James Henry Bowles was the father of Canadian professional wrestler Rocky Johnson. Rocky was not only a successful wrestler but also the father of American actor and professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson. James was born in 1888 in Nova Scotia, Canada, to John J. Bowles and Lillian Jones.
Personal Life
Regarding his personal life, James Henry Bowles married his first wife, Bessie Dorcas Conliff, in 1913. It is unclear how long the two were together. However, he later married Lillian Bowless, who was 30 years her junior. Together, they had five sons, and Rocky was the fourth among them.
Even though his time with his children was short-lived, he loved them. He died in December 1957, aged 69. The cause of his death is known, but he probably struggled with a chronic disease in his later years.
His Son Rocky
James’s son ventured into wrestling at the age of 16; this was about three years after his father’s death. His family was not doing well financially, and he had to do something to ensure that his family had finances to cater to their basic needs. Besides wrestling, Rocky worked as a truck driver.
Before fully focusing on wrestling, Rocky admired boxing, and he was influenced by the likes of George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. He even trained with several boxers before finally changing his professional trajectory to wrestling. In 1964, Rocky made his debut in Southern Ontario. He chose to use the name Rocky Johnson as a tribute to Jack Johnson and Rocky Marciano, two boxing greats he greatly admired.
He later moved to Los Angeles, where he wrestled the likes of John Tolos, The Destroyer, and Freddie Blassie. He won several games and was in various tag teams. In the early 1980s, he joined the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). In WWF, Rocky feuded with several wrestling greats like Buddy Rose, Greg Valentine, Don Muraco, and Mike Sharpe. However, he was paired with Tony Atlas, and they went on to win their first Tag Team Championship.
James’s son had a great wrestling career, especially with WWF, but he finally retired in 1991. After his retirement, he began training his son, Dwayne Johnson. He had shown interest in wrestling, and so he helped him become the best he could be. He helped his son get to the WWE; he even appeared on several occasions when his son was wrestling. Dwayne Johnson later turned out to be a great wrestler, challenging for championships with the likes of Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and the Undertaker.
James’s Son Struggled with Legal Issues
Rocky Johnson had several run-ins with the law. His first law encounter came in 1987 when he was arrested for allegedly raping a 19-year-old woman. Rocky denied these charges, but they barred him from wrestling. This led him to alcoholism, and he had a strained relationship with his son for a long time. In the year 2000, Rocky had another run-in with the law; this time, he was accused of several cases of misconduct, including handling a female coworker inappropriately.
