The Hollywood Blonds - Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown

Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown

The team of Buddy Roberts (billed as "Dale Roberts") and Jerry Brown were the first to adopt the name "The Hollywood Blonds" in wrestling when they began teaming together in 1970 in the “NWA Tri-State” territory (NWA Tri State promoted in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi). The two quickly became one of the top heel acts in the territory with their “Hollywood superstar” arrogance and cheating ways. On May 8, 1970, the Blonds won their first title when they won a tournament to crown new NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Tri State version). Their first run with the title was short as Luke Brown and Danny Hodge defeated them three weeks later, but the Blonds managed to regain the gold days after being defeated for them. For the rest of 1970, Roberts and Brown dominated the Tri State tag team scene until losing to Bill Watts and Billy Red Lyons in January 1971. In early 1973, the Blonds became three-time NWA United States Tag Team champions by defeating Dennis Stamp and Bull Bullinski for the straps. The Blonds held on to the titles until sometime April, when they lost the gold to Rip Tyler and Eddie Sullivan before leaving the promotion by mid-1973.

After leaving the Tri State area, Roberts and Brown next popped up in Florida working for Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida. After working their way up the ranks, the duo challenged for and won the top tag team title in the promotion, the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship, from the team of Dick Slater and Stan Vachon in March 1974. The Blonds ruled the tag team division over the summer of 1974 until dropping the gold to Dick Slater and Toru Tanaka in the fall (either September or October). After their run with the titles ended, the Blonds moved on to another territory, the most natural territory for the team – NWA Hollywood Wrestling in Los Angeles. The Gene and Mike LeBell territory saw Roberts and Brown win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship four times between December 1974 and August 1975, defeating such teams as Victor Rivera and Louie Tillet, Porkchop Cash and S.D. Jones, John Tolos and Louis Tillet, and the promotion's biggest tag-team attraction Black Gorman and Goliath. During their time in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Blonds were also involved in an angle that saw the Los Angeles version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship shift over to New Japan Pro Wrestling as their main tag-team title of that day. On August 1, 1975, reigning champions Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi fought the Hollywood Blonds to a no-contest, after which the titles were declared vacant. A rematch in Nagoya, Japan saw the Blonds win the North American Tag Team titles on September 22. On October 2, Inoki and Sakaguchi regained the titles and they became more or less exclusive to NJPW after that date.

When the Blonds' time in Los Angeles ended near the end of 1975, they returned “home” to the Tri State promotion and immediately targeted the United States Tag Team championship. On March 18, 1976, the duo defeated Greg Valentine and Gorgeous George, Jr. Due to disputes over pay and billing the Blonds’ time in Tri State was short lived, they quickly dropped the tag team title to Buck Robley and Bob Slaughter only eleven days after they won them. The Blonds next appeared in Championship Wrestling from Florida once more, winning the Florida Tag Team titles from Steve Keirn and Bob Backlund not long after arriving in the territory. Just like with Tri State, their stay in Florida was short, as they dropped the titles to Mike Graham and Ken Lucas only a few months later and left. After a short stay in Florida, the duo began working for Jim Crockett’s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. On January 17, 1977, Roberts and Brown defeated the team of Dino Bravo and Tim Woods for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship and held on to it for three months until Bravo and new partner Tiger Conway Jr. beat them for the gold. During the summer of 1977, the Hollywood Blonds moved from Mid-Atlantic to Memphis and the NWA Mid-America promotion (later Continental Wrestling Association). In Memphis, the Blonds shot up the tag-team ranks right off the bat defeating Bob Ellis and Jim Garvin for the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship on July 25. The Blonds lost the gold to Norvell Austin and Pat Barrett on August 15. After holding the gold two more times, the team lost the gold for good to Austin and Barrett on September 25, 1977.

Shortly after losing the Southern Tag Team titles, Brown and Roberts split up, with Roberts going on to form The Fabulous Freebirds with Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes while Brown kept working as a singles wrestler mainly in the south.