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Wolf Ruvinskis

Wolf Ruvinskis (October 31, 1921 – November 9, 1999), born Wolf Ruvinskis Manevics, was a Latvian-Mexican actor and professional wrestler. He was married to dancer Armida Herrera. 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, El Médico Asesino 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.

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. 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. 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"). His promising wrestling career was cut short around 1950 when accumulated injuries forced him to stop wrestling.

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. His acting career ended in 1996 (at age 74) with the movie La mujer de los dos ("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. 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. Wolf Ruviniskis died on November 9, 1999, in Mexico City. He was 78.

Acting Awards

Ariel Award by the Mexican Academy of Film

Best supporting actor for Juego limpio (1996)

Filmography

As a producer

La última lucha (1959)

As an actor

La mujer de los dos (1996)
Juego limpio (1996)
Un Ángel para los Diablillos (1993)
Días de combate (1987)
Rosa de dos aromas (1989)
La Mafia tiembla (1987)
The Kidnapping of Lola (1986)
La fuga de Carrasco (1983)
Nocaut (1983) – as don Saúl
El Patrullero 777 (1977)
El Mexicano (1976) – as lieutenant José Alvarado
El Hombre del puente (1975) – as the military dictator
Acapulco 12-22 (1971) – as Claude, yacht captain
El crepúsculo de un dios (1968) – as Charles González
Esclava del deseo (1967) – as Bronco
Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata vs. los villanos del ring / Santo vs the Villains of the Ring (1966) – as Rodolfo Labra
Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata vs. la invasión de los marcianos / Santo vs the Martian Invasion (1966) – as Argos
Cargamento prohibido (1965) – as Carlos Aguilar
El señor doctor (1965) – as Beto's father
Jinetes de la llanura (1964) – as Andrés Menchaca
Neutrón Movie series as Neutrón

Neutrón contra los asesinos del karate / Neutron vs the Karate Killers (1965)
Neutrón contra el criminal sádico / Neutron vs the Maniac (1964)
Neutrón contra el doctor Caronte / Neutron vs the Amazing Dr. Caronte (1960)
Los autómatas de la muerte / Neutron vs the Death Robots (1960)
Neutrón el Enmascarado Negro / Neutron, the Man in the Black Mask (1960)

El Rapto de las Sabinas (1960) – as Rómulo
Las canciones unidas (1960) – as soviet delegate
Vivo o muerto (1959) – as Crisanto Medina
La estrella vacía (1958) – as Tomás Téllez
La última lucha / The Last Fight (1958) – as Lobo
Los Tigres del Ring series / Tigers of the Ring (1957) – as Mario or Rafael

El torneo de la muerte
Furias desatadas
Secuestro diabólico
Los tigres del ring

El superflaco (1957) – as Rudy
Paso a la juventud (1957) – as Rodolfo
A media luz los tres (1957) – as Sebastián Reyes
Asesinos, S.A. (1957)
Ladrón de cadáveres / The Body Snatcher (1956) – as Guillermo Santana (one of the earliest Mexican / Wrestling horror films)
Los tres mosqueteros... y medio (1956) – as Aramís
Puss Without Boots (1957) – as Humberto Carrasco
El medallón del crimen (El 13 de oro) (1955) – as Ramón Torres
El túnel seis (1955) – as Ricardo Álvarez
Los Gavilanes (1954) – as Rómulo
Barefoot Sultan (1954) – as Hilario Trujeque
La vida no vale nada (1954) – as El Caimán
La gitana blanca (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 Magnificent Beast (1953)
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
Cuando levanta la niebla (1952) – as sick man
Las tres alegres comadres (1952) – as Tranquilino
Las locuras de Tin-Tan (1952)
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)
Los tres alegres compadres (1951) – as Diana's lover
Las locuras de Tin Tan (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
El hombre sin rostro (1950) – as monstruo
Amor salvaje (1949) – as marinero
La oveja negra (1949) – as the boxer El Campeón Asesino
Hipócrita (film) (1949) – as El Rayas
No me defiendas, compadre (1949) – as the wrestler El Enmascarado