'Halfbreed' Billy Gram
| Billy Gram | |
|---|---|
| File:Halfbreed.JPG | |
| Born | Cleveland, Ohio [1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | "Halbreed" Billy Gram [1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) [1] |
| Billed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) [1] |
| Billed from | "The Cult Fiction Compound by way of Cleveland, OH" [1] |
| Debut | 1993 |
"Halfbreed" Billy Gram is an American musician, screenwriter, actor, and professional wrestling manager. He is best known for appearances with the Philly punk-metal band Saints in Hell, and has also appeared for the professional wrestling promotions Combat Zone Wrestling and IWA Mid South as the manager of Cult Fiction.[2]
Career
Music and acting
Gram was the singer/frontman for Philly punk-metal band Saints in Hell, whose lineup also included future Cinderella members Tom Keifer and Eric Brittingham. In 1986, Gram was involved as an actor and animal wrangler on the film Street Trash.[3]
1991 saw the release of the indy cd/album Ghostdance Tribe, with singer/guitarist Gram as the writer of all the material, and performances by Tom Keifer, Ronnie Younkins of The Kix, Bill Mattson of Tangier, all the members of Britny Fox, Kevin Moore of Dandelion and Johnny Dee of Doro.
For two weeks, in November 1999, Gram's Traditional Native Drum Group, The Sovereign Nation Singers were performing as part of a demonstration/event in front of The White House. In 2005, Gram directed a documentary on the career of pro wrestler Ox Baker.
In 2006 Billy appeared as a zombie in the film Shadow: Dead Riot. Billy also appeared that year in The Meltdown Memoirs, a documentary celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Street Trash.[4]
Professional wrestling
In 2007 Halfbreed Billy Gram debuted in both Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and IWA Mid South Wrestling, as the leader and manager of a faction known as Cult Fiction, whose members have included "Mister Insanity" Toby Klein, Necro Butcher, Brain Damage, Deranged, Masads, J.C. BaileyTank and Tracy Smothers. Late in 2007, Billy also began working as a color commentator for CZW. In 2007, the fans on CZW's official forums voted for their annual year end awards, and Gram was the winner of the award for "Best Mic Work".[5]
In 2008 Cult Fiction became even more visible in CZW. Once again the fans on the aforementioned annual year end awards recognized Billy as he was again the winner of the award for "Best Mic Work", and for the first time "Best Manager", "Best Commentator" and the newly instituted "Mother F'n Bomb" award.
Also in 2008, sometime around the end of the year, Gram become involved in a public feud with IWA-MS owner Ian Rotten. Billy made allegations that Rotten had physically threatened himself as well as members of the Cult Fiction faction that he leads. Gram publicly vowed that Cult Fiction would never again appear in IWA MS. Billy then went on a public bashing of Rotten, lampooning him on wrestling websites and message boards.
Writer
In 2008 One for the Fire: The Legacy of Night of the Living Dead, a documentary written by Gram, was released. It celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the definitive horror film of Independent American Cinema. The film is included on the 40th Anniversary edition of Night of the Living Dead released by Dimension Films.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Billy Gram Profile". czwrestling.com. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "IMDB page on Billy Gram". IMDB. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Street Trash (1987)". IMDB. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Shadow: Dead Riot". IMDB. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Awards". WrestleView. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "One for the Fire: The Legacy of Night of the Living Dead,". IMDB. Retrieved 2009-04-19.