Wolf Ruvinskis

Wolf Ruvinskis
Wolf Ruvinskis
	Ruvinskis in his wrestling gear
Birth name	Wolf Ruvinskis Manevics
Born	October 31, 1921; Riga, Latvia
Died	November 9, 1999 (aged 78); Mexico City, Mexico
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Wolf Ruvinskis; Neutrón; Wolf Rubinsky; Wolf Rubinski
Billed height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Billed weight	80 kg (176 lb)

Wolf Ruvinskis (October 31, 1921 – November 9, 1999), born Wolf Ruvinskis Manevics, was a naturalized Mexican actor and Luchador, or professional wrestler. He was married to dancer . Born to a Latvian mother and a Ukrainian father, of Jewish background, they relocated to Argentina in 1923. In spite of living in extreme poverty he excelled in sports and as a professional wrestler he toured South America, the United States and Mexico. This last country became his place of residence where he stayed in the ring well into the 1960s, wrestling El Santo, Black Shadow, and Lobo Negro. As a wrestler he was introduced to the Cinema of Mexico playing luchadores, in particular a masked character he created called Neutrón. He also belongs to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Biography[]

Born on October 31, 1921, in Liepaja, Latvia. His parents emigrated to Argentina in 1923. The Ruvinskis family lived in poverty in Argentina, forcing a very young Wolf Ruvinskis to begin wrestling professionally as a way to help provide for his family.^[1]

Professional wrestling career[]

Ruvinskis quickly became a proficient Rudo (bad guy) in wrestling, which led him to be booked on tours of South America and later on both Mexico and the United States.^[1] When he came to Mexico he was originally slated for a short tour of the country before moving on, but he fell in love with the country and settled there soon after. He also met and married a Mexican woman and started a family.^[3] In the ring he played a savage, vicious Rudo character which was very successful and manage to draw large crowds wherever he went as everyone wanted the local top tecnico ("good guy") to defeat the savage El Lobo Letonia ("The Latvian Wolf").^[1] His promising wrestling career was cut short around 1950 when accumulated injuries forced him to stop wrestling.^[1]

Acting career[]

After his retirement Ruvinskis focused on his second passion, acting. He had already played smaller parts in movies before retirement but after he retired he went into the acting business full-time. One of his most memorable roles was in the movie La bestia magnífica ("The Magnificent Beast") from 1953. With his background in wrestling it was only a matter of time before he became involved in the Mexican Lucha film genre. He played the lead role in the 1956 cult classic El Ladron de Cadaveres, which is now considered the first true Mexican Wrestling/ Horror film. Ruviniskis also played the part of a masked wrestling character/ superhero called Neutrón in a series of movies between 1960 and 1964.^[4] His acting career ended in 1996 (at age 74) with the movie ("The Woman for the Two"). In recent years Lucha movies have been shown regularly on Mexican television leading to a bit of a revival of Wolf Ruvinskis' memory, reminding fans that Ruviniski was both a great wrestler and a great actor.^[4] For some reason, he is credited variously in reference books and in film credits as "Wolf Ruvinskis", "Wolf Ruvinski", "Wolf Rubinski" or "Wolf Rubinskis".

Late life[]

After he stopped acting Ruvinskis opened a restaurant and became a very hands-on, passionate restaurateur who oversaw a couple of Argentinian restaurants in Mexico City named "El Rincón Gaucho". While he played a hated villain in wrestling his real persona was a complete opposite, described as a gentleman who lived to entertain diners with conversation and jokes, or at times even an Argentinian Tango.^[1] Wolf Ruviniskis died on November 9, 1999 in Mexico City. He was 78.^[1]

Acting Awards[]

Ariel Award by the Mexican Academy of Film

Best supporting actor for (1996)

Filmography[]

As a producer[]

(1959)

As an actor[]

