Kalla Pasha

American actor

Kalla Pasha
Pasha in Film Fun (1922)
Born	Joseph T. Rickard (1879-03-05)March 5, 1879 Detroit, Michigan, US
Died	June 10, 1933(1933-06-10) (aged 54) Talmage, California, US
Occupation(s)	Wrestler, vaudevillian, screen actor
Years active	1919–1931

Kalla Pasha (born as Joseph T. Rickard; March 5, 1879 – June 10, 1933) was an American professional wrestler, vaudeville comedian, and film actor active during the silent era.

Biography

Kalla Pasha was the stage name of Joseph T. Rickard, a native of Detroit.^[1] He was the professional wrestler Hamid Kalla Pasha, whom the press called "The Crazy Turk"^[2] before performing on vaudeville and appearing in 74 films between 1919 and 1931. Rickard's success with Mack Sennett enabled him to be a free-spender, claiming later he would often go about town with a 150 thousand dollars strapped around his waist.^[3]

The money did not last though, and not long afterward he was arrested for striking a man over the head with a milk bottle during a dust-up involving five cents. As a result, Rickard was sent to Mendocino State Hospital for psychiatric care, where he would die a little over a year later from heart disease.^[4]^[3]^[5]^[6]

Selected filmography

The Wicked Darling (1919)
Love, Honor and Behave (1920)
Down on the Farm (1920)
Married Life (1920)
A Small Town Idol (1921)
The Dictator (1922)
Ruggles of Red Gap (1923)
Thirty Days (1922)
Breaking Into Society (1923)
A Million to Burn (1923)
The Cat's Meow (1924)
His Supreme Moment (1925)
Heads Up (1925)
Silken Shackles (1926)
Don Juan's Three Nights (1926)
When a Man Loves (1927)
The Devil Dancer (1927)
The Dove (1927)
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1928)
West of Zanzibar (1928)
Seven Footprints to Satan (1929)
The Show of Shows (1929)
I Surrender Dear (1931)
One More Chance (1931)

References

^ US Passport Application (Joseph T. Rickard ) January 14, 1915
^ The Daily Review, (Decatur, Illinois) December 18, 1909 | Page 3
^ ^a ^b Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah ) April 3, 1932 | Page 6
^ Redwood Journal (Ukiah, California) May 27, 1932 | Page 1
^ Washington Post, June 11, 1933
^ Balducci, Anthony (January 10, 2014). The Funny Parts: A History of Film Comedy Routines and Gags. McFarland. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-7864-8893-3.