World Wrestling Entertainment® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that Gorgeous
George, the man often credited with creating American pop culture and
who set the standard for future WWE Superstars and influenced such
greats as Muhammad Ali, James Brown and Bob Dylan, will be inducted into
the WWE® Hall of Fame on March 27, 2010. His 96 year-old former wife,
Betty Wagner will accept the honor on his behalf. The Hall of Fame
ceremony will be broadcast that night on USA Network at 11 PM ET from
the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona.
"Gorgeous George’s was a pop-culture innovator who took risks pushing
the social envelope and did things that no other performer had ever
dared to do,” said CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon. "He was a cultural
tour-de-force who set the standard that many in the world of sports and
entertainment still emulate today.”
The significance of Gorgeous George’s legacy led WWE Studios to option
the rights to his story for a major motion picture slated to begin
production in 1Q 2011.
Muhammad Ali, whose notorious boastful and arrogant style derived from
George, stated, "I made up my mind after meeting Gorgeous George to make
people angry at me...I saw 15,000 people comin’ to see this man get
beat. And his talking did it. I said this is a good idea.”
Bob Dylan, the music poet, said, "A mighty spirit. Crossing paths with
Gorgeous George, was all the recognition and encouragement I would need
for years to come.”
Gorgeous George, born George Wagner, single-handedly changed the
dynamics of not only wrestling, but entertainment and sports in the
1940s-1950s. His character was an arrogant aristocrat dressed in silk,
lace and chiffon robes who spoke in a braggadocio style, often referring
to himself as "The Toast of the Coast” and "The Sensation of the
Nation.” Audiences around the country came to see Gorgeous George
perform live, and tuned their TV sets in to see what he would say or do
next, making Gorgeous George one of the biggest celebrities of his day,
and an influence on pop culture for generations to come. As popular as
Lucille Ball and Bob Hope, media observers believe more Americans
purchased televisions to watch Gorgeous George perform than to see
Milton Berle.
Others to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame on March 27 include Ted
"The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase Sr., former Women’s Champion Wendi
Richter, Maurice "Mad Dog” Vachon and Japanese legend Antonio Inoki.
About WWE
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