"And on that day, that sunny day that you left me,
I wrapped up Japan, put Ishikawa behind me."
- "Chopper" by Randy Puma, from the album The Good Old Ishikawa Days.
Born on July 24, 1961 in Argentina to an American mother and Polish father, Randall Pumanszckowicz showed promise on school sports teams at an early age. He was always athletic, and became known for his temper tantrums when faced with defeat, a trait that followed him into his professional wrestling career.
Pumanszckowicz was raised in a small village of multicultural ex-pats, 200 miles south of Mendoza, and as such never properly learned Spanish. He (like many children in the area) had trouble separating Argentina's native language from the more dominant tongues of their homes, and attended a specialized school at the age of 16 to correct this. Unfortunately, he was never fully able to grasp the concept of bilingualism, even after his three-and-a-half year stay.
It was at this school, the 384-student Mendoza Casas del Rey Institute of Bilingual Studies, that Randall found his calling in wrestling. The other students were only interested in soccer, and although Randall was adept at the more popular sport, he disliked it. The school wrestling club only had two members: Pumanszckowicz, and Alphonso Tillagstein. It was from Tillagstein that Randall learned the trade, and they became very good friends in later years.
In 1982, Randall Pumanszckowicz and Alphonso Tillagstein, both 21 years old, emigrated to New York City, where they found menial jobs at low pay. According to his memoir, Pumanszckowicz waited tables while Tillagstein (who simplified his name to Alfie Till at this point), worked in a small-time theatre doing odd jobs. Pumanszckowicz followed Till's example and became Randy Puma. Randy has stated that he was unaware of what a puma was at the time, but was not disappointed when he discovered the definition many years later.
The two young men were different in many respects, but wrestling was their shared passion, and their neighbours often complained about their late-night practice sessions, which were frequent and loud. Puma and Till began working the amateur New York circuit, thrilling audiences with tandem acrobatic performances and in-depth personas. Puma, ashamed of his childhood in a third-world country, fabricated an entirely new life story. He claimed to be from Oklahoma instead, and many times told associates he had played outside linebacker for the Oklahoma City Bombers of the USFL before coming to New York to wrestle.
An ankle injury began to plague Alfie Till in early 1983, leaving Randy Puma to fend for himself. He would refuse to take another partner, and indeed it seemed as if Till had been holding him back. They remained friends, but Puma's career took off on the day Till dropped out of wrestling. The next year, Randy Puma attempted the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Though relatively inexperienced in the pro ring, he had a 7-match streak of wins before losing to Ricky Steamboat in Yokosuka, Japan. Ricky Steamboat would win the title five years later.
The loss, rumoured to be Puma's very first since coming to America, hit the wrestler hard, and he remained in Japan making advertising appearances for Glico Cratz candy. He quit wrestling and went through a period of self-discovery, studying Zen Buddhism and bonsai cultivation, and later, Electrical Engineering. Alfie Till had become a well-known Broadway actor by this time, and after finishing up a worldwide tour in 1990, he joined his old friend in Ishikawa prefecture. Randy Puma was attending the Kanazawa Institute of Technology at the time, and would soon become engaged to Reiko Noto, cousin to seiyuu Mamiko Noto.
The close relationship enjoyed by the two Argentinian men quickly made Noto jealous, and came to a tragic end on March 31, 1992. Till and Puma had planned to take a scenic helicopter ride, and had just taken off when the helicopter controls malfunctioned. They were only twelve feet above the ground, but the impact of the vehicle falling from that height shattered the supports of the landing pad, and the helicopter and platform both fell from the building roof it had been built upon. Randy Puma emerged almost entirely unscathed, being the only occupant using his seatbelt. The pilot and Till were killed instantly.
The next day Reiko Noto confessed to tampering with the controls to sabotage the outing. She stated it was never her intention to hurt anyone, and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. She and Puma were never wed.
It was sometime during this year, at a fateful karaoke party hosted by his schoolmate Sammo Hung, that Puma discovered lounge singing. Instead of completing his degree, Puma turned once again to the entertainment industry, this time flexing his impressive vocal cords rather than his equally impressive biceps. In many interviews, he explained that he found singing to be therapeutic in his grief over the death of his longtime friend, and that it was done mostly for himself.
His musical growth continued in Japan over the course of the nineties, earning him the affectionate nickname "Mountain Lion Mic Man". In 2001 he returned to Argentina for two months in an attempt to reconnect with his heritage. He then retraced those twenty-year-old steps to New York, finding himself a newcomer once again. This time there were no big dreams of stardom. Perhaps they were sobered by the absence of his friend. Randy Puma has mostly kept to playing small clubs, though he has released a plethora of original material. His songwriting partner is none other than Sammo Hung, the talented young Chinese exchange student at Kanazawa Institute that got Puma singing in the first place. A chance reunion in 1999 brought the two together again, and they formed an unbeatable team that very day.
If you are ever in the New York area and want to check out Randy Puma, you may be out of luck. His shows are always announced three nights before, never earlier, and the small bars he plays in fill up fast. He has a devoted fanbase that competes for the seats every weekend. They call themselves the "Big Cat's Kittens."
Partial discography:
Fun Fact: Randy Puma's large collection of aviator sunglasses once belonged to journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Friends of the late writer have made remarks that the collection was stolen, though Puma maintains they were a gift. The connection between Thompson and Puma remains unclear, and it is unknown if they ever met.
References:
http://randypuma.net/fans/bio/2qk3922f843490d49034ues&
http://www.nyc.com/bars_clubs_music/lit_lounge.52410/search_terms="Randy%20Puma"/section_specific.aspx?from=3/29/2009
http://www.cygywrestling.com/titlehistories/nwaworldheavyweighttitle.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Kanazawa_Air_Tours_helicopter_accident
http://www.historyorb.com/countries/argentina
Everything Professional Wrestling Noding Coalition of DOOM
and http://ascorbic.net/catbox/archive/3235260/