Gordienko in ring action--at work in
another medium and on another
canvas--where "anything can happen."
"Face Carved in Bark"
Courtesy Dan Grieve Collection
Note from Mr. Grieve:
Kind of a strange story for you: I used to work at the
Home Hardware in Courtenay B.C., and George was a
regular customer there. I used to give him free wood a
lot of times and one day he came in and gave me one
of his pieces...a face, carved in bark. I didn't know
anything about his history at all until now, other than
the fact that he painted. It's too bad he passed away; I
didn't know until I saw this site. I have had the face
hanging on my wall ever since he gave it to me, even
though it's not to everyone's taste.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright Duff Johnson 2004-2022
No text or image may be copied or
reproduced without written permission.
























GEORGE GORDIENKO
(1928-2002)
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
(prepared for the Cauliflower
Alley Club, October 19, 2000)
By George Gordienko
In 1928 I was born in the city of
Winnipeg. I had two older
brothers. Sports was a popular
pastime and since we were
located on the edge of town
and almost in the openness of
the prairies, there was a lot of
space for playing fields. I was
big and sturdy for my age. In
high school I was one of the
star players on the gridiron.
I must have been about 15
years old when I got into
wrestling. Albert Olsen, who
was five or six years older, was
responsible. Albert was a very
good,
all-round athlete excelling in
just about everything. He was
the first to get the idea of
wrestling. He asked me if I
would train with him.
I had been training with
weights for a couple of years.
Our equipment was
homemade and crude
compared to the competition
sets, but that may have been
advantageous since were
principally concerned with
feats of strength, more than
body building.
Albert joined the R.C.A.F., i.e.,
the Canadian Air Force, and
became a P.T.I. That meant that
we could only train together
when he was in town on leave.
But I continued and found
other guys to train with on the
mat.
After the war the local club at
the Y.M.C.A. expanded when
the young men were released
from service.
Albert was one of the top guys
and was the national
lightheavyweight champ
at one time. There were some
others who were pretty good,
such as Gordon Nelson,
Harold Nelson (no relation),
Jake Costello, Steve (The Little
Giant) Kozak, and I should not
forget Jimmy Trifunow, who
was very accomplished and
became the coach of the
Canadian Olympic team and
later was awarded the Order of
Canada for his contribution to
Canadian culture.
About that time professional
wrestling opened in Winnipeg
and drew big crowds. The
boys came from Minneapolis,
out of Tony Stecher's office. I
remember seeing Ray Steele,
Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Sky Hi
Lee, Cliff
Gustafson, Dick Raines, Abe
Kashey, Sandor Szabo, Joe
Pazandak, etc. There were
many more of those great
"golden oldies" who would
need mention.
One night when I was training
at the "Y" Wally Karbo and Joe
Pazandak made a visit. Joe
worked out with me and didn't
take me off my feet for six
minutes, when Wally called out
that Joe should conserve his
energy for his coming bout.
Not bad for an 18-year-old. I
was very strong but lacked
knowledge.
I think Joe and Wally spoke to
Tony Stecher. One day I
received a letter from the office
asking if I was interesting in
going to Minneapolis. I think
Joe decided that I would make
a good training mate. Well, I
accepted and
made the journey.
I stayed with Joe and we
worked out daily unless he
made a long trip somewhere.
Joe had more confidence
when he was at home and he
could handle me at first.
However, after about a year I
could hold my own even for an
hour or more.
We also trained a bit with
weights and played handball. I
guess you could say we were
in great shape. I had never
played handball before. Joe
was a good player. Sometime
later I took up squash and
since there is a similarity, I
picked it up fairly quickly. Also,
I played with experienced
players, which was a help.
It was not too long before I
broke in as a "pro." One of my
starting matches was with Iron
Mike Burnell. Mike was one of
the guys I liked and he helped
me. I think he could claim to be
a former A.A.U. heavyweight
champion. He got out of the
business a short time later. I
think he saved his money and
bought some earth-moving
equipment. I hope he made out
okay.
I went to San Francisco, then
back to Minneapolis, then on
to Buffalo, N.Y., for Ed Don
George.
I was 18 years old when I
broke into the business and I
was now 19. I was growing
tired of traveling as it did not
leave much time for anything
else.
