R.I.P. Tiny Lister

*IMJ* · 12-11-2020, 01:32 PM

Tiny Lister passed away....

God that guy was the backbone of the first Friday flicks, and even as a cameo he fit right in with The Fifth Element vibe. I still remember seeing him in that Hulk Hogan movie as Zeus as well - we saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and then went and watched that one immediately after in the theater.

Thomas 'Tiny' Lister Jr., 'Friday' actor, dead at 62 after apparently experiencing Covid-19 symptoms

~~Leo656~~ · 12-11-2020, 01:49 PM

I met him once at a wrestling convention. Nice guy, wish I'd gotten a picture.

Shame. 62 was pretty young yet. He had a good run, though. He did lots of stuff.

*Papenbrook* · 12-11-2020, 02:18 PM

Heartbreaking ...

I hope he will be able to rest at peace.

*Andrew NDB* · 12-11-2020, 04:49 PM

Aw, no... I loved this guy.

~~Leo656~~ · 12-11-2020, 05:10 PM

As a kid I was pretty shocked when I saw him in other stuff and it turns out he was actually a decent actor. Until I was like 10 I only knew him as Zeus.

When people look back on it now, a lot of people crap on the angle of bringing him in to actually wrestle Hulk Hogan a few times, but if you actually look back on it and watch it... he actually did Just Fine for what his role in it was. Plenty of other celebrities have had matches that ended up being WAY worse. The audience at the time more or less bought him as a "monster heel". Like I don't think anyone ever believed Hogan would drop the Title to him, but they believed in him as a big, dangerous guy who "couldn't be hurt" and might actually be nuts. And that's a great testament both to his ability to play a role, and the ability of the guys around him like Hogan, Savage and Beefcake to play up his strengths and hide all of his weaknesses.

Like if you actually watch the SummerSlam '89 main event, it's a perfectly booked match. Tag Zeus in, he no-sells, chokes a guy, looks invincible, then tags Savage back in, Repeat. He wasn't trained to wrestle, so he adhered to the old Dusty Rhodes mantra: "Do NOT do sh*t you don't know how to do." That's how you avoid looking stupid and also avoid hurting someone by accident. which very well could have happened with a guy that big who wasn't trained. Whenever he was face-to-face with Hogan, the crowd was 100% invested in it, and when Hogan slammed him and got the pin in the match, the place EXPLODED. Sure, Zeus did right next to "nothing", but he didn't have to. So much of it was smoke and mirrors, but it got the job done and did the intended job. The reaction speaks for itself. A dozen other celebrities had much worse novelty matches, even trained professional athletes like Kevin Green.

Sure, credit to Hogan and Savage for laying out the match in as "low-risk" fashion as humanly possible, but Lister still had to hold up his end. And no, not a lot was asked of him, but he did a good job.

I always loved the match and the whole angle as a kid, but then once I got the internet all I heard was how "awful" it was. Watching it back again recently... no, it wasn't. It wasn't a "five-star classic" but it was exactly what it needed to be.

Sadly, his match with Abdullah the Butcher in Puerto Rico was pretty much the exact opposite of that situation and a complete mess, further highlighting how important Hogan and Savage were to the formula of "protecting" the Zeus character. But I don't really blame Tom, he shouldn't have been put in that situation.

*IMJ* · 12-11-2020, 06:50 PM

I liked reading your informed perspective on this.... and I remember a lot of this from when I was a kid!

~~Leo656~~ · 12-11-2020, 07:21 PM

There's a few interviews floating around where he talks about the whole experience and his brief run in the wrestling business. I think he comes off mostly as pretty gracious and grateful for the opportunity. Like it doesn't sound like he came in with a bad attitude and was pretty well-aware that he was out of his element and willing to just go along to get along. There was a lot of resentment from some of the guys backstage but apparently Lister did his best to just stay out of it and be humble. "I'm just here to do what I'm told and get my check, man, this isn't my house and I'm just visiting." He wasn't trying to rub anybody wrong, he was just brought in to do a job and he applied himself to it despite openly acknowledging that he didn't really know what he was doing.

Compared to guys like Rodman, who was getting paid a million dollars to smoke cigars on TV, show up constantly drunk, and do one tag match, and was being quoted in the mainstream press at the exact same time saying things like "I just wanna show up and get my money, I don't wanna do that wrestling sh*t." Even Hogan's said a thousand times since that he was thisclose to kicking Rodman's ass because he was such a disrespectful scumbag and was pissing everybody off, and Hogan was the guy's partner. Luger and Giant had to be talked down almost daily from snapping Rodman in half before they even made it to the PPV because he was openly flouting how much he was getting paid to give a half-assed effort. It was Hogan's idea to bring him in (twice) in the first place, because he knew it would draw money - and it did - but the guy was such a pain in the ass that after the second time Hogan went to WCW management and said "I am f*cking done with this guy."

And frankly, it could be argued that Rodman actually performed better in-ring than Zeus did. But he was by all accounts a huge piece of sh*t about the entire thing, whereas Lister knew why he was there and was just grateful for the opportunity. And even after he went on to become something of a "movie star" (or at least a semi-well known actor if not a "star") he always spoke very graciously of that time period rather than be ashamed or embarrassed about it. I think that's pretty cool.

I wish I could remember more of what we talked about when I met him, I think it was only like two minutes but I'm sure I told him how much I was into the Zeus angle. I do remember him being very, very friendly. I just don't remember the specifics.

*triplexxx* · 12-12-2020, 01:45 AM

Saw him in so many things over the years, loved his deadpan accent, really got a kick out of that. Now he's back being Robert Forster's right-hand man again upstairs. Another big name actor/athlete departed, as if enough hasn't already happened this year.

12-11-2020, 01:32 PM	#1
IMJ Emperor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest, U.S.A. Posts: 8,899	R.I.P. Tiny Lister Tiny Lister passed away.... God that guy was the backbone of the first Friday flicks, and even as a cameo he fit right in with The Fifth Element vibe. I still remember seeing him in that Hulk Hogan movie as Zeus as well - we saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and then went and watched that one immediately after in the theater. Thomas 'Tiny' Lister Jr., 'Friday' actor, dead at 62 after apparently experiencing Covid-19 symptoms __________________ Wave 1 Collectibles Online Market Watch Blog Collection Photography

12-11-2020, 04:49 PM	#4
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,580	Aw, no... I loved this guy. __________________ [ ODYSSEY \| ORIGIN \| THE IMAGE/VOL. 3 CONCLUSION \| THE SHELLSHOCKED PODCAST \| ON FACEBOOK ]

12-11-2020, 06:50 PM	#6
IMJ Emperor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest, U.S.A. Posts: 8,899	I liked reading your informed perspective on this.... and I remember a lot of this from when I was a kid! __________________ Wave 1 Collectibles Online Market Watch Blog Collection Photography

12-11-2020, 01:49 PM	#2
~~Leo656~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,703	I met him once at a wrestling convention. Nice guy, wish I'd gotten a picture. Shame. 62 was pretty young yet. He had a good run, though. He did lots of stuff.

12-11-2020, 02:18 PM	#3
Papenbrook I'm leaving. Goodbye. :) Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: No comment -_- ... Posts: 2,754	Heartbreaking ... I hope he will be able to rest at peace.

