The Hidden Link Between Hairspray and Pro Wrestling

USA Today pop culture blogger Whitney Matheson is getting ready to interview John Waters, and she’s soliciting questions from her readers. I think she should get the director to open up about his thing for Gorgeous George, one of the first professional wrestlers launched into stardom by television in the 1950s. Apparently, Waters spoke with John Capouya, the author of a forthcoming biography of George Wagner, and revealed that the wrestler has provided inspiration for many of his most flamboyant film characters over the years—he even keeps a picture of Gorgeous George on his bedroom wall to this day. (Wagner’s flamboyant stage presence was also an inspiration to Muhammad Ali and James Brown, but I don’t think either of them took their admiration that far; I guess we’ll find out for sure when the book comes out at the end of the summer.)

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