Read an excerpt from the memoir of famed Canadian wrestler Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
In this chapter, Rocky Johnson writes about his successful and generous son
The Nova Scotia-born wrestler and father of Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, has died at the age of 75, CBC News reports.
Retired professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, a WWE Hall of Famer and father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, wrote a memoir about his remarkable road to success, Soulman, which came out in fall 2019.
Co-written with Scott Teal, Soulman begins with 13-year-old Johnson, homeless in Amherst, N.S. He rose to fame as a professional wrestler, becoming the first black man to win the Southern, Georgia and Florida heavyweight titles.
In this excerpt, Johnson reflects on the success of his son, who is a former WWE star turned actor. He is the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, according to Forbes Magazine. He's starred in movies such as Jumanji, Moana, Baywatch, Rampage and The Fate of the Furious.
"I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of Dwayne," Johnson writes in Soulman.
You can read an excerpt, from Chapter 26, below.
I am as proud of my son as any father could be for the things he has accomplished, but I am even more proud of what Dwayne does for others. His greatest pleasure in life comes through helping other people. He helps hospitalized children through the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation and is a director of the Beacon Experience, which encourages children to continue their schooling after high school. The list of charities he has supported also includes the Kids Wish Network, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.
He has also been a good son and grandson. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, as many people believe. As a family, we had good, bad and hard times, but through it all, he worked hard and earned everything he has today. And yet, with all his success, Dwayne has never forgotten his roots. He takes care of his family and those close to us. He used to tell me, "I want you, grandmother and grandfather to be proud of me."
I am as proud of my son as any father could be for the things he has accomplished, but I am even more proud of what Dwayne does for others.
Dwayne took care of his grandmother, Lia, in the later years. He bought her a condo and whatever she needed. If he was on a WWE pay-per-view, Lia would come over and watch the shows with us. When Dwayne called me after a match, he would ask, "Is Grandma there?"
"Yes."
"Put her on the phone." He always took the time to talk with her.
He has helped me so much with medical bills. Knee, hip and hernia surgeries would have set me back millions of dollars, but he has always stepped up to the plate and taken care of me. After my hip surgery in 2018, I needed a bigger car because I couldn't find a comfortable seating position in my Cadillac. Dwayne wired the money to the dealership and bought me a Cadillac Escalade. He's always been there for me, but I hate to ask him for anything. He posted on Facebook one day, "My dad's doing great. The only problem I have is the SOB won't ask for anything." I don't have to because Dwayne takes care of all our needs.
Dwayne also takes care of his mother, Ata, and as another example of how thoughtful he is, he does things for my wife, Sheila, who isn't even a blood relation.
Having the resources to help other people, however, also has its downside.
Now that Dwayne's film career has taken off, it seems like I have more friends than ever before. It's like people who win the lottery. Everybody wants me to go into business with them. People I haven't heard from in 20 years call out of the blue and talk about what good friends we are. Strangers write and tell me I'm their father.
People — family, friends and strangers — post stories about me on the Internet that aren't true. When I went back to my hometown of Amherst, I had never seen so much jealousy in my life. If I had gone back as ordinary Wayde Bowles, they would have greeted me like a longlost son, but that little thing called "fame" seemed to stand between me and the people I once called friends. Things like that bothered me for a long time, until Dwayne finally told me, "Dad, don't let stuff like that bother you. It means nothing and has no effect on your life unless you let it." It's amazing how our roles have reversed. I had always taken pride in providing for my children, and now my child was counselling and taking care of me.
It's amazing how our roles have reversed. I had always taken pride in providing for my children, and now my child was counselling and taking care of me.
Dwayne gets mailbags full of letters from complete strangers who want something from him — usually money. People have no compunction about asking for $10,000, or even $50,000. One person Dwayne has never met or talked to wanted $100,000 so he could pay off his house. Someone else, a wrestler, asked for $180,000. Dwayne gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars before I told him, "You have to stop somewhere. You can't save the world." He took my suggestion and while he didn't stop completely, he scaled back on what he was handing out.
Now all the people who don't get what they want are mad at him (although, if they read this, they'll now be mad at me for giving him the advice). How can anybody get mad because someone won't give them money? That's the world we live in, though.
Dwayne has a giving heart, so he helps friends and family when he sees a genuine need. He recently bought one of the older wrestlers a truck. The guy didn't ask Dwayne for anything, but when he came to visit with his family, all of whom weighed more than 200 pounds, Dwayne watched them squeeze out of a small car. Under the pretense of showing them a new truck he was going to buy for himself, Dwayne took them to the car dealership. When he finished showing the car, he pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and held them out. "These are yours." He supports a long list of charities and donates money through the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation to help children with illnesses, disorders, and disabilities. He's driven to build their self-esteem and helps with physical fitness and nutrition programs for children.
Dwayne is very humble and would prefer that I didn't write about the things he's done for others, but as a father, I can't help but boast about the person my son has become. To me, that is more important than anything he has done in wrestling or the movies.
From Soulman by Rocky Johnson ©2019. Published by ECW Press.