There is one woman
who was instrumental in both of the worlds I fell into, and yet so little is
actually known about her. I’d like to change that, even with this entirely too short entry.
In Tex Avery’s 1949 classic “The House of Tomorrow”
audiences were treated to the image of a beautiful model. A lovely, blonde
figure, posing politely of the TV marked for the father of the house.
And so stunning was she that at the end of the cartoon, a
note from “The Management” appears, telling the audience that they will have
one more glimpse of this young lady. But she is much more than meets the eye.
For she is not your typical model at all.
She is Helen Hild. And she is someone no cartoon or
wrestling historian should ever forget.
Born in 1927 as Gladys Helen Nevins, a native of Grand Isle,
Nebraska, Helen was once a glamorous model, often contracted for work with the
MGM studio. Helen appeared in all kinds of promotional material, all kinds of
ads and the like, but the modeling industry then (as it is now) was rather
cutthroat. As soon as Ms. Hild was of a certain age, she was unceremoniously
ousted from this line of work.
Did that end her career? Of course not. Helen was a strong
woman. This was just the beginning.
Back in the 40’s and 50’s, a model who was ousted from
modeling, often found a home in professional wrestling. There, a still
relatively young lady could find work as a valet, and many a former model back
then found herself as a “Slave Girl” to a random wild man in the ring.
Helen was much more than a “Slave Girl” and she was eager to
show it.
The world's first model to have gone from cartoon star to full time wrestler, the 5’6, 125 lbs. Helen took her training seriously, and began what
was a lucrative career as a professional wrestler, and a groundbreaking one at
that!
Here’s a scene taken from an Owensboro, KY newspaper, the scene is from a match held on August 9th, 1957, the
first women’s match held in Seattle in 11 years at that time. Her opponent? WWE
Hall of Famer and future 28 year Women’s Champion ~ The Fabulous Moolah:
Helen was a force to be reckoned with. The dynamic mixture
of beauty and strength, she never cried or screamed her way through a match, she
instead used the best of her abilities to take down her opponents as quickly as
possible. In a world dominated by looks and feminine stereotypes, Helen was on
par with the men, and thrived in brawling and technical matches.
Audiences loved the feisty Helen, who on occasion let her
sons sit somewhere in the crowd. And the fans weren’t the only people to love
Helen. A young wrestler by the name of Iron Mike Dibiase later married the
beauty, and adopted her children as his own.
Helen’s short life was often defined by the difficulties she
faced in life, and not too much of her private life was ever really shared with
the public, outside of the tragedies that befell her, such as the sudden loss
of her husband to a heart attack suffered in the ring, and the substance issues
she faced. But one thing she is best known for now, is raising a legend
herself. A wrestler named Ted Dibiase:
Who himself has raised three sons who are now wrestlers. The
best known being middle child Ted Jr:
But Helen is a legend in her own right that should be remembered. In a world that once demanded that a woman’s place remain in the kitchen, from the silver screen to the wrestling ring, Helen proved that the will of a woman was anywhere she pleased.
Please share this with someone you know, it may save a life... or at least someone's sanity.
I hereby dedicate this story to the many people in wrestling who I am blessed to say are in my life, and are NOT "Pete".
Some time ago, I was told that in order to make it in life, you have to make an investment in yourself. It’s okay once in a while to purchase things that will make your working life easier, even if it means going against the “traditional” methods. I was told this first by my mother, as she was telling me I don’t need to feel guilty over the price of a tablet I now use every week, and again by a friend who was cursing about another friend, whose career has pretty much stalled due to some ill choices he has made. I didn’t quite understand the importance of investing in yourself, until recently.
Part of the web work I now do includes cropping and editing photos of wrestlers. Usually, this is extremely easy work that takes no time at all. Just crop the photo down to a good size, and up it goes. There are plenty of wrestlers on the Indy scene who take pride in their work, and are a joy to watch.
… And then… There are some who really need more schooling.
There’s a man who I’ve known for several years. I’m withholding his actual ring name, because I don’t feel like dealing with the drama. So for the sake of this story, I’m re-naming him “Punishing Pete”. It’s nowhere near his real or ring name, but it is similar in some ways to what he named himself. (Actually this might be a better name overall.)
Now Punishing Pete used to be just “Peter”, a WWE fanboy who spent five years sitting next to me or on me at every single ROH show I ever went to, and would bitch and moan and complain that ROH will never be WWE. He’d go on about it for hours, and if I moved to another seat, he’d follow. It got to the point where other wrestlers would have to step in and ask him to leave me alone and let me watch the fights.
I travelled up to Milwaukee in 2010 for another show (I have another blog about this half written on the PC. It’s an excellent and fun tale I will tell one day) and while I was there, I spotted Pete.
“What are YOU doing here?? ME??! What are YOOOUUUU doing here!?!?!” is how the conversation started.
