Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
This is the first-ever biography of the legendary wrestler Gorgeous George, filled with incredible never-before-told stories. George directly influenced the likes of Muhammad Ali, who took his bragging and boasting from George; James Brown, who began to wear sequined capes onstage after seeing George on TV; John Waters, whose films featured the outrageous drag queen Divine as an homage to George; and too many wrestlers to count. Amid these pop culture discoveries are firsthand accounts of the pro wrestling game from the 1930s to the 1960s.--From publisher description.--From publisher description.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
Gorgeous George: sensation of the nation
2008, HarperCollins
in English
- 1st ed.
0061173037 9780061173035
|
aaaa
|
2 |
zzzz
|
3
Gorgeous George: the outrageous bad-boy wrestler who created American pop culture
2008, Harper Entertainment
in English
- 1st ed.
0061173037 9780061173035
|
zzzz
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC recordLibrary of Congress MARC record
Internet Archive item record
Better World Books record
harvard_bibliographic_metadata record
Work Description
This is the first-ever biography of the legendary wrestler Gorgeous George, filled with incredible never-before-told stories. George directly influenced the likes of Muhammad Ali, who took his bragging and boasting from George; James Brown, who began to wear sequined capes onstage after seeing George on TV; John Waters, whose films featured the outrageous drag queen Divine as an homage to George; and too many wrestlers to count. Amid these pop culture discoveries are firsthand accounts of the pro wrestling game from the 1930s to the 1960s.The ideal American male used to be stoic, quiet, and dignified. But for a young couple struggling to make ends meet, in the desperation born of the lingering Depression and wartime rationing, an idea was hatched that changed the face of American popular culture, an idea so bold, so over-the-top and absurd, that it was perfect. That idea transformed journeyman wrestler George Wagner from a dark-haired, clean-cut good guy to a peroxide-blond braggart who blatantly cheated every chance he got. Crowds were stunned—they had never seen anything like this before—and they came from miles around to witness it for themselves.Suddenly George—guided by Betty, his pistol of a wife—was a draw. With his golden tresses grown long and styled in a marcel, George went from handsome to...well...gorgeous overnight, the small, dank wrestling venues giving way to major arenas. As if the hair wasn't enough, his robes—unmanly things of silk, lace, and chiffon in pale pinks, sunny yellows, and rich mauves—were but a prelude to the act: the regal entrance, the tailcoat-clad valet spraying the mat with perfume, the haughty looks and sneers for the "peasants" who paid to watch this outrageously prissy hulk prance around the ring. How they loved to see his glorious mane mussed up by his manly opponents. And how they loved that alluringly alliterative name...Gorgeous George...the self-proclaimed Toast of the Coast, the Sensation of the Nation!All this was timed to the arrival of that new invention everyone was talking about—television. In its early days, professional wrestling and its larger-than-life characters dominated prime-time broadcasts—none more so than Gorgeous George, who sold as many sets as Uncle Miltie.Fans came in droves—to boo him, to stick him with hatpins, to ogle his gowns, and to rejoice in his comeuppance. He was the man they loved to hate, and his provocative, gender-bending act took him to the top of the entertainment world. America would never be the same again.
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
December 25, 2021 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
December 19, 2021 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
August 6, 2021 | Edited by New York Times Bestsellers Bot | Add NYT review links |
July 22, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove fake subjects |
December 11, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |