Gorgeous George Publicity Photo
I'm gettin really old!
I remember Gorgeous George.....
Very well....I must admit..
He was a showman.
Posted on 06/04/2016 8:25:12 AM PDT by LRoggy
It was a small item in last Tuesday's New York Daily News: " 'Gorgeous George' gone," the headline read.
Chances are, a lot of people responded by saying: "Who the heck was Gorgeous George? Never heard of him."
In his heyday during the '40s and '50s, "Gorgeous George" was one of the biggest names in the phony game of rough-and-tumble wrestling. In 1955, the name (sometimes used by other wrestlers) was significant, not so much for what the showman accomplished by bending opponents into the shape of pretzels, but
because of the unusual fashions worn in the masculine world of grunt-and- groan.
George attracted attention more for his three-inch spike heels and inch- thick makeup than for his skill as a mauler and muscle-man. He entered the ring dressed in robes of satin or ermine and flaunted shoulder-length golden locks, as he peered vainly into a beautiful collection of hand-held mirrors. Meanwhile, his valet sprayed his corner with rich perfumes.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.philly.com ...
"Gorgeous George would shout, bulge his eyes and threaten to annihilate his ''enemy." Some of his opponents feared George's tough talk outside the ring far more than his technique inside it. In short order, the anger aimed at him made him one of wrestling's - and television's - biggest attractions. And he cried all the way to the bank.
His act lasted so long that a little-known boxer named Cassius Marcellus Clay, who won the 1960 lightheavyweight championship in the Rome Olympics, took careful note of George's success.
"Soon after I turned pro," Cassius mused, "I discovered that even though I won the Olympic title, I wasn't making any money. I was the only champion that didn't have no jack jangling in his jeans. So I studied Gorgeous George and began doing his act better than he did it.
"Before I became champ, I used to go in the ring and fight and when I went to the dressing room, people didn't pay much attention to me," Ali recalled years later. "One night, I was watching Gorgeous George on TV. He was jumping around making a lot of noise and threatening his opponents and I said to myself, 'this guy's on to something.' I think I'll put some of that in my act."
Boxing fans plunked down their hard-earned cash to see Ali get knocked out. But alas, he had become as fine a boxer as he was a showman, and routinely whipped his opponents - "as if I was their daddy," he enjoyed saying. He also told reporters he probably owed Gorgeous George a lot of money: "Wasn't for him, nobody would have heard of me," Ali insisted."I didn't use no perfume or high heels, but I became real boisterous and the fans began paying attention to me. They hated my poetry and came to see if I would knock out my opponents in the round I'd predict. Fans would spend their money and rush to my fights, hoping to see me get my head whupped."
Clay, who became a Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964, possessed enormous fighting skills. However, it was his persistent bragging, as much as his fighting ability, that electrified professional boxing. So accomplished was his act that he is often credited with saving the most brutal sport of all."
I’m already sick of hearing about that loud mouth.
Much of the blame belongs to Howard Cosell.
Howard Cosell built his career on pimping for Cassius Clay.
So why did you read this?
Here’s an interesting video clip of Ali stepping into a then WWWF ring:
“I’m already sick of hearing about that loud mouth.”
—
Me too.
He was an aged athlete.
Period.
.
Yep. Ken Norton was better and served his country.
wth?? why on earth is this in Breaking News?????
Come on!
Norton was knocked out in the 1st round in his debut fight by Gerry Cooney, fought a draw against Scott LeDoux, lost to Ernie Shavers by 1st round KO and won a split decision against Randall Cobb.
And those were his first four fights as a pro!
Get real.
Sorry, put it in Editorial if it makes you feel better
You know, he hasn’t even been dead 24 hours. He supported Reagan for saying God needed to remain in schools. He spent his last recent decades going out of his way to be nice to every persona and group he could.
Maybe the loudmouth is right in your mirror.
Silence yankee crone...
Ali probably got about a million for that little display.
Last four fights, not first four. Read it upside down!
Same here. They are too quick to gloss over his draft-dodging.
Okay,if you say so.
.
I just watched that film clip of him climbing into the WWF ring. Funny, fun, and had a smile on my face watching. He was a showman and he gave some good entertainment to the country during a sucky era.
Good for him.
Yes but you know something about boxing. A lot here are just cursing over their beers at Ali. He was no saint, but he was The Greatest. Of.... Allll....Time!
so basically...
Ali admitted to cultural appropriation!
I'm gettin really old!
I remember Gorgeous George.....
Very well....I must admit..
He was a showman.
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