Joe Robinson(1927-2017)
- Actor
Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1927 (not 1929 as some references give)
Joe Robinson came from a famous family of wrestlers. Both his father
Joseph Robinson Senior and grandfather John were world champions.
Following in their footsteps Joe Junior won the wrestling European
Heavyweight Championship in 1952, beating Axel Cadier in London. At
that time he was billed as Tiger Joe Robinson. He was also interested
in acting and studied at R.A.D.A. After injuring his back wrestling in
Paris, Joe decided to concentrate on acting, and after a few bit parts
in films his first leading role came in the keep-fit documentary Fit as
a fiddle (1952). He also played Harry "Muscles" Green in the musical
Wish You Were Here (1952) on the West End stage. His most memorable
film role was in A Kid For Two Farthings (1955) in which he wrestled
Primo Carnera. Like most muscular actors he was invited to Rome in 1960
where he appeared in five Italian epics. At the same time, Joe and his
younger brother Doug Robinson became popular stunt arrangers,
particularly on the James Bond films. Joe and Doug, together with Honor
Blackman co-authored the book "Honor Blackman's Book of Self-Defence"
published by Andre Deutsch in 1965. Joe was also a judo champion and
black belt at karate, and opened a martial arts centre in Brighton
where he is now retired.
