Louis John Klein — born July 10, 1916, in Detroit, Michigan — is remembered in the wrestling world as Lou Bastien, a tough, energetic performer whose career stretched nearly four decades.
As a young man, Klein had dreams of amateur glory. In the 1930s, he hoped to qualify for the Olympics, but when World War II broke out, he made the leap to the professional ranks in 1942 to support his wife and child. What followed was a long and successful career across the Midwest and beyond.
In his early days, Klein became a staple of the Midwest Wrestling Association, competing as a junior heavyweight. He captured the MWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in 1948 by defeating Johney Demchuk, and won it again in 1953 with a victory over Ed Francis. Fans knew him as the “Atomic Blonde from Detroit,” and he built his reputation with an aggressive, crowd-pleasing style.
Klein’s first big national break came in 1960 with Capital Wrestling Corporation, the precursor of the World Wide Wrestling Federation. There, he teamed with Red Bastien, billed as his brother, to form the popular Bastien Brothers. On April 2, 1960, they shocked the wrestling world by defeating Jerry and Eddie Graham — the famous Graham Brothers — for the United States Tag Team Championship. Lou and Red went on to hold the belts three times in all, trading them with The Fabulous Kangaroos in a hot feud that drew big houses throughout the Northeast.
From there, the Bastiens moved on to Indianapolis, winning the AWA Indiana World Tag Team Titles twice. Lou also thrived back home in Detroit’s Big Time Wrestling territory, becoming a three-time NWA World Tag Team Championwith partners Roy Klein and Ed George.
By the late 1970s, after nearly 40 years in the ring, Lou Bastien retired from competition. But he didn’t walk away from wrestling. He opened Lou Klein’s Gym, known as “The Doorway to Wrestling,” and trained a generation of wrestlers who would carry the business forward — names like Art Neilson, Count Drummer, Jim Lancaster, Malcolm Monroe Sr., Rujet Woods, Sandy Parker, and Tanya West all came through his doors.
Sadly, Lou Bastien’s life ended on October 11, 1979, when he died of a heart attack at just 63 years old. But his legacy lived on through his students and the imprint he left on wrestling’s tag team scene during the golden era.
Championship Highlights:
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3x NWA United States Tag Team Champion with Red Bastien (Capitol Wrestling)
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3x NWA World Tag Team Champion in Detroit
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2x AWA Indiana World Tag Team Champion with Red Bastien
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2x MWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion
Lou Bastien may not always get mentioned alongside the flashiest names of his time, but he was one of those rock-solid pros who helped keep the wrestling business thriving — in the ring, in the gym, and in the memories of fans who saw the Bastien Brothers light up arenas in the 1960s.