Charles "Charlie" J. Kalani, Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and Martial Artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, or simply, Professor Tanaka.
Tanaka had a long successful run with the WWWF in the 1960s, including being #1 contender to champion Bruno Sammartino. In their first Madison Square Garden meeting, Tanaka was disqualified for throwing salt; was pinned by Sammartino in a rematch 6 months later.
Tanaka subsequently teamed with Mitsu Arakawa in the WWWF, acquiring the International Tagteam Championship; losing it at Madison Square Garden to Tony Marino and Victor Rivera.
Built like the proverbial Patton tank, Professor Toru Tanaka was arguably the successor to Harold Sakata as the archetypal Asian henchman who possessed incredible strength, and clobbered those foolish enough to tangle with him. Born Charles Kalani, he was a successful wrestler and served for over ten years in the US Armed Forces attaining the rank of sergeant. Tanaka first appeared playing a Japanese sumo wrestler on the TV series Little House on the Prairie, however his first film role pitched him as an insidious villain in the chop socky An Eye for an Eye (1981) in which he faces down Chuck Norris before being kicked through a large table. In total, Tanaka appeared in only 23 films including appearing alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger twice in The Running Man (1987) and Last Action Hero (1993).
Filmography[edit]
- An Eye for an Eye (1981)
- Angel Of H.E.A.T. (1982)
- Little House on the Prairie - A new beginning; "Alden's Dilemma" Season 9 aired first on December 6, 1982
- Revenge of the Ninja (1983)
- The A-Team - The Maltese Cow (1983)
- Off the Wall (1983)
- Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984)
- Volunteers (1985)
- Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
- Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
- The A-Team - The Spy Who Mugged Me (1986)
- Bad Guys (1986)
- Shanghai Surprise (1986)
- The Running Man (1987)
- Catch The Heat (1987)
- Dead Heat (1988)
- Black Rain (1989)
- Tax Season (1989)
- Darkman (1990)
- Martial Law (1990)
- Deadly Game (1991)
- The Perfect Weapon (1991)
- Alligator II: The Mutation (1991)
- 3 Ninjas (1992)
- Last Action Hero (1993)
- Hard Justice (1995)
Trivia[edit]
- Professor Tanaka was also featured in a television commercial for a brand of rice in Puerto Rico.
- A commercial for Colgate toothpaste with Pat Morita.
- Tanaka was seen as an extra in a few of David Lee Roth's music videos in the mid-1980s.
Championships[edit]
- All-California Championship Wrestling
- ACCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Peter Maivia, Jr.
- California Pro Wrestling
- CPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- CPW Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dick Slater
- Continental Wrestling Association
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Fuji
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Assassin #2 (1) and Mr. Fuji (1)
- L&G Promotions
- L&G Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) (2 times)1
- Northeast Championship Wrestling (Tom Janette)
- NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Big Time Wrestling
- NWA American Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Thunderbolt Patterson
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (2 times)
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dr. Hiro Ota
- NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
- NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)
- NWA New Zealand
- NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling
- NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Fuji
- World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
- IWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Skull Murphy
- World Wide Wrestling Federation
- WWWF International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa
- WWWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Mr. Fuji
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2019)