Let's Go To The Movies
Chapter Three: The Territories and the Movies
#PWHS #Article #LetsGoToTheMovies #TerritoriesAndMovies
It's the third part of this four part series of articles on wrestlers in the movies. So far we've already covered over fifty years of history and we've still got another eighty-ish years to go in these last two parts. So, I suppose I should crack on with it.
As the 1940's progressed so did video technology. By the end of the decade professional wrestling had exploded thanks to a brand new invention that had been released to the public called television. One man led the charge as sensation swept the nation. That man was George Wagner, better known as Gorgeous George. Some would go as far as to say that he was the true first star of television.
A lot of people these days don't realize he also had a movie released in 1949. Alias The Champ was based around Gorgeous George, who played himself, being...well, here's the summary from IMDB.com:
"New York gangsters trying to muscle in on the California wrestling scene come up against a wrestler who won't knuckle under. They frame him for a murder, and his manager and a cop set out to clear his name, catch the real killers and save the reputation of the sport of wrestling."
In my opinion it's quite an enjoyable movie too. George also made appearances on TV shows though such as the "TV Club" and "I've Got A Secret." The latter being very similar to the already established "What's My Line?" a show that would go on to feature women's wrestling star June Byers, under the name of June Wolfe, Linnie Kincaid, and several other female wrestlers as well as an alligator wrestler!
It was at this time the trend was now set for future stars to appear on all kinds of shows.The story doesn't stop there though. It's not like as Gorgeous George's fame was winding down in the 1950's that wrestlers in movies just disappeared until the 1980's. Oh no. Not at all. As with the 1920's and '30's there were a whole string of stars from the 1940's to the 1980's that appeared in movies.
But, If you want to talk about breaking boundaries then Woody Strode just has to be mentioned. A black star football player, a wrestler, and an actor with 93 credits to his name. He started in 1939 and his last movie came in 1993, although one was released featuring him in 1995, a year after he passed away. In 1961 he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe in Spartacus, and for the role in the Saturn Awards in 1978 for Kingdom of the Spiders. In 1987 he won the Golden Boot. Other than the two movies mentioned he also appeared in Once Upon a Time in the West released in 1968, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance, 1962, and The Professionals, 1968.
Arguably one of the most well known wrestler-actors pre-1980 was Tor Johnson. He appeared in Bride of the Monster, 1955, Plan 9 From Outer Space, 1959, and Night of the Ghouls, 1959 as well as 43 other movies. As well as being a movie star he was probably equally as well known as the Super Swedish Angel in the squared circle. Skipping forward to 1994 for a brief moment, Johnson was portrayed in a movie about Ed Wood by another wrestler called George "The Animal" Steele.
Then there's Lenny Montana who old school fans just love to remind people that he was in the 1972 Godfather classic. For ten plus years following the release of that film he continued to appear in a string of movies and television shows, however, nothing ever gets mentioned other than the portrayal of Luca Brasi. Inside the ropes Montana was probably best known as the Zebra Kid.
As the 1940's progressed so did video technology. By the end of the decade professional wrestling had exploded thanks to a brand new invention that had been released to the public called television. One man led the charge as sensation swept the nation. That man was George Wagner, better known as Gorgeous George. Some would go as far as to say that he was the true first star of television.
A lot of people these days don't realize he also had a movie released in 1949. Alias The Champ was based around Gorgeous George, who played himself, being...well, here's the summary from IMDB.com:
"New York gangsters trying to muscle in on the California wrestling scene come up against a wrestler who won't knuckle under. They frame him for a murder, and his manager and a cop set out to clear his name, catch the real killers and save the reputation of the sport of wrestling."
In my opinion it's quite an enjoyable movie too. George also made appearances on TV shows though such as the "TV Club" and "I've Got A Secret." The latter being very similar to the already established "What's My Line?" a show that would go on to feature women's wrestling star June Byers, under the name of June Wolfe, Linnie Kincaid, and several other female wrestlers as well as an alligator wrestler!
It was at this time the trend was now set for future stars to appear on all kinds of shows.The story doesn't stop there though. It's not like as Gorgeous George's fame was winding down in the 1950's that wrestlers in movies just disappeared until the 1980's. Oh no. Not at all. As with the 1920's and '30's there were a whole string of stars from the 1940's to the 1980's that appeared in movies.
But, If you want to talk about breaking boundaries then Woody Strode just has to be mentioned. A black star football player, a wrestler, and an actor with 93 credits to his name. He started in 1939 and his last movie came in 1993, although one was released featuring him in 1995, a year after he passed away. In 1961 he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe in Spartacus, and for the role in the Saturn Awards in 1978 for Kingdom of the Spiders. In 1987 he won the Golden Boot. Other than the two movies mentioned he also appeared in Once Upon a Time in the West released in 1968, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance, 1962, and The Professionals, 1968.
Arguably one of the most well known wrestler-actors pre-1980 was Tor Johnson. He appeared in Bride of the Monster, 1955, Plan 9 From Outer Space, 1959, and Night of the Ghouls, 1959 as well as 43 other movies. As well as being a movie star he was probably equally as well known as the Super Swedish Angel in the squared circle. Skipping forward to 1994 for a brief moment, Johnson was portrayed in a movie about Ed Wood by another wrestler called George "The Animal" Steele.
Then there's Lenny Montana who old school fans just love to remind people that he was in the 1972 Godfather classic. For ten plus years following the release of that film he continued to appear in a string of movies and television shows, however, nothing ever gets mentioned other than the portrayal of Luca Brasi. Inside the ropes Montana was probably best known as the Zebra Kid.
In a slightly different role, Gene LeBell made an outstanding career for himself as a stuntman with nearly 300 listed credits for him and probably many more where he was never credited. From time-to-time he stepped in front of the camera with the likes of Elvis Presley, Bruce Lee and to don the gear of Mr. Kyptonite to take on George Reeves as Superman. LeBell still works television and movies to this day after starting in 1962. That's over fifty years he has made a living doing so!
There was also have the 1974 release of The Wrestler which featured some of the most prominent names in wrestling, but especially those who were in the AWA. Naturally Verne Gagne had the lead role alongside Ed Asner. IMDB.com gives the following summary:
"Promoting the world of professional wrestling at the expense of the plot itself, Frank Bass (Ed Asner) takes a stand and defends what he thinks is right. Gamblers, mobsters, unscrupulous wrestlers, money-grubbing promoters, and fixers conspire to corrupt the industry, but Frank tries to make the game as honest and fair as it is his idealized vision. Frank's efforts climax as he promotes an over-the-hill champion in the final matches of his career."
1975 saw the release of a documentary called "Strongman." To the best of my knowledge while this was not the first documentary on wrestling ever made, this was the first to be about about a specific wrestler. The wrestler in the spotlight with all the focus on him was none other than Bruno Sammartino. These days wrestler documentaries are just pouring out from WWE and other independent film-makers.
Finally I must give a very, very special mention to Mike Mazurki. From the mid-1930's to 1990 Mazurki appeared in over 150 movies and TV shows. It's arguable that Mazurki was actually more known for his acting work then for his in-ring career. Some of his most well known appearances include the 1941 "Some Like It Hot", "Murder, My Sweet" in 1944, "Nightmare Alley" in 1947, "Dick Tracy" in both 1990 and 1947, "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Charlie's Angels" just to name a few.
Even though he was never at the very top of the wrestling game, he was a consistent and well respected for matman. He is probably best known for being the founder of the Cauliflower Alley Club. His original idea was to create something for wrestlers that was similar to the Actors Guild. Although he never achieved exactly that, his mission was extremely successful and the non-profit organization to help wrestlers has continued for nearly fifty years to this very day.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Let's Go To The Movies: Chapter Three.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: August 14, 2014.
Article: #49.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Let's Go To The Movies: Chapter Three.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: August 14, 2014.
Article: #49.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Let's Go To The Movies: Chapter Four - Read Here.
Let's Go To The Movies: Chapter Two - Read Here.
Other articles by Jimmy can be Read Here.