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Tragedy is at the forefront of the Von Erich family’s history, so much so that when creating a movie about the wrestling dynasty some parts — and people — had to be omitted.
“The Iron Claw” tells the story of professional wrestler Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany) and his four sons Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simons) as they attempt to become heavyweight champions and household names in the wrestling world. Along the way, the family faces hardships and multiple deaths that are blamed on the “Von Erich curse.”
A younger brother, Chris Von Erich, was left entirely out of the film. Director and writer Sean Durkin explains to TODAY.com why that choice was made, and the reaction the real-life Kevin Von Erich, the last surviving family member, had when finding out that one of his brothers was not in the film.
Why Chris Von Erich isn't in 'The Iron Claw'
“The Iron Claw,” Durkin says, had been in development since 2015. Over the years, there were several versions of the story and cuts were made in order to preserve the quality and length of the film.
“One of the hardest decisions possible was cutting Chris,” the director explains. “And the reason why (is), Chris was in the script for a lot of years and I loved him and loved his character. But ultimately as a writer and filmmaker, I had to separate the real humans from the characters on the page at some point.”
Durkin says there was a “repetition in the brothers’ deaths” that made the film seem unrealistic. “I just didn’t believe (the movie) could sort of withstand one more tragedy.”
There were originally six Von Erich brothers. Fritz Von Erich and wife Doris’ oldest son, Jack Barton Jr., died at the age of 7 after he was accidentally electrocuted by a live wire.
Between 1984 and 1993, four brothers died. David Von Erich died suddenly from enteritis in 1984, while Kerry, Mike and Chris Von Erich died by suicide.
All the deaths are either mentioned or depicted in “The Iron Claw,” except Chris Von Erich's.
Durkin says that in removing Chris Von Erich's story, Mike Von Erich became a combination of the two brothers.
According to a 1997 story by the Dallas Observer, Chris Von Erich had a smaller frame than his brothers and was weaker from his asthma and medication that stunted his growth and made his bones fragile.
"He had pressure from himself and maybe from the fans, too. Sometimes fans can be cruel. They don’t know what they’re doing, but they can say things like, ‘Hey, are you gonna be a wrestler when you grow up?’ and things like that. They would just crush Chris, because he never got tall and healthy," Kevin Von Erich told the publication.
Chris Von Erich died by suicide in 1991 at the age of 21.
What did Kevin Von Erich think about Chris Von Erich being removed from the film?
Durkin says he was “very nervous” about showing Kevin Von Erich the film. They had developed a long-standing open dialogue about the project, but Durkin hadn't shown the former wrestler the script or the final version of the movie.
He says that the day before he was going to finally screen "The Iron Claw" for Kevin Von Erich and his family, he did a Zoom with them.
“I was going to, sort of, prepare them on some of the big headline things and one of them, the major one, being Chris,” he recalls, adding that he built up the moment of telling the family in his head.
“I was so nervous and Kevin was like, ‘Well, I totally understand.’ He’s like, ‘You don’t want the film to be about grief, and you don’t want to be stuck in that grief too long. And so I understand.’ And that was it,” he says. “And he was really loving and supportive of it.”
What did Kevin Von Erich think about 'The Iron Claw'?
Despite the tragedies depicted in the film, “The Iron Claw” focuses on the love and familial support the brothers had. While their father was domineering and pushed them into the ring (and past their limits), there are lighthearted moments that Kevin Von Erich enjoyed.
“I think he was really happy that some focuses on the good times and the brotherly love, and as well as Kevin’s survival and sort of resurrection, if you will,” Durkin says of Kevin Von Erich’s reaction to the film. “I think he felt really good about that, as opposed to if it just entirely focused on the tragedy, which obviously it doesn’t shy away from, but it’s certainly not the core of what the movie is.”
He adds that he believes Kevin Von Erich was “really relieved about that.”
The 66-year-old Kevin Von Erich shared his own feelings on the movie in an interview with "Extra" at the “Iron Claw” premiere in Dallas in November.
“There’s some touching scenes and I’m glad that they got the love between Kevin and Fritz because that was definitely there,” he said. “And people could watch the movie and think that Fritz was a tyrant when he really wasn’t.”
He said that his father was strict and hard on them, but they were boys in Texas. “He instilled strength in us, but discipline,” he continued. “And I can only be grateful to my dad for the great job he did being a father. But there were times when we got cross.”