George Raymond Wagner (March 24, 1915–December 26, 1963) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
best known by his
ring nameA ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer.-Wrestling:Ring names were developed as a defense mechanism to keep kayfabe and allow wrestling performers to hide their true identities from the wrestling fanbase, or because their real name is considered...
Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s-1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity and became one of the biggest stars of this period, gaining media attention for his outrageous character, which was described as flamboyant and charismatic.
Early life
George Raymond Wagner was born March 24, 1915 in
Butte, NebraskaButte is a village in Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 366 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Boyd County.- Geography :Butte is located at ....
. For a time, he and his parents lived on a farm near the village of Phoenix in Holt County and probably in Seward County before they moved to
Waterloo, IowaWaterloo is in the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,747, with an estimated population of 66,662 in 2008. It belongs to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the larger of the two cities, by...
and later Sioux City. When George was age seven, his family moved to
Houston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
, where he associated with kids from a tough neighborhood. As a child, he trained at the local
YMCAThe Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide movement of more than 45 million members from 124 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs....
and often staged matches against his friends. In 1929, Wagner dropped out of Milby High School at age 14, and worked odd jobs to help support his family. At this time, he competed at carnivals, where he could earn 35 cents for a win. By age 17, he was getting booked by the region’s top promoter, Morris Siegel, and in 1938, he won his first title by defeating Buck Lipscomb for Northwest Middleweight crown. Moreover, on May 19, 1939, he captured the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship.
Career
At 5’9” and 215 pounds, Wagner was not particularly physically imposing by professional wrestling standards, nor was he an exceptionally gifted athlete. Nevertheless, he soon developed a reputation as a solid in-ring worker. In the late 1930s, he met Betty Hanson, whom he would eventually marry in an in-ring ceremony. When the wedding proved a good drawing card, the couple re-enacted it in arenas across the country (which thus enlightened Wagner to the potential entertainment value that was left untapped within the industry). Around this same time,
Vanity magazine published a feature article about a pro wrestler named Lord Patrick Lansdowne, who entered the ring accompanied by two valets while wearing a velvet robe and doublet. Wagner was impressed with the bravado of such a character, but he believed that he could take it to a much greater extreme. As a result, he debuted his new “glamour boy” persona on a 1941 card in Eugene, Oregon; and he quickly antagonized the fans with his exaggerated effeminate behavior, which prompted the ring announcer to introduce him as “Gorgeous George.” Such showmanship was unheard of for the time; and consequently, arena crowds grew in size as fans turned out to ridicule George (who relished the sudden attention).
Gorgeous George was soon recruited to Los Angeles by promoter Johnny Doyle. Known as the "Human Orchid," his persona was created in part by growing his hair long, dyeing it platinum blonde, and putting gold-plated bobby pins in it (which he deemed “Georgie Pins” while distributing them to the audience). Furthermore, he transformed his ring entrance into a bona-fide spectacle that would often take up more time than his actual matches. He was the first wrestler to really use entrance music, as he strolled nobly to the ring to the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance", followed by his valet and a purple spotlight. Wearing an elegant robe sporting an array of sequins, Gorgeous George was always escorted down a personal red carpet by his ring valet “Jeffries,” who would carry a silver mirror while spreading rose petals at his feet. While George removed his robe, Jeffries would spray the ring with disinfectant (which reportedly consisted of Chanel No. 5 perfume), which George referred to as "Chanel #10" ("Why be half-safe?" he was famous for saying) before he would start wrestling. Moreover, George required that his valets spray the referee’s hands before the official was allowed to check him for any illegal objects, which thus prompted his now-famous outcry “Get your filthy hands off me!” Once the match finally began, he would cheat in every way he could. Gorgeous George was the industry’s first true cowardly villain, and he would cheat at every opportunity, which infuriated the crowd. His credo was "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" This flamboyant image and his showman's ability to work a crowd were so successful in the early days of
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
that he became the most famous wrestler of his time, drawing furious
heelIn professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
heatIn professional wrestling, heat refers to both crowd reaction and real-life animosity between those involved in the professional wrestling business. In terms of crowd reaction, heat is usually either cheers for a babyface or boos for a heel...
wherever he appeared.
It was with the advent of television, however, that George’s character exploded into the biggest drawing card the industry had ever known. With the networks looking for cheap but effective programming to fill its time slots, pro wrestling’s glorified action became a genuine “hit” with the viewing public, as it was the first program of any kind to draw a real profit. Consequently, it was Gorgeous George who brought the sport into the nation’s living rooms, as his histrionics and melodramatic behavior made him a larger-than-life figure in American pop-culture. His first television appearance took place on November 11, 1947 (an event that was recently named among the top 100 televised acts of the 20th century by
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused publications US Weekly, People, and In Touch Weekly, EWs primary concentration is on entertainment...
