sure looked like they were brothers.
It seems that just an odd venue or promoter got the wrong name stuck in his head.
Always wondered if that was how Bill Kenton came about as well (Billy Robinson)
Wrestling is a strange business.
Joe Batten is in the A-Z.
Angel Face Joe Batten is on a lot of cards in that timeframe.
Sorted and some strange Hussey goings on.
But there is a mystery here because your bill says Big John Hussey.
I have him fighting light men such as Jack Alker.
Another bill says he was Jims big brother , but I suspect an Uncle.
WE have touched on this and I don't think it generated that much interest.
Off the top of my head I don't think Jim had a brother when I looked into it.
I did spot though that his dad had a brother John . Rocco claimed he had other generations in the game.
I think this is what it was.
These are the unanswered questions and this one very similar to the fact that there were two Conroys , the original Cordite being Chopper's brother.