Source: Rocky Mountain News
The name of Dewey Robertson’s pro wrestling character wasn’t much of a stretch.
As the Missing Link, Robertson became one of the more memorable performers of the 1980s. But Robertson’s personal life was as out of control as the maniac he portrayed.
Robertson’s tale of substance abuse and ultimate recovery from the problems that derailed his grappling career are now chronicled in Bang Your Head!, a 202-page autobiography co-written with author Meredith Renwick ($19.95; ECW Press).
“You can’t even imagine what I’ve been through,” the 67-year-old Robertson said.
Robertson began wrestling under his real name in the 1960s in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. Robertson owned a local gym and enjoyed a solid career in different territories for almost two decades before adopting the Link character while working for Mid-South Wrestling.
Sporting a painted face and partially shaven head, Robertson would grab a tuft of hair while smashing his own cranium into a chair to intimidate his opponent. Robertson’s in-ring style was just as ugly as his appearance, but the Neanderthal-like character struck a chord with fans and led to a World Wrestling Entertainment contract in 1985.
While his in-ring star was rising, Robertson’s excesses were ruining his marriage and personal life. Robertson said he was quickly fired from WWE after getting upset about having to lose matches – a complaint he said he wouldn’t have made were his perspective not skewed by substance abuse.
“Even in the dressing room, I carried the Link gimmick with me 24 hours a day,” said Robertson, who wouldn’t speak to fans outside the arena and even learned how to sign an autograph backward in the spirit of his simple-minded character.
“I was on marijuana, alcohol and steroids. I was lost. I didn’t have to speak. I didn’t even have to really wrestle.”
Robertson gradually faded from public view into a depression that cost him his marriage and worldly possessions. Robertson, whose abuse issues started in his late 30s, attempted suicide and found himself homeless on numerous occasions.
Robertson, though, finally began getting his life in order in recent years.
No longer an active performer, Robertson is now trying to help others through public speaking engagements and his web site www.deweythemissinglink.ca.
“This book is designed to help others,” said Robertson, who hopes to write a second book about his recovery. “Depression, suicide, anger and irresponsibility are all defects of character that come about from the effects of drugs.
“My new (slogan) is don’t give up on tomorrow. For Dewey Robertson, it keeps him going.”
