Von Erich wrestling family calls out ‘Iron Claw’ movie’s 'heart-wrenching' inaccuracies: docuseries
The last surviving brother of the famed Von Erich wrestling family set the record straight on the alleged curse that seemingly plagued the family.
Kevin Von Erich took viewers through a complete family history and the tragic deaths of each of his five brothers – Jack Jr. Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, David Von Erich, Mike Von Erich and Chris Von Erich – in Monday's episode of "Hollywood Demons" on Investigation Discovery (ID).
The five brothers were met with untimely deaths, and their lives were recently explored in the 2023 biopic, "The Iron Claw." Jack Jr. died at the age of 6 due to an electric shock. David died at 25 from acute enteritis. Later, Kerry, Mike and Chris would all die by suicide.
To correct the record, Kevin explained what really led to the family tragedies and pointed out the inaccuracies in "The Iron Claw."
Kevin and the Von Erich dynasty claimed Kerry's entire family – wife and daughters – were left out of "The Iron Claw." "Kerry in the movie was not a family man but in real life he was," Kevin explained in the docuseries.
Kerry shared two daughters, Hollie and Lacey Von Erich, with Catherine Murray. While the two divorced before Kerry's death, they were together for most of Hollie and Lacey's childhood.
"My sister and I were not in the movie as my dad’s children, and he didn’t have a wife. That was a really big part of my dad," Lacey said during the docuseries. "How he was portrayed in the movie was so inaccurate that it is heart-wrenching."
Kerry's family wasn't the only detail missing from his story. In 1986, the wrestler suffered a severe foot injury during a motorcycle accident. "The Iron Claw" portrayed Kerry's foot amputation as the direct result of the accident – but that's not correct.
"There’s a scene in the movie where Kerry gets in an accident and the next time you see him, he does not have a foot. That is not in fact what happened," Dr. Drew Pinsky explained. "He had a very severe crush injury on the foot, but he goes back into the wrestling ring and damages it further and ultimately decides to get half of his foot amputated."
Kerry later died by suicide in 1993 following a drug-related arrest. He was 33.
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Most noticeably, "The Iron Claw" didn't include the youngest Von Erich brother, Chris. "They left my little brother Chris out of the movie," Kevin said. "The director combined Mike and Chris’ lives."
Mike and Chris were the last two brothers to join the wrestling dynasty, although the youngest Von Erich didn't live up to his own expectations. Diagnosed with asthma at a young age, Chris relied on steroids for medication – which likely stunted his growth. While his brothers ranged from 6-foot-1 to even 6-foot-7, Chris only grew to be 5-foot-5.
"Chris had seen us grow up, and we had this attitude like never quit, and you'll succeed," Kevin recalled. The pro wrestler and his brother Kerry encouraged Chris to go down a different path, but he wanted to be a part of the family business. At 18, he chose to train for wrestling. Chris used drugs to enhance his body. "He would have done anything to be one of the brothers in the business," a former Von Erich bodyguard said. "And it didn't matter to him what it was going to take."
After months of fighting and building up his pro wrestling image, Chris broke his arm in the ring during a 1990 fight and suffered an asthma attack that left him hospitalized. In September 1991, Chris died by suicide at the age of 21.
Mike had died by suicide just four years earlier, in 1987, after his arrest for DUI and marijuana possession. The "The Iron Claw" director, Sean Durkin, told Variety there was a "repetition" to Mike and Chris' deaths that likely would have kept the film from being made, leading to the "impossible choice" not to include the youngest brother's tragedy.
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The family also disagreed with the portrayal of patriarch Fritz as a villain.
"I can understand why he was portrayed that way," Kevin's daughter Kristen Nikolas said. "I feel like people want to point at someone and blame someone like, ‘Why would three people in the same family [die by] suicide?'"
"If it would have worked out and everyone was still alive, then everybody would be like, ‘It is because of his dad. His dad really pushed him.’ But when it doesn’t work out, that is the first place to look for blame."
Kevin admitted he "probably, in a way," blamed his father for some of the family history, mostly Kerry's death.
"I'm so mad that he didn't take my call," he explained, referring to the phone call he made to Fritz after Kerry expressed suicidal thoughts. "But, he's lost his sons. And that outweighs anything else."
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At the end of the day, nobody in the family blames the brothers' untimely deaths on Fritz or the infamous Von Erich curse. "In the movie they keep trying to say it is a curse, a curse, a curse," Dave Manning, a wrestling promoter and family friend, said. "There was never a Von Erich curse. There were some bad choices and some unfortunate deaths."
While reflecting on the deaths of his five brothers, Kevin explained what was really to blame for the endless tragedy the Von Erich family faced.
"In truth, the real bad guy was us," Kevin noted. "Our weaknesses in our hearts and our personality. We were never quitting and never giving up. No matter what, it was a challenge to be overcome. That mindset maybe did get dangerous in the end, but that was how we were raised to think."
Kevin continued: "When you look at the story and the deaths, there was a time I didn’t want to wrestle, but I would have never thought to give up. No matter how uncomfortable it was, it was a family business. The love of the brothers is what is important. I know I will see my brothers again."