Kerry Von Erich was a member of the Von Erich Family, a family of prominent wrestlers famous in the late 20th century. He spent 11 years as a wrestler in his father’s promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling, and appeared in the WWE under the Texas Tornado name. Throughout his career, he won prestigious titles such as the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, WWF Intercontinental Championship, and more.
According to People Magazine, on February 18, 1993, Kerry Von Erich committed suicide at the age of 33. He was reportedly addicted to painkillers and hardly caught a break when it came to injuries. Interestingly, his problems didn’t stop him from in-ring action, and he joined the WWE (then known as WWF) in 1990. He performed under the name The Texas Tornado in this company and won the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam 1990. His elder brother Kevin once stated that Von Erich loved to party and didn’t have a preference when it came to drugs.
Von Erich’s personal life was also filled with struggles. In 1991, his wife Catherine divorced him and separated the daughter from their father. Due to prescription forgery charges, officials arrested him in September 1992. Following this, the court sentenced him to 10 years of probation, and he went to rehab. A year later, the police arrested him yet again for cocaine possession. Von Erich kept insisting that he was sober; however, officials didn’t budge. The thought of going to prison terrified him, and this resulted in him taking his own life at his father’s ranch by firing a gun into his heart.
VICE TV’s Dark Side of the Ring episode, The Last of the Von Erichs, delved into the tragic lives of the members of this famous family.
Kerry Von Erich lost his right foot after a motorcycle accident
Per People Magazine, in April 1986, Von Erich went for a motorcycle ride only wearing silk track shorts. Eventually, he crashed into a police vehicle and severely injured his right foot. Von Erich’s injury was so horrific that the doctors were very close to amputation. However, they decided not to go through with it. Soon, he returned to wrestling, however, a few months later, he reinjured his foot and the medical officials had no other choice but to get rid of his foot.
Even after this traumatic incident, he continued wrestling, but this time with a prosthetic foot. He and his family hid this information from the public, and he limped and never removed his boots. Unsurprisingly, this secret was revealed in a 1988 match against Ed “Colonel DeBeers” Wiskowski. Reports suggest that DeBeers mistakenly removed Von Erich’s boot, and the audience saw his prosthetic leg. The wrestler handled the situation professionally by leaving the ring and putting his leg under the apron. He then wore his boot back and returned to the match, but this footage has never shown up.
Several influential wrestlers, including the legendary Bret Hart, respected and adored Kerry Von Erich. In his book Hitman, he explained how his death deeply affected him and his brother, Owen Hart. He wrote, “Owen and I were deeply saddened, but who could be surprised? As the son of a wrestling promoter, Kerry never found it easy living up to the hopes and expectations put before him… I just wished there had been something I could have done to help Kerry. We all did.”
Kerry Von Erich’s elder daughter, Lacey, is a retired professional wrestler best known for her time in TNA.
What happened to the rest of the Von Erich family?
Kerry Von Erich was not the only member of his family who died young. Along with Jack, Kevin, David, Chris, and Mike, Kerry was the son of professional wrestler and wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich.
His firstborn, Jack, died at the age of 6 in a freak accident on March 7, 1959. Reports suggest that the child got electrocuted and fell face down in a puddle of melting snow, which made him down to his death. Following this misfortune, Fritz changed his approach towards his career. He stated, “I just started blaming the entire wrestling business for the death of my oldest boy. I started to look forward to climbing back into that squared circle and going after one of the guys who I held personally responsible for all my bad luck. I got such a bad reputation for being overly aggressive in the ring that some wrestlers even turned down matches with me.”
David Von Erich died in Japan in his hotel room on February 10, 1984, after weeks of suffering from acute enteritis. At the time of his death, he was 25 years old. Mike Von Erich, who never wanted to be a professional wrestler, died at the age of 23 after overdosing on a prescription tranquilizer. Just like Kerry, Chris took his own life in September 1991 at the age of 21. The only surviving son of Fritz Von Erich is Kevin Von Erich, who is currently 67 years old.
