#Middlebury
Q: What can you tell us about Tyrus on “The Greg Gutfeld Show” on Fox? Did he play pro football? Was he a pro wrestler? He’s funny and very articulate. – M.G.
A: The towering 6-foot-8 Tyrus was born George Murdoch. He was a big star with wrestling’s WWE when he went by the names Brodus Clay and The Funkasaurus. After departing the WWE, he joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Tyrus, the moniker he went by as a contributor on Fox News’ “The Greg Gutfeld Show.”
George “Tyrus” Murdoch (Fox News photo)
Murdoch didn’t play professional football, but he did play as an offensive lineman for the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he majored in education. His dreams of going to the NFL ended when his appendix ruptured and some nerve endings were reportedly severed during the surgery, resulting in a limp in his gait. His first brush with fame, though, was as Snoop Dogg’s bodyguard.
If you’re wondering what happened to “The Greg Gutfeld Show” on Saturday nights, it’s now airing weeknights and is simply called “Gutfeld!” Tyrus, along with Katherine “Kat” Timpf and Tom Shillue, are among the on-camera personalities on Fox News’ version of the late-night talk show.
Q: Could you tell me what happened to some of the people who worked for “Iron Resurrection”? Several are no longer on the show. – Brenda
A: “Iron Resurrection” is a reality show available on the MotorTrend network and app about the Martin Bros Customs shop near Austin, Texas. According to Distractify.com, they specialize in “bringing previously irredeemable automobiles back to life,” but they don’t just concentrate on the exterior.
The most recent fourth season focused on owners Joe and Jason Martin and Joe’s wife, Amanda. Phil Cato left the shop because he moved to the Atlanta area for his wife’s job and to open Cato’s Custom Upholstery (philcato.com). As for Javier “Shorty” Ponce, a Facebook message stated that he left to focus on his own shop in Dallas, DBA Shorty’s Custom Paint (shortyscustompaint.com), and to be close to his family now that he is a grandfather.
Q: I was saddened to hear of the death of James Drury of “The Virginian” last year. Where is he buried, and where is the actual ranch that was used in the series? – K.S.
A: “The Virginian” was the third-longest-running TV Western series behind “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza.” It was a 90-minute show that ran for almost a decade, which was an exhausting filming schedule as it was like making a movie every week, but Drury once said he “would have gone on for another 10 years.” Shiloh Ranch was on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood on stage 34.
As for Drury, he passed away at age 85 of natural causes in Houston, and his grave is at the Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene, Texas.
Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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