Gorgeous George: Pro Wrestling's Greatest Showman

In 1948, television was introduced to American homes. Along with the Milton Berle Show, professional wrestling aired on Tuesday nights. Wrestling's biggest star was "Gorgeous George," who just a few years earlier had been wrestling as the capable but bland George Wagner.

George Raymond Wagner was born on March 24, 1915, in Butte, Nebraska. His family moved to Texas when he was seven. George's father was a house painter. His mother was an invalid. Money was tight in the Wagner household, so George dropped out of school to help support the family.

George grew up in a tough neighborhood near Houston called Harrisburg. Several of George's friends became well known pro wrestlers - brothers Jesse and Johnny James, Chester Hayes, and Sterling (Dizzy) Davis. George and his childhood pals staged wrestling matches, even charging admission. George was 14 years old when he began working the carnivals. His pay was 35 cents for a win.

At age 17, George began wrestling for promoter Morris Siegel. In 1938, he defeated Buck Lipscomb for the Northwest Middleweight Championship and on May 19, 1939, he won the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship from Pat O'Dowdy.

In the late 1930's George met Betty Hansen, a theater employee. George and Betty were married in an in-ring ceremony. The wedding was a good draw, so they re-enacted the ceremony in arenas all across the United States. George enjoyed the attention and promoters were happy to sell more tickets.

George had become a fairly talented wrestler, so he was always able to get work. He wanted more though. He wanted to be a top tier wrestler, a star. He knew that he would never get there as George Wagner.

The first glimpse of the character "Gorgeous George" occurred in Eugene, Oregon where George was wrestling for promoter Don Owen. Betty had made George a beautiful robe, and George was quite proud of it. Upon entering the ring, George folded the robe neatly, taking a little too much time than the crowd was willing to give. The crowd began booing. George was on to something. Each night he took longer to fold the robe. The longer he took, the more the crowd booed and the more they wanted to see George lose.

George wasn't the only wrestler using flamboyant theatrics. George and his wife found a copy of Vanity Magazine with photos of Lord Lansdowne's character, an aloof, overbearing European aristocrat who wore a velvet robe and doublet. Two valets accompanied the Lord to the ring. The fans hated Lansdowne, but his name on the card sold tickets.

George was also inspired by his old friend Dizzy Davis who had reinvented himself as Gardenia Davis. As "Gardenia," he tossed gardenias to the crowds in Mexico. Upon entering the ring, valets would spray Davis with perfume and fuss over his hair.

George had always had a desire to stand out from the crowd, and he was quite pleased with the reaction that he was getting as a more flamboyant wrestler. But Landsdowne and Gardenia were getting a lot more attention away from the ring than George was.

George and Betty found two Hungarian hair stylists, Frank and Joseph, who suggested that George grow his hair longer, then dye and curl it. In George's time that took a lot of courage, but George was willing to do almost anything to get to the top.

George then found a valet. George and Betty dressed "Jeffries" in striped pants, tails, and vest. They gave Jeffries instructions to enter the ring with a a mirror, a square of carpet and a bottle of "Chanel #10." They gave the promoters instructions to have the arena lights dimmed just before George's match and then fill the arena with the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance." George would then appear. He would abruptly stop for a second. Then he would pompously stroll down the aisle to the ring. The crowd would boo louder and louder, not knowing, or not caring, that George was pulling their strings.

When George reached the ring apron, Jeffries would stretch the ropes for George and spread rose petals at his feet. George would then gently wipe his boot soles on the carpet square. Next Jeffries would remove the hair net from George's head so that the crowd could boo some more. After a few more squirts from the perfume bottle George was ready for action.

Once Gorgeous George was finished with the pre-match gimmicks, he was for the most part a typical heel wrestler of the era, with the standard hair pulling, foot over the ropes, and distracting the referee act.

But George was not just a gimmick wrestler. While not on the same level as wrestlers like Lou Thesz and Verne Gagne, he was respected by "real" wrestlers. George had paid his dues as a journeyman wrestler and had learned enough credible wrestle moves to make worked matches appear legit. He was also not reluctant to make the other guy look good.

Gorgeous George didn't have to win all of his matches to remain a star. In fact, match results show that he lost quite a few matches, many while putting hometown heroes over. Often George was booked to lose to move along a series of grudge matches. Sometimes he would lose on the way out of a territory. Even today when everybody is in on the work, many wrestlers hate "losing," thinking it will hurt their credibility.

At George's peak, he made close to $100,000 per year, a fortune in those days. It should have been enough money for George to retire comfortably after just a few years of work. It was not to be. Bad investments (a turkey farm and a cocktail lounge, among other things), extravagant spending, gambling, two divorces, and alcoholism left him penniless. He suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve and died two days later on on December 26, 1963, at age 48.

Gorgeous George signed tens of thousands of autographs during his career, even though he almost always played the heel.

During George's peak years he was a mainstream celebrity who did public appearances with other entertainment stars - Bob Hope, Burt Lancaster and Jack Benny, to name a few. George's star power didn't last long, but when he was hot, the name "Gorgeous George" on a celebrity list meant that a lot more people would show up than otherwise would have. When those autograph books were passed around, George signed just like the rest of the big stars.

Yet relatively few of those autographs show up in the marketplace today, which probably says more about professional wrestling than it does about Gorgeous George. When George was on top of the wrestling world, professional wrestling was popular among the general public. By the 1960's, the general public wasn't paying attention to wrestling. Most of the wrestling material from George's era probably ended up being trashed. Certainly those were times unlike today when all memorabilia, no matter how unpopular will find a home somewhere.

Gorgeous George signed photos sell in the $50 - $100 range. They always find buyers when offered for sale. Simple signatures show up even less, but usually sell for less than $25 when they do.

Gorgeous George on eBay

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