Friend Encounters: Susanna Hoffs and Kenny Casanova

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

This is the first appearance by Kenny Casanova in Friend Encounters. Earlier this year, I interviewed Kenny, which can be found at On the Beat With Kenny Casanovs.

No semi-retired from wrestling, Kenny discussed is latest book, this one an autobiography with Ken Patera.

Kenny has helped a few other wrestlers write their books. Justin Credible, Sabu and Tito Santana are just a few of the wrestlers Kenny brought to life in book form.

Recently, Kenny met singer Susanna Hoffs. Musician Hoofs is one of the co-founders of the Bangles. While i enjoyed her work with the Bangles, I actually like her solo work even better. Hoffs has also done a bit of active and wrote a novel published this year/

For more info on Kenny, go to KennyCasanova.com. If you are a wrestling fan, you will love his books.

Susanna Hoffs and Kenny in Albany, NY-November 2023.

On the Beat With Kenny Casanova

Kenny Casanova has done a lot in and out of the wrestling ring. In our interview earlier today, Kenny discusses all of it, including “Ken Patera: Weight of the World,” his newest book project. That interview is at On the Beat With Kenny Casanova.

Already a wrestling fan, Kenny got his start in the business helping at a show run by Captain Lou Albano. A few years later, he attended a professional wrestling school to really get his career started.

During his career, he wrestled, managed and did color commentary. He has worked with legends such as Demolition, King Kong Bundy, Damien Sandow and countless others.

Eventually, his mic skills led him to deejay work. Although he was very successful at that, his love of wrestling tugged at him. Enter Kamala (James Harris), who was having health issues at the time. Kenny approached him about writing his autobiography and another career path was born. Kamala was followed by Brutus Beefcake, Danny Davis, Sabu, Big Van Vader, Bugsy McGraw, Tito Santana and now Patera.

As impressive as a list that is, there are more books coming. Kenny is lending his talents to ODB and Earl Hebner for their life stories.

I am very interested in Patera's story. Mostly out of the spotlight in recent years, he was pretty big in my youth. He was an Olympian turned pro wrestler. He had an infamous legal issue, which later got turned into a bit of a storyline in the WWF. This is all in the book, but Kenny gave me a brief glimpse into that story.

I ended by asking when Kenny would pen his own story. I wasn't joking. People like Kenny are the backbone of the industry. It is folks like him who keep wrestling alive. He doesn't get the headlines or accolades, but his story is fascinating. I have only glossed over his lengthy career. Actually, a lot of his story can be found on his website. Although factual, it is spiked with lots of humor.

“Ken Patera: Weight of the World” is available for pre-order with an expected release in April. As Kenny states in the interview, pre-ordering the book might bring an additional surprise, too.

Thanks to Kenny for his time and consideration. Go to KennyCasanova.com for more info on Kenny and his books. Check TheEveryDayFan.com for updates on the book and the rest of our wrestling coverage.