While the world of professional wrestling has plenty of “royal families,” no family may have endured more triumphs or tragedies than the Von Erich family in Texas. It was the latter, though, that the director of The Iron Claw haunted him growing up as a wrestling fan and especially as a fan of the family that ran World Class Championship Wrestling.
Director Sean Durkin was speaking about his experiences bringing The Iron Claw to the screen with the Toronto Star when he touched on how the Von Erichs' story affected him growing up. He specifically highlighted the death of Kerry Von Erich in 1993, when Durkin was 12, as the one that had stuck with him into adulthood and led him to make The Iron Claw.
“Kerry's death definitely hit me as a kid,” Durkin said. “My dad's brother had died previously a few months before. My dad had six brothers, too. And so there was some connection I made there. I just felt connected to them and that loss haunted me. It just stayed with me.”
Durkin goes on to explain the care he took in bringing the Von Erichs' story to life on the big screen, which included getting the approval of the sole-surviving brother Kevin Von Erich.
“I took great care with that and the movie is essentially about this brotherly connection and this love and it celebrates that,” Durkin said. “And so, once he knew that, he put any sort of guard or hesitation down. That was within the first five minutes of us talking.”
The Iron Claw tells the story of the Von Erichs, the family behind World Class Championship Wrestling in Dallas, Texas, during the 1980s under the ownership of Fritz Von Erich. His sons Kevin, David, and Kerry would become massive stars for the territory, drawing some of the biggest names in wrestling to the promotion during that time. However, the family would endure multiple tragedies during this time that would, ultimately, leave Kevin as the only surviving Von Erich brother.
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