Ken Timbs

News Obituary Article

ATLANTA: Ken Timbs, 'ultimate bad guy' in pink tuxedo

By DERRICK HENRY

Ken Timbs was a wrestler fans loved to hate.

He chose the profession for practical reasons. The Atlanta native had been working as a police officer in Riverdale for five years when in 1978 he began moonlighting as a security guard at wrestling shows. He enjoyed the atmosphere and was intrigued by the wrestlers' pay.

"Ken saw an opportunity," said his wife, Juanita Timbs of Atlanta. "He was an all-around athlete who had played high school football and track and boxed Golden Gloves. As a police officer, he had been making $125 a week. They offered him a full-time position in Georgia Championship Wrestling where he could make $900 to $1,000 a week."

Mr. Timbs chose wrestling.

He resigned from the Police Department in 1979 and by 1983 had dyed his hair and partnered with Eric Embry to form the Fabulous Blondes tag team. A year later he teamed with Rusty Wolfe as the Hollywood Blondes.

"Ken was the tough guy and I was the crybaby," said Mr. Wolfe of San Antonio. "We had the blond hair, the walking sticks, the tuxedos and the bow ties and put on airs that we were better than everybody. Ken knew how to play to the crowd."

"He was the ultimate bad guy," his wife said. "You didn't cheer for a guy in a pink tuxedo. He made a smelly concoction from Old Spice, eucalyptus and all these perfumes and would spray the ring with it. In the old days, there was no choreography like there is now. No one told you what to say and do. You had to read your opponent so you didn't hurt each other."

Mr. Timbs got hurt plenty. He broke his ribs, his kneecap, his shoulders and fingers. "Once he started a riot in the arena in Mexico and had his ear kicked off his head," his wife said. "The plastic surgeon did a beautiful job of sewing it back on."

William Kenny Timbs, 53, died Sunday at his Atlanta residence of complications from cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. The body will be donated to the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center. The memorial service is 11 a.m. today at Faith Baptist Church, College Park. Donald Trimble Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

In a career that took him to the Southwest, Mexico and Central America, Mr. Timbs began piling up the trophies. He won the Southwest tag team championship several times, captured the Guatemala heavyweight title, and was a three-time light-heavyweight champion in the Mexican League.

"Becoming the light-heavyweight champion in Mexico on June 24, 1988, was the highlight of his career," his wife said. "He was the first foreigner in 12 years to be offered a chance to compete for that."

While many wrestlers caroused after matches, Mr. Timbs brought along his wife (who designed all his clothes) and children. "Ken didn't drink and he didn't smoke. Everything revolved around the kids," his wife said.

Inspired by their dad, several of his children have gone into amateur wrestling.

Survivors include a daughter, Krissa Timbs of Atlanta; eight sons, all of Atlanta: Joseph, Thomas, Kenneth "Buck," Nickolai, Bryan, Wolfgang, Roderick and Alejandro "A.J." Timbs; his mother, Betty Jo Timbs of Ellenwood; two brothers, Charles Edward Timbs Jr. of Ellenwood, Ga., and Jerry Ramon Timbs of Tyrone; and a sister, Cathy Seay of Henry County.

> ON THE WEB: To learn more about Ken Timbs' wrestling career, visit his Web site: http://www.kentimbs.com/

© 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution