Scott Bowden presents Kentucky Fried Rasslin

Samuel P. Ticer (not pictured), 65, died Monday in Memphis after a short illness.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal   printed the following obituary for “former professional wrestler Stan Lane” yesterday :

SAMUEL P. TICER, 65, died Monday, March 7, 2011 after a short illness. He was married for 24 years to Anna Marie Lehr Ticer and was a Captain in USMC serving two tours in Vietnam. He was a professional wrestler for 13 years under the name of Stan Lane of the Best Tag Team ever to hit Memphis and Mid South Coliseum as the The Fabulous Ones with partner Steve Keirn.

In a touching display, the funeral home featured several pictures of Ticer from throughout his military service as well as publicity shots of Lane and Keirn as the Fabs. As the ceremony closed, Billy Squire’s “Everybody Wants You”-the Fabs’ theme-was played over the funeral home’s modest PA system, while guests could literally pay their respects by purchasing 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ color photos of the former Southern tag champions at a tastefully decorated gimmick table in the lobby.

Just one problem: The real Stan Lane, who achieved rasslin’ fame not only with Keirn but also as the partner of Bobby Eaton as the Midnight Express,  is alive and well in North Carolina.

Apparently, Ticer had deceived his family for years-perhaps as a joke-that he was the former bearded heartthrob who, along with Keirn, helped set the Memphis territory on fire in fall 1982 by recreating the “Fabulous Fargos” gimmick with the blessing of the legendary Jackie Fargo. Gotta admire the guy in a sense for taking the deception all the way to the grave.

Deep down, I can’t help but think Jimmy Hart had something to do with this. After all, the Mouth of the South has deceived us before with funeral arrangements:

With Jim Cornette on the sidelines, Stan Lane takes over the promo duties for the Midnight Express following a moral victory over the rival Rock ‘n’ Roll Express in 1987. This clip is notable for several reasons: yet another twist on the Dusty Finish (with an official from the back overruling an apparent World title switch), the future Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor, known then as “Big Bubba Rogers”) makes an appearance, Ricky Morton proves he can sell like no other, longtime WWF ref Dick Wohrle (that name certainly rolls off the tongue) makes a somewhat rare NWA/WCW appearance, Lane shows he’s more than capable on the mic in the aftermath…and obnoxious babyface announcer David Crockett goes ballistic (“Noooo!”) at the apparent injustice. (I cannot confirm if Crockett always wore a Ricky Morton T-shirt underneath his button-down.)