Schultz, on the Morton Downey Jr. Show, listed as a Bounty Hunter
"Dr. Death" David Schultz a.k.a. David von Shultz, was a Tennessee-born professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s and 1980s. While wrestling for Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, he became the first AGPW US Heavyweight Champion on June 26, 1980. However, Schultz's career has been said to have peaked in 1984 while being a "heel" or "bad guy" in the World Wrestling Federation. One of Schultz's biggest matches in a major wrestling promotion came on June 17, 1984, when he challenged Hulk Hogan for the World Wrestling Federation Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Schultz is perhaps best known by the general public for assaulting a 20/20 journalist during a report on the legitimacy of professional wrestling (SEE LINK TO VIDEO BELOW). After a career in professional wrestling, Schultz was said to have become a professional bounty hunter.
Waltz (right) playing Dr. Schultz
In the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film, "Django Unchained," there is a character who kills men for money, named Dr. King Schultz, played by actor Christoph Waltz. Dr. King Schultz was a bounty hunter, and could be perceived as a "good guy" for the time period the film takes place. The professional wrestler, "Dr. Death" Schulz was certainly not known as a "good guy." In fact, he could be categorized as a bully, ignoramus, and borderline racist, which is the exact opposite of the character that Quentin Tarantino created. However, the similarities in names, the fact that they both called themselves "Dr." and worked as bounty hunters, is somewhat interesting and perhaps more than coincidental.
Schultz, courtesy of highspots.com
I wonder if screenwriter Quentin Tarantino thought of "Dr. Death" Schultz, when creating the name for Dr. King Schultz. Either way, I thought it was worth ten minutes of my time to write this post and again share "Dr. Death's" famous 1984 interview from the television program, 20/20.
