Ellison, Lillian. The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess Of The Squared Circle

After the success of Mick Foley's first autobiography it seems that everybody associated with the pro wrestling business is now writing their tales of the squared circle. Sadly, while Foley's book was excellent, the majority of these wrestling books are cheaply put together pieces of lies, fluff and self-promotion. You can add Lillian Ellison's name to this list, although to be technical, the actual name would be Fabulous Moolah. Moolah is one of those people who got famous by being around for so long, that everyone would just assume there must be something special about her. This book, however, shows just how conceited and deluded she is when it comes to her place in wrestling history. To read these pages you would think that wrestling begins and ends with Moolah. Well, women's wrestling nearly did end BECAUSE of Moolah, but that's another story....All in all, yet another ... cash-in on the wrestling boom

Might be interesting for a newbie to the spectacle of Pro Wrestling but for the long time fan it's disappointing. The book's narrative, well...it didn't work for me, unlike Missy Hyatt's breezy and straight-from-the-shoulder biography, which ranged from laugh-out-loud funny to heart touching. Perhaps most surprising is how very few new or unique photographs illustrate this bio on one of the most flamboyant performers of all-time--male or female.

If you're a hard core wrestling fan expecting/hoping for a book that will provide an "authentic" if not "honest" glimpse behind the stage curtain, this isn't it. Missed opportunity comes to mind here, and it's a shame. From her undeniable (and enviable) ringside seat to wrestling history, Ellison had the chance to "shoot" for us here - perhaps for the final time in her career - and give us the unvarnished dirt on the Early & Golden Era pro game and its most colorful characters. But in true villain form, the Moolah character takes over, slips under the ropes and goes for a walk outside for a 20 count when the action gets too hot.

A major annoyance throughout the book is Ellison's steadfast references to the mirage that retaining her coveted championship was a feat of real physical strength or actual professional prowess. Moolah, who ARE you kidding? Liston gave it up to Ali; Ali was past it with Holmes; Tyson humbled Holmes. Youth must be served; anything less and the fix is-even in this game. (Hey, I'm not knocking someone who can still take a bump through a table at age 75+, but let's be realistic.)

Ellison compares her longevity (which IS truly amazing) and various "comebacks" to athletes like Muhammad Ali, yet it dawns on the reader that perhaps the real reason for Moolah's title tenure is due to having trained, managed, booked (and in some cases, housed/fed) most of the active women wrestlers of her time. It's hard for "contenders" to become champ when the boss/landlord doesn't want to give it up and says, "take a dive" tonight.

Ellison describes well the "early days" when she was breaking into the sport, but shies away from anything approaching controversial or hard-hitting in stating either cold hard facts or personal opinions about most people and events she recalls. Her real life-stories from childhood and various marriages, family relationships and friendships-get the majority of play throughout the first half of the book and help explain why Ellison (the real person) is the way she is. The origin and inspiration for Moolah (the character) is given some, but not as much development, and would have been just as welcomed.

There's very little retold about the women Moolah competed against; no "Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Hagler, or Lewis-Schmelling" dramas are described. Cindi Lauper/MTV and the famous rift with Wendy Richter are addressed, but not nearly as in depth as we would like. As mentioned before, few photos or illustrations show fans of today the paltry conditions she endured on the road or in the arena. One would have thought that over 60 years in the biz, she and her publisher could have come up with bushels of seldom seen photos, reprints of wrestling posters, autographed memorabilia, wrestling magazine covers, stills from network TV programs or mainstream newspaper/magazine articles.

As a businesswomen who perhaps single-handedly kept the woman's division active with a stable of performers in the 1960s and 70s, there's practically nothing about her talent recruiting practices, training regimens, "old school" ring work techniques, or even her philosophy on "faces" and "heels." Of the dozens of women wrestlers Ellison trained or otherwise assisted, there are not many stories about those times or relationships; and from thousands of bouts, only a few battles with prime opponents or storylines are described. (True, it's a book about Moolah, but even so, there's very little insight to what went into keeping her "Moolah, Women's World Champion" all those years.)