When I was in Winnipeg I
attended art school and was
able to take some lessons in
San Francisco as well. I guess
I had the "itch."
While I was young and had a
lifetime ahead of me, I decided
to make a break.
In hindsight, I did the right
thing because now I am doing
"my thing" which to me is so
satisfying and interesting. It is
life itself.
I think some people were
critical of my departure and
rumors flew.
I went back to Canada where
the art scene was very quiet, at
least in western Canada. I
worked at odd jobs which I
now consider useful since the
experiences come together in
later life. For me, anyway.
One day in 1953 Stu Hart called
me from Calgary and asked if I
was interested in working
again.
Okay. So off I went to Calgary.
It worked out alright, though
there were long distances
between towns. Later in the
year I went to Australia. On the
return journey, instead of
flying back to North
America, I exchanged my ticket
for passage on an ocean liner
to Europe. Can't think of why I
did that, and it wasn't a dumb
idea.
Departed from Sydney and
disembarked in Naples, Italy.
From there, I took a train to
Rome, Florence, and Paris. I
spent a few weeks in Paris -
and loved it. From there I went
to London. I stopped there a
fair
length of time - 'til my money
ran out. I attended St. Martin's
School of Art and had Anthony
Caro as an instructor in
sculpture. Caro became
internationally famous and
was knighted for his work.
When the time came I took an
ocean liner again to Quebec
City on the St. Lawrence River.
I made some money again
working for Stu Hart. Through
some friends, I heard from
Joint Promotions in England.
They were willing to pay my
fare and
guarantee my purse money.
I had fallen in love with Europe
and going back there gave me
a feeling of being "at home." A
great place for an aspiring artist.
I settled into London and it
became my headquarters for a
number of years. There was a
lot to take in. Cultural life on a
very high level. I got to other
parts of Europe often: France,
Germany, Belgium, Spain,
Holland,
Austria, Greece, etc.
I should mention Paris in
particular. There were a couple
of boys there who were into
painting and had personal
showings. They knew Picasso,
since he watched wrestling on
television and was said to be
an avid fan. He would not be
disturbed when the bouts were
on.
Eventually, and to my very
good fortune, while I was in the
company of the lads who
painted we encountered
Picasso, and had coffee
together. What a polite,
well-mannered person. He
even insisted on paying. This
was truly a high spot in my life.
I also wrestled in other spots
around the globe: India, the
Middle East, a lot of places in
Africa, Japan, New Zealand,
the Caribbean, etc.
In 1975 I got back to serious
painting and moved to Italy -
which was very good to me. I
said goodbye to wrestling this
time for good. Life had moved
on, and I was no longer a
young man. Europe was very
good to me, very rich in
cultural experiences that could
perhaps be described as
unparalleled.
Now I am back in Canada, on
Vancouver Island. I have a
quiet location and am trying to
put all my experiences
together, hoping it will mean
something.
Here you will find photos of Golden Age
wrestler and artist George Gordienko, a
gallery of his paintings, a brief autobiography,
and several quality links to other resources.
Many thanks to Ted Gordienko for
sending the two photos below of his
uncle, George Gordienko.
Wrestler & Artist George Gordienko
An interesting and informative article about
Gordienko's art, personal life and wrestling
career: "Artist Wrestled with Abstract" by
Robert Amos in Times-Colonist (Victoria),
March 9, 2006. Amos does not exaggerate
when he states, "The life of George
Gordienko is material for a novelist."
A longer and more in-depth profile is Brian
Grison's "George Gordienko: An Introduction
to the Man and his Art."
"Flamingos" is an earlier work of George
Gordienko's, probably from the
mid-1970s according to his nephew Ted
Gordienko, who is currently working on a
documentary about his uncle's
fascinating life. Note the contrast in
styles between this piece and his others
displayed on this page.
Courtesy Barbara Turpin Collection
Wrestler & Artist
George Gordienko
Gordienko, a close personal friend of
Cauliflower Alley Club past-president Red
Bastien, painted "Haloed Illusions Bounce
Forward Shattering the Life of Worlds" in
2000, then donated it to Cauliflower Alley
Club to assist with fundraising for the
club's benevolent fund.
Duff Johnson Collection
Gordienko Articles
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