Kiefer Studios

The Local Legend

I grew up in Mobile, AL- a fact which you might already be aware of if you watched the homepage video with the late "Mean" Gene Okerlund. I was a huge fan of professional wrestling growing up since about 1991 and I was particularly enamoured with the Undertaker throughout the 90's. I even dressed up as the Undertaker for Halloween in 2nd grade which is a story in itself that I'm going to share with you here in just a moment. Of course, I was also a huge fan of his manager at the time- Mr. William Moody who had also previously been a great heel manager for World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980's going by the name "Percy Pringle" before becoming the iconic Paul Bearer character on WWF television in the 90's. The Paul Bearer character made me fall in love with professional wrestling as a kid and he was the perfect foil for the dark and serious Undertaker. Perhaps he was a little similar to Gomez Addams but a lot more entertaining in my opinion and he could really get you hyped to see what the Undertaker was going to do in his next match! It's worth noting that apparently Mr. Moody actually had a real degree in mortuary science- as if the role of Paul Bearer was pre-destined for him as a real life mortician.

So around 1992 or 1993, I dressed up as the Undertaker for Halloween. Keep in mind, the internet wasn't really a common thing yet at least for my family- so I didn't have many references or resources to put together the most accurate Undertaker costume. All I really knew was that the Undertaker wore a really cool black hat so it was critical for me to at least get that part right. As long as I had the hat, and something black to wear, I too could be the Undertaker- as far as I thought. My older brother helped me put together a costume with a black fedora style hat and a black cape/poncho that still looked good for a costume but objectively didn't resemble the Undertaker as much as maybe Vampire Hunter D (but the hat really did help a lot). I believe my brother actually still has a photo of me in that costume with my hand out, mimicking the same gesture that the Undertaker would do towards the urn Paul Bearer held during his matches. So here's the interesting part of this whole story- as I'm trick-or-treating in the neighborhood as the Undertaker with my mom, I turn to leave a house and almost literally bump into a much bigger kid dressed in black with red hair.

"What are you supposed to be?", I hear the kid ask me.

With a slight tone of disgust, the kid replies:

I was gutted. He was right. How could I forget the gloves? The Undertaker always wore gloves and this kid not only had the gloves but he also had the black trenchcoat, the tie, and even the hat! This kid had a costume that was very true and accurate to the Undertaker in 1992-1993. How could I be the Undertaker's #1 creature of the night if I could forget such a crucial detail of my costume? I never forgot that encounter. But if I had known then what I know now-- my whole world would have just ended on the spot.

Now it's important to note at this point that I had no idea that one of my childhood idols actually lived in the same town I did until I was in maybe 4th or 5th grade. Let that sink in as you're still digesting that previous story on Halloween. One of my classmates in elementary school once told me that he actually played on the same baseball team as Paul Bearer's son, and while I didn't think my friend to be a liar, I still just couldn't believe it. Only shortly afterwards when my older brothers had entered high school that it was confirmed to me that Mr. Moody's oldest son, Michael, was actually in my oldest brother's class. Later it would turn out that his youngest son would also be in the same class as me for a brief period during my freshman year of high school. It would seem that Mr. Moody's kids all had red hair just like he naturally did when he wasn't dying it black. For their family, I'm sure it was really tough for them having a famous dad who spent so much time away on the road in that industry; it's also one of the biggest sacrifices for the performers themselves.

So while I kept having all these close indirect encounters with people who knew him, I didn't actually get to meet the man himself until years later in 2010 through a random chance encounter while I was out looking to buy some canned collard greens at the store near my house. Truthfully, I knew he must have gotten recognized in public all the time and that he probably didn't like being bothered, but given all the facts and history as I've laid out here- once I spotted him I knew it was my one-and-only chance to actually talk to the man; it was impossible at that point for me to let the rare opportunity slip away. Having said that, before I could even finish uttering the first sentence as I went to greet him- it was already crystal clear that he was poised and ready to roast me into oblivion if I didn't demonstrate to him quickly that I was already "smartened up" as it were. I did this by showing him the proper respect and addressing him by his real name (or "shoot" name as one might say in wrestling parlance), also not wanting to draw any unwanted attention around us. After I made it through the greeting without saying that name, he lowered his guard a bit and spared me the scathing promo that he had ready in the chamber. From there, I actually ended up having a normal conversation with one of my childhood icons- the man, the myth, and the legend himself. Only at the end of our conversation did I tell him how much I really respected him and his work over the years. As we parted ways, he was actually kind enough to give me his email and encouraged me to look him up on Facebook which I did. I ended up exchanging a couple of emails with him- talking some wrestling and expressing my condolences to him and his family about his wife who had recently passed. Our final exchange came in 2011 and was specifically about this sculpture after chatting a bit about his most recent run on WWE television.

Here's a brief snippet of our last exchange in May 2011:

Anyway! I'm writing you because I recently paid tribute to you and the somewhat lost art of professional wrestling in my ceramics class at South Alabama. The project involved creating a "face jug", which is a unique Southeastern pottery tradition that is meant to investigate soft slab construction and figurative modeling. The result turned out great although I stupidly forgot to put a bottom on the jug. :( But I wanted to show you and see what you think.

LOL What a mug that is indeed. Thanks for sharing that with me. I still stay quite busy in the wrestling business. Fortunately my niche in the WWE HOF is guaranteed at some time in the future. I'm in no hurry. Good to hear from you.

Be Blessed.
† Percy

Sadly Mr. Moody passed away a couple of years after this in 2013 but I still keep his head with me as it holds so much personal and sentimental value. That said, my personal connection to professional wrestling as an artform and business goes deeper than this but I'll just have to leave it there.