12-11-2020, 05:10 PM	#5
~~Leo656~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,703	As a kid I was pretty shocked when I saw him in other stuff and it turns out he was actually a decent actor. Until I was like 10 I only knew him as Zeus. When people look back on it now, a lot of people crap on the angle of bringing him in to actually wrestle Hulk Hogan a few times, but if you actually look back on it and watch it... he actually did Just Fine for what his role in it was. Plenty of other celebrities have had matches that ended up being WAY worse. The audience at the time more or less bought him as a "monster heel". Like I don't think anyone ever believed Hogan would drop the Title to him, but they believed in him as a big, dangerous guy who "couldn't be hurt" and might actually be nuts. And that's a great testament both to his ability to play a role, and the ability of the guys around him like Hogan, Savage and Beefcake to play up his strengths and hide all of his weaknesses. Like if you actually watch the SummerSlam '89 main event, it's a perfectly booked match. Tag Zeus in, he no-sells, chokes a guy, looks invincible, then tags Savage back in, Repeat. He wasn't trained to wrestle, so he adhered to the old Dusty Rhodes mantra: "Do NOT do sh*t you don't know how to do." That's how you avoid looking stupid and also avoid hurting someone by accident. which very well could have happened with a guy that big who wasn't trained. Whenever he was face-to-face with Hogan, the crowd was 100% invested in it, and when Hogan slammed him and got the pin in the match, the place EXPLODED. Sure, Zeus did right next to "nothing", but he didn't have to. So much of it was smoke and mirrors, but it got the job done and did the intended job. The reaction speaks for itself. A dozen other celebrities had much worse novelty matches, even trained professional athletes like Kevin Green. Sure, credit to Hogan and Savage for laying out the match in as "low-risk" fashion as humanly possible, but Lister still had to hold up his end. And no, not a lot was asked of him, but he did a good job. I always loved the match and the whole angle as a kid, but then once I got the internet all I heard was how "awful" it was. Watching it back again recently... no, it wasn't. It wasn't a "five-star classic" but it was exactly what it needed to be. Sadly, his match with Abdullah the Butcher in Puerto Rico was pretty much the exact opposite of that situation and a complete mess, further highlighting how important Hogan and Savage were to the formula of "protecting" the Zeus character. But I don't really blame Tom, he shouldn't have been put in that situation.

12-11-2020, 07:21 PM	#7
~~Leo656~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,703	There's a few interviews floating around where he talks about the whole experience and his brief run in the wrestling business. I think he comes off mostly as pretty gracious and grateful for the opportunity. Like it doesn't sound like he came in with a bad attitude and was pretty well-aware that he was out of his element and willing to just go along to get along. There was a lot of resentment from some of the guys backstage but apparently Lister did his best to just stay out of it and be humble. "I'm just here to do what I'm told and get my check, man, this isn't my house and I'm just visiting." He wasn't trying to rub anybody wrong, he was just brought in to do a job and he applied himself to it despite openly acknowledging that he didn't really know what he was doing. Compared to guys like Rodman, who was getting paid a million dollars to smoke cigars on TV, show up constantly drunk, and do one tag match, and was being quoted in the mainstream press at the exact same time saying things like "I just wanna show up and get my money, I don't wanna do that wrestling sht." Even Hogan's said a thousand times since that he was thisclose* to kicking Rodman's ass because he was such a disrespectful scumbag and was pissing everybody off, and Hogan was the guy's partner. Luger and Giant had to be talked down almost daily from snapping Rodman in half before they even made it to the PPV because he was openly flouting how much he was getting paid to give a half-assed effort. It was Hogan's idea to bring him in (twice) in the first place, because he knew it would draw money - and it did - but the guy was such a pain in the ass that after the second time Hogan went to WCW management and said "I am fcking done with this guy." And frankly, it could be argued that Rodman actually performed better in-ring than Zeus did. But he was by all accounts a huge piece of sht about the entire thing, whereas Lister knew why he was there and was just grateful for the opportunity. And even after he went on to become something of a "movie star" (or at least a semi-well known actor if not a "star") he always spoke very graciously of that time period rather than be ashamed or embarrassed about it. I think that's pretty cool. I wish I could remember more of what we talked about when I met him, I think it was only like two minutes but I'm sure I told him how much I was into the Zeus angle. I do remember him being very, very friendly. I just don't remember the specifics.

12-12-2020, 01:45 AM	#8
triplexxx Mad Scientist Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,819	Saw him in so many things over the years, loved his deadpan accent, really got a kick out of that. Now he's back being Robert Forster's right-hand man again upstairs. Another big name actor/athlete departed, as if enough hasn't already happened this year.