Original Great Kabooki passed away 

Credit:  Dave Meltzer of wrestlingobserver.com

Rey Urbano, who painted his face and called himself the Great Kabooki in the early 1970s, passed away yesterday at a nursing home in Las Vegas.

Urbano was not a major star with the gimmick, that he used into the early 80s when he retired from the ring. At about the same time Urbano's career was winding down, Gary Hart took the gimmick and accelerated it, adding nunchakus, a wig, the green mist and martial arts for Akihisa Mera, who became an international star as the Great Kabuki.