I would agree that this book is mostly a "G" rating, but there are a few salty words and situations in there. Also, repeated and somewhat offensive references to little people (midget) wrestlers are sure to surprise, if not insult, some readers (even if she professes feelings of love and family toward them).

Sorry, but come back to this one later (paperback), especially when there are so many more titles in this category. In the meanwhile, let's hope some studio picks this up for a wide screen movie, like "All the Marbles."

The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess Of The Squared Circle by Lillian Ellison might be interesting for a newbie to the spectacle of Pro Wrestling but for the long time fan it's disappointing. The book's narrative, well...it didn't work for me, unlike Missy Hyatt's breezy and straight-from-the-shoulder biography, which ranged from laugh-out-loud funny to heart touching. Perhaps most surprising is how very few new or unique photographs illustrate this bio on one of the most flamboyant performers of all-time--male or female.

If you're a hard core wrestling fan expecting/hoping for a book that will provide an "authentic" if not "honest" glimpse behind the stage curtain, this isn't it. Missed opportunity comes to mind here, and it's a shame. From her undeniable (and enviable) ringside seat to wrestling history, Ellison had the chance to "shoot" for us here - perhaps for the final time in her career - and give us the unvarnished dirt on the Early & Golden Era pro game and its most colorful characters. But in true villain form, the Moolah character takes over, slips under the ropes and goes for a walk outside for a 20 count when the action gets too hot.

A major annoyance throughout the book is Ellison's steadfast references to the mirage that retaining her coveted championship was a feat of real physical strength or actual professional prowess. Moolah, who ARE you kidding? Liston gave it up to Ali; Ali was past it with Holmes; Tyson humbled Holmes. Youth must be served; anything less and the fix is-even in this game. (Hey, I'm not knocking someone who can still take a bump through a table at age 75+, but let's be realistic.)

Ellison compares her longevity (which IS truly amazing) and various "comebacks" to athletes like Muhammad Ali, yet it dawns on the reader that perhaps the real reason for Moolah's title tenure is due to having trained, managed, booked (and in some cases, housed/fed) most of the active women wrestlers of her time. It's hard for "contenders" to become champ when the boss/landlord doesn't want to give it up and says, "take a dive" tonight.

Ellison describes well the "early days" when she was breaking into the sport, but shies away from anything approaching controversial or hard-hitting in stating either cold hard facts or personal opinions about most people and events she recalls. Her real life-stories from childhood and various marriages, family relationships and friendships-get the majority of play throughout the first half of the book and help explain why Ellison (the real person) is the way she is. The origin and inspiration for Moolah (the character) is given some, but not as much development, and would have been just as welcomed.

There's very little retold about the women Moolah competed against; no "Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Hagler, or Lewis-Schmelling" dramas are described. Cindi Lauper/MTV and the famous rift with Wendy Richter are addressed, but not nearly as in depth as we would like. As mentioned before, few photos or illustrations show fans of today the paltry conditions she endured on the road or in the arena. One would have thought that over 60 years in the biz, she and her publisher could have come up with bushels of seldom seen photos, reprints of wrestling posters, autographed memorabilia, wrestling magazine covers, stills from network TV programs or mainstream newspaper/magazine articles.

As a businesswomen who perhaps single-handedly kept the woman's division active with a stable of performers in the 1960s and 70s, there's practically nothing about her talent recruiting practices, training regimens, "old school" ring work techniques, or even her philosophy on "faces" and "heels." Of the dozens of women wrestlers Ellison trained or otherwise assisted, there are not many stories about those times or relationships; and from thousands of bouts, only a few battles with prime opponents or storylines are described. (True, it's a book about Moolah, but even so, there's very little insight to what went into keeping her "Moolah, Women's World Champion" all those years.)

I would agree that this book is mostly a "G" rating, but there are a few salty words and situations in there. Also, repeated and somewhat offensive references to little people (midget) wrestlers are sure to surprise, if not insult, some readers (even if she professes feelings of love and family toward them) how can you do this to us? give this book a miss just save you money