(1996)
(1996)
(1993)
(1987)
(1989)
(1987)
The Kidnapping of Lola (1986)
(1983)
(1983) – as don Saúl
(1977)
(1976) – as lieutenant José Alvarado
(1975) – as the military dictator
(1971) – as Claude, yacht captain
(1968) – as Charles González
(1967) – as Bronco
/ Santo vs the Villains of the Ring (1966) – as Rodolfo Labra
/ Santo vs the Martian Invasion (1966) – as Argos
(1965) – as Carlos Aguilar
El señor doctor (1965) – as Beto's father
(1964) – as Andrés Menchaca
Neutrón Movie series as Neutrón

/ Neutron vs the Karate Killers (1965)
/ Neutron vs the Maniac (1964)
/ Neutron vs the Amazing Dr. Caronte (1960)
/ Neutron vs the Death Robots (1960)
/ Neutron, the Man in the Black Mask (1960)

El Rapto de las Sabinas (1960) – as Rómulo
(1960) – as soviet delegate
(1959) – as Crisanto Medina
(1958) – as Tomás Téllez
/ The Last Fight (1958) – as Lobo
Los Tigres del Ring series / Tigers of the Ring (1957) – as Mario or Rafael

(1957) – as Rudy
Paso a la juventud (1957) – as Rodolfo
A media luz los tres (1957) – as Sebastián Reyes
Ladrón de cadáveres / The Body Snatcher (1956) – as Guillermo Santana (one of the earliest Mexican / Wrestling horror films)
(1956) – as Aramís
Puss Without Boots (1957) – as Humberto Carrasco
() (1955) – as Ramón Torres
(1955) – as Ricardo Álvarez
(1954) – as Rómulo
Barefoot Sultan (1954) – as Hilario Trujeque
La vida no vale nada (1954) – as El Caimán
(1954) – as Yaco
¿Por qué ya no me quieres? (1953) – as the gangster
A Tailored Gentleman (1953) – as Chucho
Reportaje (1953) – as policeman
La sexta carrera (1953) – as horseracer
The Vagabond (1953) – as Hércules
Pepe el Toro (1952) – as Bobby Galeana
El plebeyo (1952) – as Lobo
You've Got Me By the Wing (1953) – as Mayordomo
The Photographer (1953) – as Esbirro principal
(1952) – as sick man
(1952) – as Tranquilino
The Beautiful Dreamer (1952) / The Sleeping Beauty (1952) – as Tracatá/doctor Heinrich Wolf
La bestia magnífica / The Magnificent Beast (1952) – as Carlos (one of the earliest Mexican wrestling films)
(1951) – as Diana's lover
(1951) – as crazy strong guy
La noche avanza (1951) – as Bodoques
Women Without Tomorrow (1951) – as Juan
El revoltoso (1951) – as Roberto
Trotacalles (1951) – as Carlos
Camino del infierno (1950) – as Tony
Sinbad the Seasick (1950) – as Mary's boyfriend
(1950) – as monstruo
Amor salvaje (1949) – as marinero
(1949) – as the boxer El Campeón Asesino
Hipócrita (film) (1949) – as El Rayas
No me defiendas, compadre (1949) – as the wrestler El Enmascarado

Television roles[]

I Spy (March 4, 1968, episode #321 Shana) as Andreyev

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Enciclopedia staff (November 2008). "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". Wolf Rubinskins (1921-1999) (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. p. 64. 17.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Súper Luchasstaff (August 10, 2009). "La Ultima Lucha". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 27. issue 326.
^ Raton, Sr. (August 17, 2009). "Te Das?". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 23. issue 327.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Raton, Sr. (November 16, 2009). "Te Das?". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 24. issue 340.

External links[]

Wolf Ruvinskis at the Cinema of Mexico site of the ITESM
Wolf Ruvinskis at IMDb
Neutrón profile at International Hero

[FigurasWolf-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Enciclopedia staff (November 2008). "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". Wolf Rubinskins (1921-1999) (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. p. 64. 17.

[SL326-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Súper Luchasstaff (August 10, 2009). "La Ultima Lucha". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 27. issue 326.

[SL327-3] Raton, Sr. (August 17, 2009). "Te Das?". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 23. issue 327.

[SL340-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Raton, Sr. (November 16, 2009). "Te Das?". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 24. issue 340.

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