) and he immediately became a national celebrity at the same level of
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
and
Bob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG was an American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO tours entertaining American military personnel...
(who personally donated hundreds of chic robes for George’s collection) while changing the course of the industry forever. No longer was pro wrestling simply about the in-ring action, but George had created a new sense of theatrics and character performance that had not previously existed. Moreover, in a very real sense, it was Gorgeous George who single-handedly established television as a viable entertainment medium that could potentially reach millions of homes across the country (in fact, it is said that George was probably responsible for selling as many TV sets as
Milton BerleMilton Berle was an Emmy-winning American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , he was the first major star of US television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
).
In addition to his grandiose theatrics, Gorgeous George was an accomplished wrestler as well. While many may have considered him a mere gimmick wrestler, he was actually a very competent freestyle wrestler, having started learning the sport in
amateur wrestlingAmateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
as a teenager, and he could handle himself quite well if it came to a legitimate contest. The great
Lou TheszAloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a professional wrestler and six time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone in history...
, who would take this AWA title away from Wagner, and who was one of the best "legit" wrestlers ever in professional wrestling, displayed some disdain for the gimmick wrestlers. Nevertheless, he admitted that Wagner "could wrestle pretty well," but added that, "he [Wagner] could never draw a fan until he became Gorgeous George."
On March 26, 1947, he defeated
Enrique TorresEnrique Torres was a Mexican-American professional wrestler, the oldest three Torres brothers in wrestling, and a major star in the late 1940s and 1950s.-Professional wrestling career:...
to capture the Los Angeles Heavyweight Championship. Then on February 22, 1949, George was booked as the feature attraction at
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
’s
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
in what would be pro wrestling’s first return to the building in 12 years. By the 1950’s, Gorgeous George’s starpower was so huge that he was able to command 50% of the gate for his performances, which allowed him to earn over $100,000 a year, thus making him the highest paid athlete in the world. Moreover, on May 26, 1950, Gorgeous George defeated
Don EagleChief Don Eagle was a Mohawk Native American professional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Kahnawake, Quebec, Eagle became an AWA Boston World Champion.- Career :...
to claim the AWA (Boston) World Heavyweight Championship, which he held for several months. During this reign he was beaten by the
National Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
World Champion
Lou TheszAloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a professional wrestler and six time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone in history...
in a highly-publicized bout in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
. However, perhaps Gorgeous George’s most famous match was against his longtime rival
Whipper Billy WatsonWilliam Potts, O.Ont was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name Whipper Billy Watson, and was a two-time world heavyweight wrestling champion.-Early life:...
on March 12, 1959, in which a beaten George had his treasured golden locks shaved bald before 20,000 delighted fans at
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
’s
Maple Leaf GardensMaple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District. It still stands, as of 2009, but has seen little use in the past decade....
and millions more on national television.
In one of his final matches, Gorgeous George later faced off against (and lost to) an up-and-coming
Bruno SammartinoBruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign in...
, though he would lose his precious hair again when he was defeated by
the DestroyerDick Beyer is a retired professional wrestler who is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer or Doctor X.-Early life:As an athlete at Syracuse University, Beyer was a member of the varsity football and wrestling teams. He played in the 1953 Orange Bowl for Syracuse. Beyer graduated with a...
in a hair vs. mask match at the
Olympic AuditoriumThe Grand Olympic Auditorium is the former name of a sports venue in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located at 1801 S. Grand Avenue, the venue was built in 1924 specifically for the 1932 Summer Olympic Games, which saw the boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling events held there. At the time...
on November 7, 1962. This would ultimately be his last match, as advanced age and extended alcohol abuse had taken their toll on his body; and his doctors ordered him to quit wrestling.
Retirement and death
As his wrestling career wound down, Wagner invested $250,000 in a turkey ranch built in
Beaumont, CaliforniaBeaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 11,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Beaumont is located at .Its neighboring city to the east is Banning and to the west is the city of Calimesa....
, and the wrestler used his showman skills to promote his prized poultry at his wrestling matches and sport shows, popular during his heyday. He raised
turkeysThe domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird. The modern domesticated turkey descends from the wild turkey , one of the two species of turkey ; in the past the ocellated turkey was also domesticated.The turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry,...
and owned a cocktail lounge in Van Nuys, California, which he named "Gorgeous George's Ringside
RestaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
".
In 1962, Wagner was diagnosed with a serious liver condition, undoubtedly brought on by his excessive drinking. On advice of his doctors, he retired. This, combined with failed finances (due to bad investments) worsened his health. He suffered a heart attack on December 24, 1963 and died two days later, at age 48.
A plaque at his gravesite reads "Love to our Daddy Gorgeous George".
Legacy
Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali is a retired American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight champions. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome...
and James Brown acknowledged that their own approach to flamboyant self-promotion was influenced by George. A 19-year old Ali met a 46-year old George at a Las Vegas radio station. During George's radio interview, the wrestler's promo caught the attention of the future heavyweight champion. If George lost to Classy Freddie Blassie, George exclaimed, "I'll crawl across the ring and cut my hair off! But that's not gonna happen because I'm the greatest wrestler in the world!" Ali recalled, "I saw 15,000 people comin' to see this man get beat. And his talking did it. I said, 'This is a gooood idea!'" In the locker room afterwards, the seasoned wrestler gave the future legend some invaluable advice: "A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous."
In September 2008, the first full length biography of Gorgeous George was published by HarperEntertainment Press. The title of the 304 page book is
Gorgeous George: The Outrageous Bad Boy Wrestler who Created American Pop Culture by John Capouya. In the 2005 book,
I Feel Good: A Memoir in a Life of Soul, James Brown said he used many of Gorgeous George's antics to "create the James Brown you see on stage".
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
said meeting George changed his life. In Dylan's book
The Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan recounts a story of meeting Gorgeous George in person. He wrote, "He winked and seemed to mouth the phrase, `You're making it come alive.' I never forgot it. It was all the recognition and encouragement I would need for years."
The 1951 Warner Brothers
Merrie MelodiesMerrie Melodies was the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in...
cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
Bunny HuggedBunny Hugged is a 1951-released Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short is essentially a re-working of Jones's 1948 short, Rabbit Punch, substituting wrestling for boxing.-Synopsis:...
featured the one-shot character "Ravishing Ronald", modeled after Gorgeous George.
The Bowery BoysThe Bowery Boys were a group of actors who made a series of films released by Monogram Pictures from 1946 through 1958. The group was a revamping of "The East Side Kids," who had been making films together since 1940...
also lampooned Gorgeous George (with
Huntz HallHenry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer perhaps best known for his acting in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces...
as a much-heralded wrestler) in the 1952 feature
No Holds BarredNo Holds Barred is a 1989 film produced by Michael Rachmil, directed by Thomas J. Wright, written by Dennis Hackin , and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan...
. Musical performers such as
LiberaceWladziu Valentino Liberace , better known by only his last name Liberace , was a famous American entertainer and pianist...
,
Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and recording artist, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s...
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
and
Morris DayMorris E. Day is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.-1970s and 1980s:...
show signs of the George
memeA meme is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena...
. Some consider George to have been an early advancer of
campCamp is an aesthetic sensibility wherein something is appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. When the usage appeared, in 1909, it denoted: ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical, and effeminate behaviour, and, by the middle of the 1970s, the definition comprised: banality,...
.
The 1978 motion picture
The One And OnlyThe One and Only is a 1967 album by Waylon Jennings on RCA Camden. "Dream Baby" was previously a hit for Roy Orbison. The Rolling Stones had previously recorded "It's All Over Now". "John's Back in Town" is a comic response to Johnny Cash's "The Singing Star's Queen" from Everybody Loves a Nut ,...
starring Henry Winkler was loosly based on his career.
Personal life
He was married twice, first to Betty Hanson in the 1939 in
Eugene, OregonEugene is the second largest city in the U.S. State of Oregon and the county seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about 50 miles east of the Oregon Coast...
inside a wrestling ring. They had two adopted children. In 1951, after divorcing Betty, he married Cherie Dupré. They had one son, Gary. George also had a son in 1946 with a longtime mistress named Victoria.
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association
- AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Boston version) (1 time)
- Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Mid-South Sports
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, Georgia superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Georgia version)
The Georgia version of the National Wrestling Alliance Southern Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles championship used in Georgia Championship Wrestling off-and-on from 1948 to 1972....
(1 time)
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Amsterdam, New York. It was previously located in Schenectady, New York...
- Charter member inducted in 2002
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
This is a list of both active and inactive Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards created by professional wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer, with the first fourteen awards being created in 1980 with an increasing number of awards given out every year; these were created to recognize the individual...
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter...
(Class of 1996)
- Other titles
- Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Pacific Northwest Middleweight Championship (1 time)
External links