Boelee was born in Rotterdam during the
hunger winter to Anneke and Bram Boelee, an electrical engineer. His older brother Rudolf (born 1940) emigrated to New Zealand in 1963, and Onno followed him a year later at the age of 18. Onno became a
bouncer for the well-known
Shantytown night club in
Queen Street, Auckland. Rudolf painted a portrait of Onno which was displayed at Shantytown for many years. When the occasional patron became upset with his brother, according to Rudolf, they would throw their drink at the painting rather than at him. Boelee began training at a gym in
Mount Roskill for a career in professional wrestling. He made his debut in 1970 working for Ernie Pinchers and South Pacific Wrestling. A year later, he joined
Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and toured the country for the next five years. In one of his most memorable matches, he and partners Frank Lipanovich and Bronco Barnes took on the 490 pound
André the Giant and "Kiwi" Johnny Frazer in a three-on-two
handicap match at the sold-out
Auckland YMCA in 1972; this was André the Giant's official debut in New Zealand. Boelee was also invited to Japan where he appeared for
Giant Baba and
All-Japan Pro Wrestling from September–November 1974.
Other Halves (1984) and
Second Time Lucky (1984). His brief foray into the
Hong Kong action cinema genre, however, saw a rise in his career with supporting roles in
Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice and
Legacy of Rage (1986). He also starred in director
Garth Maxwell's 1988 independent film
Beyond Gravity before taking a break from acting for the next several years. Boelee eventually started a successful
private security company which became involved in
stunt performance,
armoury and acting in the
New Zealand film and
television industry. He also had a minor role in the 2000 independent short film
Sci-Fi Betty, guest starred on the children's TV series
Power Rangers Dino Thunder in 2004, and on both ''
Maddigan's Quest and Street Legal in 2006. In recent years, his security company has participated in the productions of Crooked Earth and Orange Roughies''. Boelee was also among the many veteran New Zealand wrestlers who attended a "legends reunion" show at
Petone and was later interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling in 2007. ==Filmography and TV roles==