I'm going to lose people right off the bat, thanks to the title and cover. And while, yes, this book is a biography of a professional wrestler, you don't have to like professional wrestling to be intrigued by the story of Gorgeous George. More than just serve as a fake pugilist, George did exactly what the subtitle suggests - he affected American pop culture in a way that is still being felt today (even if those performers don't even realize it). And by pop culture, I'm not talking about professional wrestling - I'm talking sports in general, music, TV, and the grand idea of "celebrity."
For those unfamiliar, Gorgeous George was a professional wrestler whose heyday came in the 1940s and 1950s. He was the ultimate "heel," wrestlespeak for "bad guy." He talked about how much better he was than not just his opponent, but the people of the crowd. How they were all dirty and poor and unattractive and beneath him. His "performance" began not when the bell sounded the start of a match, but before he even began walking to the ring: he would be preceded by a valet who would "disinfect" the ring with Chanel No. 10 perfume and then lay down a clean carpet on which his master could tread. Then, with the dulcet tones of "Pomp and Circumstance" ringing through the arena, Gorgeous George would begin walking to the ring. He would wear long, ornate, effeminate robes in bright colors; his hair would be bleached blonde and styled using gold bobby pins (which he called "Georgie pins.") He would rankle the audience members as they showered him with boos. When he got to the ring, his valet would help him disrobe and prepare for the match. The whole process took about 15 minutes; all the while, his opponent would be hanging out watching the show from his corner.
For more information about him, check out this video. You won't be disappointed.
To understand why George became such a phenomena, you have to look at that period of history. George first arrived as "Gorgeous," flaunting the luxury and expensiveness of his clothes and lifestyle, at the end of the Depression and then during World War II, a time when most people's funds were limited. He also arrived right around the time of television. This new medium of entertainment made professional wrestling extremely popular, as it didn't have to worry about paying writers or actors (unlike scripted TV shows); they could get away with using only one camera (unlike field sports like baseball or football); and because wrestling matches were predetermined, they didn't have to worry about one ending too soon to be worthwhile (unlike boxing). So wrestling was big, and as the biggest wrestler in the business, Gorgeous George was a household name for decades.
A handful of well-known celebrities directly credit George with their own personas. James "Godfather of Soul" Brown remembers watching him and adopting his fancy robes and outgoing ways. A chance meeting with George, after which George spent some time tutoring the then-teenager, Muhammad Ali's "I am the prettiest! I am the greatest!" routine is something that could have been taking word-for-word by a Gorgeous George interview. Even Bob Dylan - not exactly known for his flashy style - points to a meeting with George as what helped him figure out how to change his name and create a stage personality. The author of the book, John Capouya, does a good job of following those lines, those trends, down to the celebrities of today. Gorgeous George's influence is still felt.
In his personal life, while George did adopt his Gorgeous persona to the point where he legally changed his name to "Gorgeous George," he was not really the guy he portrayed on TV. For much of his career, he was a loving family man to his wife and two adopted children. Then he struggled with alcoholism and gambling and adultery, which cost him two marriages, two families, and all of his money, and when he died in 1963 of a heart attack brought on (probably) by his alcohol usage, he was destitute.
While the story of a famous person brought down by personal demons is not a new one, the story of Gorgeous George is utterly original, fitting of this breaking-ground man. It's also an exceptionally researched and well-written work by Capouya that would be easy for anyone - even the non-wrestling fan - to read and enjoy.
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