“I’M here because I was asked to be. What the HELL are YOU doing here??” I snapped at Pete.
“I’M a WRESTLER. Duuuuuu~uuuh!!” Snapped Pete back at me.
“WHAT?? Since when??”
Right away I started flagging down every wrestler I could, asking where he came from and who told him he could wrestle. And while Pete did not wrestle on this card, I was told that he had been in training for five whole years, and that his trainer was listed as “I dunno, some guy down the road who works at Wal*Mart, who was once a high school legit wrestler, but quit back in the 70’s because of a knee injury or something like that”. Note how this story lacks a name? Yeah, it’s always a great start to an epic career when the wrestler’s origins begin with training in “some guy’s” basement. That is also NOT a joke.
The next time I saw Pete was a month later. He was allowed an opening card match against a veteran who was much smaller, had fantastic charisma, and openly JOBBED Pete. Pete did not realize that the older wrestler was throwing the match on purpose, just to get a rise out of the crowd. Pete would smack him, and the elder wrestler would cross his eyes, stick out his tongue and yell “Oooooh OWCH that TOTALLY smarts!!” like a dad playing victim to a toddler’s punches. There was even a spot where Pete was losing a fight to himself, and the elder just stood to the side of Pete, yelling “Oh ouch oof ow take it easy, no stop ouch.” Pete never realized that he was indeed wrestling a t-shirt.
After the show, there was an after party. Pete flexed his girth at me. I say girth because he’s at a level where I can’t say he’s muscular, but I can’t say he’s chubby either. Anyway. Pete flexes his girth at me, and says “HA! I bet you think I’m real hot now, huh? Bet you think I look sexy. I’m a reeeeal wrestler now, I bet you’re pretty impressed. Bet you respect me NOW, huh?”
Have you ever seen one of those cartoons, where there’s a school bully who’s been left back a year, and once people find out he’s actually done something alright, he starts boasting about how big he is, but everyone still treats him like the pink elephant in the room? Yeah, let’s imagine that cartoon character, as (true story) The Iron Sheik is two chairs behind him, laughing loudly “what FAKING BOOLSHEET” as Pete is talking. Did I mention that I adore the Iron Sheik? I do.
This past winter, I saw Pete and the elder in a series of photos. The elder wrestler has long since given up on Pete, and has spent the last two years beating the ever loving hell out of him every chance he gets. This amuses me, since the elder wrestler is about 5’4. Punishing Pete is 6’2 and double the elder’s weight.
I recently saw a few more photos of Pete, and I had to crop them for a site I work on. If you see the photo I’ve posted, you’ll only see Pete from the neck up, and I’ve Photoshopped him so he looks as menacing as his bio says he is. I recently got praise for the photo from another wrestler, who told me this looks professional. I can’t begin to tell you how much that means to me… since this was a several hour job.
Remember earlier when I said that you need to invest in yourself? Well Pete never got that memo.
You see, Punishing Pete… does not have ring gear. Like, at all.
In the (now) 7 years he’s been a wrestler, Pete has never once purchased ring gear. Ever. His persona is that he’s a menacing punisher. A perpetrator of pain, at least that’s the tagline his new promoter has given him. So imagine Judge Dredd, minus the helmet, and that’s Pete’s persona.
Pete does not dress like Judge Dredd.
Pete does not dress like The Punisher.
Wanna know what Pete wears to the ring?
It ain’t ring gear.
It ain’t a singlet.
And it damn sure ain’t spandex.
Nope!
Punishing Pete comes to the ring in a Slayer wife-beater, khaki shorts and flip flops.
… THAT’S RIGHT!! I said FLIP-FLOPS!!!
It has come to my attention that Pete refuses to take pride in what he does. He does not invest in himself, so how can he expect other people to invest in him??
Let me ask you, if you were a wrestling fan, sitting front row at a show, and a man named Punishing Pete came down the ring in dirty, used flip-flops, would YOU take him seriously?
This is not even a comedic heel. This is no Repo Man or Santino Marella. This guy is supposed to be one of those serious, Razor Ramon types… and he’s out in flip-flops!
What’s sadder? He’s one of the main event heels. Pete was in a four way for a title. He went up against one cowboy wrestler (name withheld out of respect), one dude who was wearing a lime green singlet (400 lbs. and no cup or underwear) and another wrestler, who was 4’10 and about 250 lbs.
Of the four, the cowboy wrestler took pride in himself and invested in his gimmick. A sight for sore eyes, he had a gimmick that made sense, hair that had been freshly washed, and a body that screams “I see the gym no less than two times a week”. He reminded me of Bob Orton Jr in Shawn Michaels’s body, and he wrestles like a champion. I’ll be blogging about this dude and his lady another time, and I won’t be shocked at all should he wind up on your televisions screens one of these days. Again, he invested in himself.
The other three??
Now I don’t ever want to be one of those shallow types, so for three weeks, I tried really hard to put this out of my mind, and convince myself that there was nothing wrong with the match. I tried to tell myself that there was nothing wrong with the way the other two looked. And I tried super hard to keep this up…
Until I saw another wrestler post that he was tired of seeing people climb into the ring and take absolutely zero pride in how they look. The sentiment being “for the love of humanity PLEASE buy some ring gear and hit the gym” which let me know who he was probably talking about.
Like I said, Pete never invested in himself, though he’ll gladly bitch and complain for an hour about how the business has treated him, and how to make it in the business, and how WWE is business, and all anybody cares about is business, and business business business. Guess what his favorite word is?
So he’s invested in what he thinks is “the business”.
Guess who hasn’t invested in Pete?
The WWE business.
You know, the company Pete is all about joining someday. “THE” business, if you ask him.
And that doesn’t surprise me at all. Punishing Pete you see has NEVER even sent them a tape. Like at all.
The last time I saw him (hanging around a bar at an after party, bitching about how this guy and that dude will never make it to WWE) I asked him point blank:
“Alright wise-ass. Since you’re all about WWE, why don’t ‘cha send them a tape, head out to developmental and JOIN them? WHY are you even here?”
The Iron Sheik was still sitting two chairs behind him. I’m wondering if he heard Pete, because I do remember hearing his loud, bellowing laughter, and I remember a few people sitting with him pointing in my direction and looking for Adam Pearce.
Pete looks at me like I’m an idiot, and says “DUH! I don’t NEED to send THEM a tape. They’re the WWE! They watch everybody. All I need to do is keep hanging around some of these areas, and wait. Just wait, princess. In another year or so, I’ll definitely be in developmental.”
This was in 2010. Guess who’s not in developmental?
Now I’m sad to say that Punishing Pete’s story isn’t new. There are a few other people, who do not want to take pride in themselves. I wouldn’t know that, except I’ve seen many a Facebook post from actual wrestlers, begging a few of their own Punishing Petes to either see a gym or seek employment outside the squared circle.
So many people do not want to set foot inside of a gym, lift weights, develop a persona, purchase ring gear or even do something with their hair. And yet these are the SAME Punishing Petes who so desperately want to wind up high on the PWI 500. (As they post on their Facebooks.)
So for the other Punishing Pete’s in the world, here’s a diagram I’ve made up of starter looks, totally suitable for the ring.
Try them out for yourself!
Please click on the photo to see all of the details.
Was looking forward to this for the longest time. If not for my personal budget issues, I would have bought this much sooner. This is a great, all ages show that doesn’t beat anyone over the head with skits or PG stunts.
Pro Wrestling Respect: Inaugural January 24, 2010
We open up with a video package, followed by several introductions by the PWR cast. This is a great introduction for new fans, each backstage segment is short and to the point. A welcome change from mainstream, televised promos.
1.Rhett Titus vs. “Big Bad” Bobby Dempsey ~ This match is preceded by a video package, showcasing the career of Bobby Dempsey. Derek Dempsey is at ringside. The rules of PWR are shown. Bell rings and Bobby starts things off by punching Rhett. Bobby is in control of the match, sends Rhett to the outside with an Atomic Drop. Bobby chases Rhett around the ring, and the two re-enter. Rhett attempts a body slam to no avail. Bobby body slams Rhett. After a standing drop kick, Rhett starts to gain a little momentum. Rhett launches Bobby with an Irish Whip, does NOT see a power slam heading his way. 2-count. Rhett gains momentum again. Bobby survives two knee drops from Rhett. Splashes Rhett in the corner twice, drops Rhett, then gains a victory with a 747 Splash.
We see Rickey Reyes enter the backstage area, then we go to a video package about the Bravado Brothers, detailing their background and what PWR means to them. This is followed by a backstage segment with Prince Nana and Marker Dillinger.
2.Mr. Ernesto Osiris and Marker Dillinger vs. Lance and Harlem Bravado ~ Ernesto sends Marker to the ring first. Harlem opens with a front face lock. Marker reverses. Short back and forth between the two. Marker with a shoulder tackle, bounces from the ropes and into a hip toss by Harlem. Ernesto is tagged in. Takes his time removing articles of his suit and is taken down by Lance. Ernesto is taken to the corner where Harlem tags back in. After a little back and forth, Lance tags, then Marker tags back in, taking down Lance. Ernesto tags in and delivers a vertical suplex. Marker tags back in and goes for a body slam. 2-count. Lance tries to take out Marker and Ernesto, but Marker trips him. Ernesto tags in and gets a 2. Ernesto goes for the rubs of Lance. Marker tags in for a 2. Marker locks on a sleeper hold but Lance drops him. Ernesto prevents Harlem from tagging in. Ernesto tags in and is in control of the match. Ernesto and Marker go to double team, but Lance hits them both with a double clothesline. Harlem tags in. Super kick to Marker, grabs Marker’s head, Ernesto tries to break it up but is greeted with a super kick. Harlem is decimating the competition. Harlem gains a win with a Frog Splash. Ernesto and Marker refuse to shake hands.
