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The Cauliflower Alley Club announced the passing of Don Leo Jonathan today. Jonathan was 87 years old at the time of his passing.
A Canadian native, Jonathan had his in ring debut in 1949 and worked all over the world, touring Japan, the United States, Australia, Europe and elsewhere before retiring in 1980. Nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" (his father, who trained him, had competed as Brother Jonathan), Jonathan was a two-time International Champion in Montreal and was the recognized World Heavyweight Champion for the Omaha territory that fell under the AWA's umbrella in 1961. He also held versions of the World title in South Africa and Germany over the course of his career.
Jonathan, real name Don Leo Delaun Heaton, had entered a hospital this past August and never left, according to Slam! Sports.
Jonathan was considered one of the most athletically gifted big men in the business during his time as a performer. He would often work as a big man heel, then when he would eventually turn, he was the monster hero who would put a big beating on the villains in the territory. He would work a number of programs with Killer Kowalski and had a series of matches against a young Andre the Giant when he first made his way to North America.
Jonathan was a legitimate legend in Canada, where he worked for every major promotion there, including NWA All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver, Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto, Alex Turk Promotions in Winnipeg and for the International Wrestling Association in Montreal. He based himself out of Vancouver and was a regular challenger for the NWA World Championship in the 1970s, including facing Jack Brisco and Dory Funk Jr., among others.
Jonathan had a run in the early 1970s with the WWWF, where he was built up as a challenger for then-WWWF Champions Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales and had a series of title matches against them.
Jonathan's time in NWA All-Star Wrestling led to him becoming one of the biggest names there, holding the Pacific Coast Championship 5 times, having 18 Canadian Tag Team title wins and even holding the NWA World Tag Team Championships there with Dominic DeNucci. Due to his credibility with the audience, if the promotion wanted to make a new star, they would team them with Jonathan to give them the rub.
Jonathan retired in 1980 and rarely made appearances around the business after his run was done. Outside of pro wrestling, he had done some acting work, including an appearance in Sylvester Stallone's film Paradise Alley and a number of commercials.
In 2006, he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, at the time located in Amsterdam, NY and in 2007, he was given the Cauliflower Alley Club's Iron Mike Mazurski Award.
PWInsider.com would like to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Don Leo Jonathan.
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