Kalla Pasha

Kalla Pasha
File:Kalla Pasha - May 1922 FF.jpg Photo of Pasha in Film Fun (May 1922)
Born	Joseph T. Rickard (1879-03-05)March 5, 1879 Detroit, Michigan, USA
Died	Talmage, California, USA
Occupation	Wrestler, Vaudevillian and Screen Actor
Years active	1919–1931

Kalla Pasha (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. He was the professional wrestler Hamid Kalla Pasha, whom the press called "The Crazy Turk" 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. 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.

File:Kalla Pasha 1.jpg

"Married Life" (ca. 1920)
Kalla Pasha caricature far right

Selected filmography

• The Wicked Darling (1919)
• Down on the Farm (1920)
• A Small Town Idol (1921)
• The Dictator (1922)
• Thirty Days (1922)
• The Cat's Meow (1924)
• His Supreme Moment (1925)
• Silken Shackles (1926)
• When a Man Loves (1927)
• The Dove (1927)
• Tillie's Punctured Romance (1928)
• West of Zanzibar (1928)
• Seven Footprints to Satan (1929)
• The Show of Shows (1929)

External links

• Kalla Pasha at the Internet Movie Database
• Kalla Pasha at AllMovie