Midge goes for a backstage interview, but Ernesto is screaming at Marker.
Grizzly is sent out to referee the next match.
3.MsChif vs. Jamilia Craft ~ We open with a picture-in-picture note from Grizzly as the two women shake hands. A slow grapple from MsChif leads to Jamilia aiming for a sleeper hold. MsChif reverses it into a scissor kick on the canvas. The two go back and forth, but MsChif counters a running move from Jamilia with a drop toe hold. Jamilia lands neck first into the bottom rope. Jamilia gets up. Jamilia lands a sunset flip for a 2. MsChif goes for a sleeper attempt. MsChif bends Jamilia to the point where her head almost touches her toes. Goes for an Irish Whip but Jamilia reverses, sending MsChif into the turnbuckle. Jamilia is soon countered, and MsChif has the girl laid out. Jamilia goes for a school boy for a 2. Jamilia drops an Inverted DDT on MsChif. Jamilia loses the mask and flies from the turnbuckles with fists, bounces from the ropes with a clothesline. Drops MsChif for a 2. Crowd is getting vocal, but MsChif drops Jamilia to the canvas for a 3 count.
Jamilia is walked out of the ring and handed her mask back.
Backstage we see Delirious getting ready for his match. This is followed by a commercial for the ROH Academy.
4.Celso Rivera (With Sly Stetson) vs. The Ninja Cheetah ~ Sly opens up with a promo against the “Smelly New Jersey” crowd, questioning why Celso has to wrestle against a ninja. The Ninja enters and does a ton of moves. He goes for a handshake. Celso grabs his hand, knee to the gut, picks him up, drops him for a 3. Sly asks “Are you serious?! We need competition!!”
5.Celso Rivera vs. Ninja Red ~ Red enters the ring, Celso drops him for a 3 count. Sly is appalled. He announces Celso as having a record of 2-0. “Who’s next? A Scarecrow?”
6.Celso Rivera vs. Pelle Premeau ~ Pelle knocks the hell out of Celso, nails him with a tilt-a-whirl. Celso drops Pelle for a 2 count. Pelle kicks out of a suplex attempt, then aims for Celso’s neck. Gets a 2-count. Pelle tries to hyper-extend Celso’s arm, then puts him is a series of holds. Pelle quite literally ties Celso up in a pretzel, but Celso gets out. Pelle goes for a cross body from the top rope, but Celso reverses it into a fallaway slam. Celso has Pelle in a submission attempt, then takes him to the corner. Distracts the ref while Sly tries to choke Pelle. Pelle gets back with a 2 count, Celso drops Pelle to the canvas. 2 count. Celso with a gut wrench suplex, followed by a second. Pelle goes for a hurricanrana for a 2 count. Pelle bitch slaps Celso. Pelle with a springboard splash into a double-stomp. Tilt-a-whirl into an armbar into a pin attempt for 2. Tilt-a-whirl is reversed, Pelle reverses the reversal mid air. Celso drops Pelle for a 3 count.
Pelle is helped out.
We go to a video about Shane Hagadorn’s Ring of Honor career. Hagadorn details each of the surgeries he’s needed since his debut.
7.Christian Merino, Rob Wolf and Shane Hagadorn vs. Jacob Chamber, Professor Milo Shizo and Alex Payne ~ Before we get to the match, Midge gets a brief interview with Pelle about Pelle’s loss to Celso. Hagadorn starts by taking Payne aside and delivering a slap. Alex hits back much harder. Back and forth between the two. Milo tags in as does Merino. Milo dominates, then tags in Chamber. Chamber with a snapmare, but Merino is able to get back up with a body slam. Wolf tags in, stomping Chamber in the corner. Hagadorn tags in, working Chamber’s arm. Tags in Merino after a 2 count. Chamber tags in Milo. Milo reverses a move from Merino into a tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Hagadorn tags in. Hagadorn gets a 2 count. Wolf tags in. Lays into Milo. Merino tags back in. 2 count. Merino counters an Irish Whip attempt with a belly to back suplex. Hagadorn tags in, nails a jackhammer for 2. Tries to yoink off Milo’s mask. Milo gets a 2 with a small package. Wolf tags back in. Wolf isolates Milo in the corner. Hagadorn tags in again. Alex breaks up a pin attempt by Hagadorn. Milo on the top rope. Head-butt, tags in Alex. Alex takes down the competition, then drops Hagadorn with a fisherman suplex for a 2. Hagadorn lands an STO on Alex. Wolf tags in. Hagadorn and Wolf land a double shoulder tackle onto Alex. Hagadorn back in, Alex lands a suplex into a bridge for a 2. Chamber is tagged in. Chamber with a splash for a 2. Chaos erupts. Merino hands Hagadorn Knuxs. Hagadorn KO’s Chamber for a 3 count.
