May 30
                                                                                 Aurelian Smith, Jr.'s Birthday

 
   

                                                                                                                    Aurelian Smith, Jr

    
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr (ring name -  Jake "The Snake" Roberts) was born into a wrestling family. His father was one-time WCW wrestler and commissioner Grizzly Smith. His stepsister was former WWF Women's Champion Rockin' Robin , and his stepbrother was WWF jobber Sam Houston, who was married to Baby Doll. Jake's second cousin was Virgil and his uncle was Max Muscle. Jake had a very bizarre family life which is detailed in depth in his Pick Your Poison DVD.
 
In the WWF, Jake had a python snake named Damien that he would wrap on the unconscious victims . His first feud was with Ricky Steamboat who brought a Kimono Dragon to the ring with him. Their feud reached epic proportions when Jake's cobra gnawed on Savage's arm for several minutes; Around this time, he was given his own talk show called the Snake Pit.
 
Jake's promising career was sidelined because of substance abuse problems for which he entered rehab. In 1998, TMZ showed a video of Jake struggling to form a coherent sentence, while addressing the crowd moments before his match in the Firestorm Pro Wrestling league in Ohio. According to several sources, the 53-year-old legend was found passed out backstage moments before he was scheduled to perform. When Snake was woken up, he was aggressive, violent and asking for "an 8-ball." There were allegedly two dozen empty airplane bottles of vodka were found by his gear. During the match, Roberts was clearly unable to perform,  Roberts' opponent -- clearly frustrated with the situation -- whispers to the ref to end the fight. Afterwards,  his opponent, J.T. Lightning, grabbed the microphone  and told Jake, "I've wrestled drug addicts ... you are a piece of s**t, Snake. You gypped these people. F**k you."
 
In 1999, Jake was featured in the wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. Throughout the film he made numerous confessions about his tragic past, including the murder of his sister and the collapse of his marriage. The film featured Roberts reportedly smoking crack in a hotel room after a reunion with his daughter Brandy. Jake finally  hit rock bottom at the Heroes of Wrestling PPV in 1999 which features Jake fighting his substance abuse problems.
 
In 2004, Jake faced a charge of "causing unnecessary suffering" after his snake, Damien, was allowed to starve to death in the garage of his London home. We don't know what Jake did with Damien's body, but here is a recipe for Jake's birthday that calls for  snake which you should enjoy while watching Anacondas: The Hunt For the Blood Orchid (2004).
  
   

                                                           Fried Snake with Ham Gravy

  
Ingredients
 
1 24" to 30" skinned & cleaned western diamondback rattlesnake,
    cut in 3" to 4" pieces
Drippings of 6 slices of bacon
3/4 cup oil
3/4 lb cooked ham, diced
2 cups milk 		1 TB brewed coffee
1/2 cup flour (1 TB reserved)
biscuits or toast
salt and pepper
Tabasco sauce, optional
 		  

Instructions
 
1. Fry the bacon. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Reserve drippings. Add the oil to the drippings.
2. Flour rattlesnake and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Remove each piece as it becomes done and
    drain on paper towels. |
3. Drain off the oil and drippings reserving 1 TB. Add 1 TB of flour. Stir and scrape bottom
    of the skillet to remove any browned stuck  pieces.
4. Add the ham, coffee and milk. Stir until bubbly. If too thick add water, coffee or milk a tablespoon at a time.
5. Serve the rattlesnake with biscuits or toast and the ham gravy. Salt and pepper and/or season with Tabasco
    sauce to taste.

Serves 2 -3
 
 
© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes