Curly Moe, professional wrestler, Died at 53

  Sports

Donald Chester “Don” Zalesky was born on April 3, 1962, and died on July 1, 2015.

Better known by his ring name Curly Moe, was a retired Canadian-American professional wrestler best known for his time in International World Class Championship Wrestling.

Donald was a popular “babyface” in the promotion during the early 1990s, whose gimmick was based on the character Curly Howard from the comedy team The Three Stooges.

Bill Apter’s 1Wrestling.com has called Curly Moe one of the most “silliest characters” in pro wrestling history.

Although weighing in at around 600 lbs. during his career, Zalesky retired due to health problems shortly after IWCCW folded.

Following his retirement, Donald began teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) to adults in Newark, New Jersey; however, his weight continued to increase over the years.

In 2005, his weight reached around 730 lbs. and Donald underwent a gastric bypass surgery, resulting in a significant weight loss of 340 lbs.

In December 2006, after false reports of his death had circulated the internet, Donald issued a public statement to editor Bill Apter regarding his life following his retirement and appeared on 1Wrestling.com.

The previous month, he had apparently left a message on the online forums of KayfabeMemories.com to dispel the internet rumors.

1Wrestling.com later included Zalesky’s “Curly Moe” gimmick as one of the “silliest characters in wrestling” for a special April Fools Day column in 2010.

Donald Zalesky passed away at age 53 in July 2015.