We go to a video about the career of Andy Ridge.
8.Orange Cassidy vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge ~ Cassidy barely touches Andy’s hand, and is like “I shook it okay??” Picture and Picture we see Midge getting a post match interview with Shane Hagadorn as Cassidy is sent to the outside. Andy is beating the hell out of Cassidy. Cassidy takes a breather, then returns to the ring. Bounces from the ropes into Andy’s foot. Cassidy steals someone’s bag and tosses it in. Cassidy spits orange juice at Andy while the ref is distracted. Body slam into a leg drop. Goes for a pin but Andy has the rope. Cassidy slows down the match, then lands a dropkick onto Andy. Cassidy is in control. Andy is soon sent to the outside, landing on Orange’s juice. Fight is taken to the outside. Back in the ring, Andy gains a second wind. Several running drop kicks to Cassidy’s head. SICK DDT from the middle rope by Cassidy for a 2. Cassidy tries to squeeze Andy’s head. Is kicked in the head mighty quick. Tries it again. Andy rolls him up for a 2. Andy wins with a superkick to Cassidy.
We see Rayna Tosh and Daizee Haze warming up for their match.
Next we have a video package about Daizee.
9.Rayna Von Tosh vs. Daizee Haze ~ We start with a tie-up as teacher and student brawl on the ropes. Great back and forth. Rayna is in control of the match, working Daizee’s arms. Daizee finds herself outside the ring, drops her student’s legs, then drags her to the outside. The two brawl all around the ring, stopping briefly here and there to break up the 10 count. Daizee gets a 2 count. Daizee goes for a submission. Rayna grabs Daizee by her headband. Daizee hits a drop toe hold then rolls her into a submission attempt. Rayna gets the ropes. Daizee with a DDT to Rayna’s leg into an Achilles lock. Half crab attempt but Rayna again grabs the rope. Fisherman is reversed into a suplex by Rayna. Rayna with a couple of back elbows. Pin attempts from both. Rayna reverses the heart punch, dropping Daizee for a 2. Missile dropkick from Daizee, followed by a heart punch and the mind trip for a 3.
Rayna is helped out as we see Delirious getting ready.
Video package about Ricky Reyes, then a separate one for Delirious.
10.“The Human Crippler” Ricky Reyes vs. “The buzzsaw magician” Delirious ~ Ricky kicks Delirious’s hand away. Good back and forth, Delirious tries a Half-Nelson, but Ricky sends Delirious into the turnbuckle. Delirious with a waistlock, Ricky reverses, Delirious sends him to the outside, then greets him with a baseball slide-kick. Fight to the outside leaves Delirious down while Ricky returns to the ring. 9-count and Delirious is back. Ricky with an armbar while the two are seated on the canvas. Ricky pulls the tassels, and the ref yells at him. The action slows down as Ricky puts Delirious on the top rope. Goes for a superplex but Delirious pushes him off. Leaps over Ricky. Delirious has a second wind, intense back and forth. Ricky performs a superplex off the top rope, Delirious lands then turns this into a pin for a 2 count. Ricky with a tiger suplex into a bridge for a 2. Elbows to Delirious’s head. Delirious with a tilt-a-whirl followed by head shots to the turnbuckle and a panic attack. Delirious with a cobra clutch attempt. Ricky with a powerbomb for a 2. Picture in picture with Midge interviewing Daizee. Ricky and Delirious trading head-butts and punches. Delirious with an enziguri. Delirious wins with a bizarro driver.
Ricky is reluctant to shake Delirious’s hand. Low blows Delirious, tosses ref to the corner, grabs a chair from under a fan, but the locker room piles out. The wrestlers tend to Delirious while Ricky decides to back off. Pelle takes the mic . Pelle explains what Pro Wrestling Respect is and how Ricky is unwanted. Pelle states that the next time he sees Ricky, he will beat respect into him. Delirious thanks everyone for attending. Picture in picture we see Midge interviewing Ricky. Ricky claims he doesn’t need to shake anybody’s hand because he is the best in the world.
Show closes with Midge and Eric signing off. Cue credits.
Bison Smith could make you believe in whatever story he was in. He could be scary, he could be fierce, but when I met him, he was also humble.
A polite wrestler I saw standing on the bleachers at the Frontier Fieldhouse in 2009, who didn't have a bad word to say about anyone.
He passed away today from heart complications at only 38.
Update: Current word was that it was cardiac arrest, as announced by Dutch Mantell on his Facebook. He was in Puerto Rico for a match scheduled for WWC.
