PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

BARRY BLAUSTEIN, DIRECTOR OF 'BEYOND THE MAT' PASSES AWAY

Barry Blaustein, the comedy writer who helped make Eddie Murphy a star before parlaying his screenwriting into directing pro wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat, passed away at the age of 72, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Beyond the Mat, which followed Blaustein as he explored his love of professional wrestling, featured Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Jake Roberts, Darren Drosdov, ECW, WWF and California's All Pro Wrestling.  The film was very well received in most circles except WWF (now WWE), which pushed back against it after Vince McMahon didn't like the film.   The film's most shared scenes are likely Mick Foley's family reacting to him taking multiple chairshots to the head against The Rock and Paul Heyman's speech to his locker room before ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal.  

Originally slated for a small arthouse run, Beyond the Mat received a much larger release on 298 screens nationally due to a fan campaign supporting the film led by Tony Lewis' Strictly ECW organization.  It grossed $2,053,648 at the box office and later received multiple VHS and DVD releases.  The film was a finalist for the 2000 Academy Awards but did not make the final nomination list.   It's absolutely worth watching if you've never seen the film, which still gets occasional theatrical screenings.

Blaustein was very close with the late Terry Funk, who also had a small role in Blaustein's comedy The Ringer, which starred future Wrestlemania celebrity Johnny Knoxville.

Blaustein was extremely important to the stardom of Eddie Murphy, writing legendary SNL sketches including Mr. Robinson and Gumby before writing Coming to America and Nutty Professor, among other projects.  When Coming to America filmed on Queens Boulevard in NYC, the Wendys that was turned into a McDowells was across the street from the Elks Lodge that later became known as ECW's Madhouse of Extreme and was utilized by the film for lunch breaks and other assorted logistical means.  

Blaustein had been battling Parkinson's disease in recent years and was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer just last month. 

Expect SNL to pay tribute to Blaustein on their next live episode.

PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet