Great Antonio

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Antonio Barichievich
professional wrestler
Years activeLate 1940s – 2003
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

Antonio Barichievich (October 10, 1925 – September 7, 2003), born Anton Barichevich and better known as The Great Antonio, was a

Guinness Book of World Records
.

Moving forward Barichievich would tour making demonstrations of strength and wrestled professionally. In 1960, he appeared for the second time in Guinness Book of World Records by pulling four city buses loaded with passengers. Barichievich wrestled until the late 1970s and demonstrations of strength until the 1980s.

Until his death in 2003, Barichievich became a Montreal eccentric roaming the streets selling photomontage postcards of his past exploits. At the end of his life, his photomontages started to gain artistic recognition and are currently featured in museum exhibits.[1]

Early life

Barichievich was born Anton Baričević in Zagreb, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[2] Biographers have written that he went to work with a pick and shovel at the age of six and was able to uproot trees with a cable around his neck by age 12.[3] Antonio was at the Bagnoli displaced persons camp during World War II. In 1945, he arrived by refugee ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He never discussed his experiences during World War II, but writers speculate that he was psychologically affected by whatever he saw and experienced.[3]

Career

Strongman competitions

Beginning in the late 1940s, Barichievich began appearing as a strongman in Montreal. He first made it into the

Guinness Book of World Records in 1952 by pulling a 433-tonne train 19.8 metres.[2]

In 1960, he made it again into Guinness by pulling four city buses loaded with passengers.[2] He weighed 465 pounds (211 kg) and stood about 6 foot 4 inches (1.93 m).[2] His suits were size 90 and his shoes size 28.[2] He could eat 25 chickens or 10 steaks at one sitting.[3]

During the 1970s he toured the world as a strongman and performer, appearing in world capitals and on popular TV variety shows.[3][4]

Despite his imposing stature, Barichievich is said to have sung with a soft, beautiful voice, and at one time wanted to tour with

Don King saying that he would do a fight film for one million dollars.[3]

Professional wrestling

In addition to strongman exhibitions, he participated in

stiffing Inoki; Inoki responded by shooting on Barichievich, knocking him down with palm strikes and kicks, and then stomping him into a bloody mess as he lay on the mat.[7]

Film and television

Barichievich appeared in several movies, including Quest for Fire (1982),[8] A 20th Century Chocolate Cake (1983),[9]and Abominable Snowman (1996).[10] In addition, he made appearances on several television shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show and Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.[11]

Later life

As Barichievich grew older, he became a noted eccentric figure in his adopted home town of

metro station, where he sold postcards of himself and brochures outlining his life story.[3] He carried "every scrap of paper that had been written about him over the years, news clippings from all over the world, in garbage bags."[3] According to Elliott Augustine of Erudit, Barichievich started making photomontage of his past exploits to turned them into postcards in 1972. He describes Barichievich's work as well crafted, humorous, and "works of art in their own rights".[12]

Prior to his death in September 2003, Barichievich was working with Quartier Éphémère,[citation needed] to present his photomontage works in an exhibit about outsiders artists. the event took place between October and December of that year.[1]

2003 to present day: tributes and posthumous success

After his death, discovered among the clippings was a letter from the office of Bill Clinton, and old photos of Barichievich with people including Pierre Trudeau, Liza Minnelli, Lee Majors, Sophia Loren and Johnny Carson.[3]

In 2008, the Quebecois group Mes Aïeux recorded a song in homage to Barichievich on their album La ligne orange, as well as a recording of a song sung by the strongman himself.

In 2014,

Élise Gravel wrote and illustrated a children's book about Barichievich.

Plaque on bench, dedicated to The Great Antonio

In 2015, a plaque and bench were dedicated to him in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough of Montreal, where he had lived the last 20 years of his life in a small apartment.[13]

Also that year, the American Folk Art Museum presented Barichievich's "first institutional presentation of his works."[14]

In 2017, The Barr Brothers reference Barichievich in their track "Song That I Heard" from the album Queens of the Breakers.

Also that year, Barichievich personal papers went into the archives of McCord Stewart Museum.[15]

Death

Barichievich died in 2003 at the age of 77 of a heart attack while in a grocery store in Montreal.[3][4]

Personal

He is believed to have been married at least twice, once in Europe and once in Canada, but he left behind no known descendants on either side.[3]

Accolades

References

  1. ^ a b "Fonderie Darling | Hors Pairs / Outside References". fonderiedarling.org. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Great Antonio". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "The Great Antonio (Barichievich)". Cauliflower Alley Club. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  4. ^ a b "Wrestler Profiles: The Great Antonio". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  5. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "The Great Antonio". Wrestlingdata.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Great Antonio". CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "Sumo Hall 12/77". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  8. ^ "Quest for Fire". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  9. ^ "A 20th-Century Chocolate Cake". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  10. ^ "The Abominable Snowman (1996)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  11. ISBN 0-9736719-8-X
    .
  12. ^ https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/va/1900-v1-n1-va1098457/52750ac.pdf
  13. ^ "Great Antonio, beloved Montreal strongman, honoured in Rosemont". CBC News. September 9, 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Fonderie Darling | Grand Antonio in New York". fonderiedarling.org. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  15. ^ "The Great Antonio's Personal Archives: A Sizable Acquisition!". McCord Stewart Museum. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-02.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antonio Barichievich.
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