Long before there were loud, flamboyant, pretty boy characters like Miz, Larry Zbyszko, Larry Sweeney, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and the late Rick Rude, there was Gorgeous George, a man who set the tone for outrageous characters, and inspired a nation.
Born George Raymond Wagner on March 24, 1915 in Butte, Nebraska, George would move around a lot as a child, with his parents. Starting near a farm in Nebraska, he would travel to Waterloo, Iowa, Sioux City, and finally Houston, Texas by the young age of 7. He grew up in a tough neighborhood, full of bullies and seedy townsfolk, but he was able to make friends, and as a boy, he would train at the YMCA and stage matches with his friends. In today’s world, this would be considered amateur or backyard wrestling, but this was a day and age in which nobody would think about it. In 1929, a 14 year old George Wagner dropped out of high school, and took on many odd jobs, to support his family.
A born wrestling prodigy, Wagner started wrestling at carnivals. His biggest paychecks were only ¢.35. Just enough for half a sandwich at the local deli, during the Great Depression.
One of the top regional promoters ~ Morris Siegel ~ began booking the boy wonder all over the place. By the age of 17, Wagner was becoming a star. How ever it wasn’t until 1938 that the 5’9, 215 pound star, won his first title (The Northwest Middleweight title) from Buck Lipscomb. On May 19, 1939 he would take the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship as well.
At 5’9 even at his best, Wagner was considered to be too small to be an imposing threat to any of the wrestlers he faced. Most people underestimated his prowess in the ring, and his wins were considered to be flukes. But Wagner never let it bother him, and he carried on.
Before the close of the 1930’s, Wagner met Betty Hanson, and soon he would marry her, in the ring. The real in-ring ceremony brought a HUGE crowd, and tons of publicity, and was such a hit that promoters through to today, still copy the lush festivities, every so often.
Around the same time that Betty was getting used to having “Mrs.” Precede her name, George would find for himself a copy of the latest issue of Vanity Magazine. In this issue was an article about another wrestler named Lord Patrick Lansdowne, a flamboyantly robed wrestler, who would have two females escort him to the ring. The proverbial light bulb went off in George’s head, and he decided to re-invent himself in a flashy style.
How Gorgeous George came about is a story with many variants, but this is the most commonly accepted tale, as it’s been posted on several wrestling sites and Wikipedia: “In Portland, Oregon Elizabeth “Betty” née Hanson, George’s wife, told Dean Higginbotham, the nephew of Betty's sister, Evangeline “Eva,” how George got the name Gorgeous George. In the early 1940s George had a wrestling match at the Portland Oregon Armory. As he walked down the aisle to the ring, there were two mature women on his right, two rows back from the ring. One of the women loudly exclaimed: “Oh, isn’t he gorgeous.” That word “gorgeous” struck George and he immediately felt he had found his new professional persona. He would be “Gorgeous George.” Elsie Hanson, Betty’s mother, was a skilled seamstress. George asked Elsie to make him some resplendent capes that would accentuate his new persona. George wore those capes in all his future matches.” A legend was born.
The glamorous “Gorgeous George” debuted in 1941 in Eugene, Oregon. Fans despised the pretty boy, and were quick to root for his opponent.
George soon found himself in Los Angeles, where promoter Johnny Doyle helped George fine tune his character. George grew his locks long, dyed them platinum blonde, placed spray-painted golden bobby pins in his hair (George pins as they were later called), and dubbed himself “The Human Orchid”. He would also be the world’s first wrestler to have his own entrance music, which was the tune “Pomp and Circumstance” later adopted by “Macho Man” Randy Savage several decades later. George would also bring a valet, and would enter the ring with a lavishly decorated robe, complete with sequins. He had his own red carpet, rolled out by another valet, Jeffries, who would also adorn the ringside area with fresh rose petals, and would place a mirror in front of George, so he could check himself. George often had a soft, purple light, which shone over the ring, and though you can’t tell by the black and white footage, many of his robes were bright pink, though he had a robe for every color of the rainbow.
Another thing that would annoy fans sitting at ringside, was Jeffries insistence upon disinfecting George and everything at ringside with Chanel #5. Though later it was changed to Chanel #10. “Why be half safe?” mused the colorful heel.
“Win if you can, lose if you must, but always CHEAT” was George’s motto, which he lived by to the extreme. George would always find a way to sneak in weapons of all kinds, long before it was considered the norm to fight in such an extreme way. Referees were often met with a loud “GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF ME!!” from a frantic George, every time a boot was patted.
George would wrestle and dance his way through fights, pissing off wrestlers and fans alike. And once television became the top medium for wrestling, George stole the spotlight. While fans would threaten and even try to attack George outside of the ring, the media moguls of the day were praising the loudmouthed heel, and soon George was a Superstar, with his image on the cover of every magazine in America. The more loud and obnoxious he was, the more Hollywood listened.
By the time he had made his official televised debut on November 11, 1947, George had perfected his wrestling ability. He was not just a gimmicked, sports-entertainer, he was also a gifted wrestler, who was still picking up new moves in his prime. Over the next few years, George traveled to the AWA, NWA and many other promotions, where he would wrestle such names as Lou Thez, Enrique Torres and George’s soon to be arch nemesis, Whipper Billy Watson. Celebrity comedian Bob Hope even donated several designer chic robes to George, as his star continued to rise. When wrestling was once again allowed at Madison Square Garden, after a 12 year exile one cold night on February 22, 1949, George was the main star. Within a year’s time from that event, George’s star power garnered him an unheard of $100,000 a year salary. George was not just the world’s top heel, he was the best paid, most expensive wrestler in the world. No other wrestler at that time had ever made even a quarter of what George would make off of ONE show.
George’s personal life however, was not without it’s pitfalls. George and Betty would adopt two children, and in 1946 George sired (actual birth name) Gorgeous George Jr. with his longtime mistress, Victoria. George and Betty later divorced, and in 1951 he married his second wife, Ms. Cherie Dupré, who later bore him a son, Gary. George would also battle a drinking problem, but this was mostly kept out of the public’s eye.
George would carry on an amazing career, until March 12, 1959, where luck began to run out on the still highly acclaimed heel. For it was on this night that George would lose his locks in a hair vs. hair match, against longtime rival Whipper Billy Watson. 20,000 wrestling fans eagerly showed up EARLY to the Toronto Maple Leaf Garden, many armed with cameras, giddy to see the world’s loudest heel, obtain his comeuppance. George left the arena in tears, humbled and shamed, as magazines began to put the match to print.
Even as his time in the ring was drawing to a close, George carried on into the early 1960’s, wrestling a new crop of rookies. One such rookie, by the name of Bruno Sammartino, scored a well loved victory over George, and later George would lose his locks in a hair vs. mask match, against The Destroyer, on November 7, 1962. Sadly, this would be George’s last match.
That same year, George was diagnosed with a liver disorder, brought about by drinking and some of the more risky moves George had done over the span of his career. Doctor’s prescription? Stop wrestling, and slow down the drinking.
Wagner had his own restaurant (Gorgeous George’s Ringside Restaurant) and turkey ranch, which cost him $250,000, but this and many other investments fell through, and the once expensive wrestler was soon back down to the bare minimum of finances he had started with in his early teens.
On Christmas Eve, 1963, Gorgeous George suffered a heart attack. Two days later, he passed away, leaving behind an impressive legacy, and four children who missed him greatly. George was only 48 years old. His children left a plaque by his grave, which reads “Love to our Daddy, Gorgeous George”.
Over the course of the next several years, many celebrities came out of the woodwork, praising George for inspiring them. Such stars as James Brown, Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan, would all credit George’s flashy style, for their own acts. Movies such as “The One and Only” were loosely based on his epic heeldom, and in 1951, Warner Brothers parodied him in the Bugs Bunny short “Bunny Hugged” as a tiny, blonde pretty boy who gets decimated by The Crusher.
In 2010, George’s first wife Betty inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame. Despite the divorce and all that had happened, it was clear that she still holds a huge spot in her heart for Mr. Wagner, and she spoke quite well of him.
Though most of his matches have not been televised in 48 years, Gorgeous George’s image still lives on in many heels today, and certainly we have him to thank for the great lengths many wrestlers and their promotions go through, to create the biggest and most memorable entrances possible. But few can outshine the Human Orchid, Gorgeous George.
For my first venture onto Blogger, I’d like to talk about how I came across the decision to be a cartoonist.
For starters… it was not my first choice.
My ambition from the age of 4 until 9 was to be the first, mixed race, female president of the United States of America. I ensconced myself in every minute detail of the Presidents, their wives, their Vice Presidents, their wives and in every aspect of the day-to-day life of inhabitants of The White House. I memorized facts deemed useless now by those outside the world of the Jeopardy series, and stayed up late watching CNN ~ by myself ~ in hopes of being a scholarly leader.
Then came the 1996 primaries. Several weeks before my 10th birthday, I watched enough CNN to realize that this as not meant for me.
To be a good President, you have to sacrifice the one thing I could not ~ a real life.The average politician never sees his/her family. They’re always on the road, always talking to people they’d rather not, always spending their free time schmoozing with potential backers, and OH the backstabbing that can go on. Even if YOU are not a backstabber, someone in your chosen party certainly IS.
When you retire from the political circus, your spouse doesn’t know you anymore. You have to start your relationship over from scratch. Your friends have forgotten you, your pets have died and your kids have no use for you, because they have kids ~ maybe even grandkids ~ of their own to tend to. Your whole political career has been worth nothing more than a cheap footnote in a child’s textbook, and it exists at the cost of everything you ever held dear.
I can’t do that. Not even for all the money in the world. I spent my childhood being dragged from place to place, all over the country for my father’s “career”, only to come back to find the family I had at home either dead or dying. I promised myself as a little girl that if I ever had friends and/or my own family, that I would never abandon them for a job, especially not one that could end in ridicule and defeat, socially.
Seeing the political world in a colder, more dim light, I abandoned my dream. But when one door closes, another tends to open. Right?
Sometime after I gave up on my dreams of United States domination, I started to draw something. I had always loved to draw, and would spend hours just drawing whatever I felt like. I don’t remember what it was that I drew, but I showed it to my little brother.
He laughed. He laughed long and LOUD. He tipped over laughing, tears in his little eyes, just laughing. When he stopped laughing, he sat up, composed himself and announced “SU my cartoonist.”At first, I thought “That’s a very large word for a 4 year old.” But then it hit me. Cartooning was a dream job and I was sitting on my own talent.
When you’re a cartoonist, you don’t have to travel, unless you want to ~ especially not now that we have technology so advanced that you can carry on a conversation with someone in China, while you tweet another person in Brazil! You can mail a cartoon, email a cartoon, you don’t have to go away! What’s more you can draw whenever you want to! If I want to draw in my PJ’s I CAN. If I want to draw in the car I CAN (As long as I’m not driving.) If I want to spend time with my loved ones while drawing I CAN, I damn well can! I can do a wide range of things while drawing. And the best part is that it’s something I LOVE. From the time I was a baby onward, I’ve always been fascinated by the cartooning and animating process. It’s a topic I don’t get tired of, and it’s something I even do right before bed. This would never be “just a job”, it would be something better, a career. Something I could be proud of.So from then on, it became my dream to be a world famous, beloved and well paid cartoonist.
Growing up, I studied every cartoon, anime, comic, manga and art book I could get my hands on. I read every self-teaching book I could find, more than 5 times, determined to hone my craft. I read books about the Sunday Strip Kings of Charles Schultz, E.C Segar and Windsor McKay, watched endless documentaries about animation pioneers Tex Avery, Ub Iwerks, Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett, studied the history of Tiny Toon Terrace, the Fleischer Brothers, Disney and MGM, I even freeze-framed videos trying to teach myself the intricacies of animation. I even studied video games, just to see what I could learn.
But of course, I needed models. Oh sure, I drew little cartoons for my family, and other things yet to be published, but I needed something to inspire me. Enter Wrestling. Professional Wrestling had always been a comfort to me growing up, a way to escape from day-to-day stress or to otherwise live vicariously through real life superheroes and villains. But a moment struck me when I was about 15… ish.
An ECW wrestler named Rhyno had been injured a year earlier, during a spot where he GORED Edge through the SmackDown set. Rhyno needed emergency fusion surgery, and was out of action for around a year. In one interview shot just three months after the incident, I remember Rhyno being nearly in tears, lamenting his fear that fickle fans would forget all about him. After all, a lot happens in just a month in the wrestling world, let alone one year.
But one fateful night, the APA was in the ring. It was to be a 6 man tag team match, but they were one man short. The two men pointed to the ring, and Rhyno came out.The crowd erupted with chants of “E C DUB E C DUB E C DUB” and all throughout the arena were sings that read “Rhyno” “We miss you Rhyno” “Come back Rhyno” and there, on the face of the Man Beast, was the sweetest smile, and a tiny tear.
Immediately I took a pencil and made a light sketch on a composition book:
The picture came out exactly as I saw it in my head. Expressing the emotion of the moment. Cute, yet poignant. This would be more than just a hobby to me, I felt the need to draw more… wrestlers!
At first I just drew what I saw on TV. But as the years went by, I started focusing my art more on the Indy wrestler, and less on the mainstream. I really can’t ask for better models. Most artists study ballet, to get an idea of the human form. I instead study wrestling, to better understand the strengths and limits of the human body. It’s one thing to see a ballerina hoist up another ballerina of the same size, it’s another if she were to suddenly lock the girl’s legs in a figure four. There’s no better a sport that showcases the way the body contours, the agony, the pain, but also the light and even the comedy of the human body.
Like ballet, wrestlers often tell a story with their bodies. The shady young prankster, clubbing his ex-tag team partner in the back with a chair is expressing a tale of betrayal. The tall, beastly fighter, pounding his fist into what used to be his victim’s face, is expressing a story of dominance. And the pale, quirky little underdog who is suddenly choking an announcer with his own necktie, is expressing a tale of rebellion against THE MAN.
Just as wrestling helped me to get away from my stresses, the sport again helped me understand storytelling, the body, and art. It is my hope, that with each new cartoon, that I may give back to my muses, to give them something to laugh at, make them feel appreciated, and to inspire them to carry on in their day knowing that their exploits are never wasted.
It is also my hope that you the viewer, will be captivated by my cartoons as well.
