The Tragic True Story Behind Zac Efron Wrestling Movie “The Iron Claw”: All About the Von Erich Family

Zac Efron plays Kevin Von Erich, one brother in a family who took professional wrestling by storm in the 1980s until a series of tragedies

The Iron Claw is bringing more than just bulging muscles in skimpy wrestling outfits to the big screen Dec. 22 — it’s telling a real-life story.

Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson, the new A24 film from writer-director Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) charts the "rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a huge impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day," per its official tagline.

Known for their outlandish personalities in the ring — as well as the forehead-squeezing iron claw and other trademark maneuvers — the clan became equally renowned for a series of accidents and deaths that came to be called the “Von Erich curse.” When patriarch Fritz Von Erich died in 1997, five of his six sons had predeceased him, each from different circumstances.

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Today, the 66-year-old Kevin Von Erich, played by Efron in the film, is the only living brother. In 2009 he represented his entire family as they were collectively inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame.

Speaking to PEOPLE at the film's world premiere in Dallas, Texas in November, Kevin joked that Efron “had a tough job. It's not easy to be me.” An actor portraying a wrestler with decades of experience means “a whole lot to cram into a movie,” he added, “but he was able to do it... he's a real star.”

Also starring Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany and Lily James, The Iron Claw has received rave reviews, with the National Board of Review naming it one of the top 10 films of 2023 and awarding the cast their Best Ensemble prize. Read on for the stranger-than-fiction story that inspired it.

Who was Fritz Von Erich?

Jack Barton Adkisson Sr., born in Texas in 1929, created the ring name Fritz Von Erich in the 1950s as he transitioned from discus throwing and football to playing villainous characters in professional wrestling. Fritz worked his way up to a record-setting 20 wins at the Texas-based NWA American Heavyweight Championship and many other victories in the United States and Japan.

By the 1980s, he had also established himself as a promoter and entrepreneur. Fritz owned the World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) which broadcast live matches from the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas.

In The Iron Claw, Fritz is portrayed by McCallany. Playing his wife Doris J. Smith is Tierney.

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Who were the Von Erich brothers and how did they become popular wrestlers?

Fritz and Doris married in 1950 and had a total of six children, all sons: Jack Barton Jr., Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris.

Most followed in their father’s footsteps and began honing their stage personas at the Sportatorium. As regional wrestling matches grew in popularity thanks to syndicated TV, Kevin, David and Kerry established a dynasty, wrestling against each other or against rivals including Ric Flair, Chris Adams and The Fabulous Freebirds.

In the film adaptation, Dickinson plays second-eldest David, while White plays third-eldest Kerry. Simons plays fourth-eldest Mike, who allegedly had less interest in the family’s wrestling legacy than his brothers. Nevertheless, he stepped into the ring briefly in the mid-1980s — as tragedy began to strike the Von Erichs.

What is the “Von Erich curse” and how did each of the brothers die?

Unfortunately, the Von Erichs became just as well-known for a series of events that occurred outside the spotlight as for their victories within.

Although Kevin grew up the eldest Von Erich brother, it was Jack Barton Jr. who was born first, in 1952. He died in 1959 after a freak accident, electrocuted by a live wire and drowning in a puddle of melting snow.

So the family was no stranger to loss when David was found dead in 1984, at 25 years old, of ruptured intestines resulting from acute enteritis while on a tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling.

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In 1985, Mike, who had begun wrestling to fill the void left behind by David, injured his shoulder during a match in Israel. The resulting surgery led to toxic shock syndrome and allegedly brain damage. He returned to the ring before dying at age 23 from a fatal dose of tranquilizers in 1987.

Youngest son Chris, who was asthmatic and smaller than all his brothers, then died by suicide in 1991 at age 21, reportedly depressed over a lack of success and injuries suffered in the ring.

Kerry, who claimed the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship not long after David’s death and became the family member’s most accomplished wrestler, suffered from a motorcycle accident in 1986 that resulted in the loss of his right foot. The amputation was kept a secret and Kerry continued wrestling while wearing a prosthesis. In 1993 he died at age 33, also by suicide.

“Not only have I lost a brother, I lost all of them,” Kevin said in The Last of the Von Erichs, an episode of docuseries Dark Side of the Ring. “There was talk about there being a curse on the family. It’s ridiculous. A curse. What happened was just a terrible terrible thing, but no curse.”

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What is Kevin Von Erich up to now?

Kevin, who in addition to being a popular character in the ring inherited the WCCW from his father, married Pamela J. May in 1980. They now live in Hawaii, and together have four children — including championship wrestlers Marshall and Ross Von Erich — and 11 grandchildren.

On Nov. 8 in Dallas, the WWE Hall of Fame inductee joined Durkin and the cast of The Iron Claw to celebrate the film's premiere.

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Is The Iron Claw a faithful biopic?

The Iron Claw presents the important moments in the Von Erichs’ story from the 1960s through the 1980s, save for one big omission: Chris does not appear in the story. Per Entertainment Weekly, writer-director Durkin cut the youngest brother from the script to keep his film's runtime to a manageable length.

To recreate real-life wrestling matches, Durkin filmed many in one take in front of a live audience, according to EW. Efron, White, Dickinson, Simons and McCallany studied archival footage of the Von Erichs and trained with pro wrestler and stunt coordinator Chavo Guerrero Jr. in order to play the athletes faithfully.

At the Dallas film premiere in November, Kevin revealed to PEOPLE there were “painful spots” in seeing his life story on the big screen. “But there are beautiful ones too. I think they were good to show the love we had amongst each other and the love I had for my father. It's going to come off like he was a really hard man, but he was a hard man. But back then, a lot of fathers were.”

A24 will release The Iron Claw in theaters Dec. 22.

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