Post by j on Aug 6, 2011 13:18:14 GMT -5
i just finished reading Gary Hart's book and i've got to say it's my favorite wrestling book i've read. A friend of mine asked me to do a review for his website so i figured i'll share it here too.
My Life in Wrestling… with a little help from my friends
By “Playboy” Gary Hart
After reading roughly 40 or so wrestling related books in the past couple of years at $37 Gary Hart’s book may not be the cheapest book you’re going to find but it has edged out Dynamite Kid and Chris Jericho as my favorite wrestling book.
Unlike most books, Gary Hart realizes people want to read about his 30+ year wrestling career and not about his life growing up. As the first sentence of the book shows… “Since you probably don’t want to be bored with the details of my youth, I’ll give you the CliffNotes version so we can cut to the chase on my wrestling career” and then spends one paragraph telling us he was born in Chicago in 1942 and then onto the wrestling. Gary talks about how when he first got started in wrestling in 1959 he also became friends and did side jobs for a guy who was a big wrestling fan named Sam Casino, who was in the Chicago Mob.
In the 445 pages of this book Gary Hart talks about every territory he wrestled and managed in from 1959 until 1993 when he pretty much went into retirement, except for a few appearances here and there. Most people remember him as a manager in Dallas and the Carolinas but he was just about everywhere, except the WWF. Although he talks about the four times he was very close to going to the WWF and why it never worked out.
He goes into great detail about spending ten years as a booker for Dallas, North Carolina, Australia and several others. Gary Hart was the booker for the very first Starrcade in 1983. Gary Hart does not hold anything back when talking about who he considered friends and who he absolutely hated, and tells why he hated them and he also admits the times he was wrong in situations that got him fired from places.
Gary Hart considers himself much different than other wrestling managers of the time because he liked to take a young guy and mold him into a superstar and he tells the stories about how he came up with the idea for the Spoiler for his best friend Don Jardine. How he had an idea for a Japanese character that was completely different than any other Japanese wrestler since WWII and how after explaining his idea to Bruiser Brody, Brody told him he knew the right guy to play the character was working as a jobber in Kansas City that guy became the Great Kabuki. And how while managing on TBS in the late 80’s a the booker asked him to create another Great Kabuki, Hart didn’t want to copy the scariness of Kabuki instead he wanted a Japanese superhero while keeping some similarities and after seeing Keiji Mutoh wrestle as the White Ninja and Super Black Ninja he knew he found the right guy to become a Japanese superhero.
Gary talks a lot about the deaths of several of his friends like David, Mike, Chris & Kerry Von Erich, Chris Adams, Bobby Shane, Don Jardine, Gino Hernandez and Bruiser Brody. Along with talking about being involved in not one but TWO airplane accidents!
Gary Hart tells about his later days in World Class working with the Dingo Warrior and Al Perez. After reading this I finally know why Al Perez just seemed to disappear from wrestling since I’ve always been a big fan of the guy.
I found it strange that Gary Hart has seemed to keep strong friendships with several guys who were notoriously hard to get along with like, Brody, Abdullah & Mark Lewin. He talks a lot about his relationship with the Von Erich family and how the kids all knew him as Uncle Gary.
Gary has 2 sons and one is wrestling on the indy scene as Chad Hart, Chad was used by WCW as a jobber a few times but after Gary’s friend Kevin Sullivan was fired as the booker Chad stopped being used.
I strongly suggest checking this book out to find out: why Gary never got to go to the WWF and what were the plans for him there if he did go? Who was the wrestler that Gary cut up with a razor blade in a locker room fight? What was the relationship between Gary Hart and Fritz Von Erich? What were Gary’s thoughts on guys like Bill Watts, Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Paul Boesch, Joe Blanchard, Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, and many others.
This was a 5 star book
www.playboygaryhart.net/index.html
My Life in Wrestling… with a little help from my friends
By “Playboy” Gary Hart
After reading roughly 40 or so wrestling related books in the past couple of years at $37 Gary Hart’s book may not be the cheapest book you’re going to find but it has edged out Dynamite Kid and Chris Jericho as my favorite wrestling book.
Unlike most books, Gary Hart realizes people want to read about his 30+ year wrestling career and not about his life growing up. As the first sentence of the book shows… “Since you probably don’t want to be bored with the details of my youth, I’ll give you the CliffNotes version so we can cut to the chase on my wrestling career” and then spends one paragraph telling us he was born in Chicago in 1942 and then onto the wrestling. Gary talks about how when he first got started in wrestling in 1959 he also became friends and did side jobs for a guy who was a big wrestling fan named Sam Casino, who was in the Chicago Mob.
In the 445 pages of this book Gary Hart talks about every territory he wrestled and managed in from 1959 until 1993 when he pretty much went into retirement, except for a few appearances here and there. Most people remember him as a manager in Dallas and the Carolinas but he was just about everywhere, except the WWF. Although he talks about the four times he was very close to going to the WWF and why it never worked out.
He goes into great detail about spending ten years as a booker for Dallas, North Carolina, Australia and several others. Gary Hart was the booker for the very first Starrcade in 1983. Gary Hart does not hold anything back when talking about who he considered friends and who he absolutely hated, and tells why he hated them and he also admits the times he was wrong in situations that got him fired from places.
Gary Hart considers himself much different than other wrestling managers of the time because he liked to take a young guy and mold him into a superstar and he tells the stories about how he came up with the idea for the Spoiler for his best friend Don Jardine. How he had an idea for a Japanese character that was completely different than any other Japanese wrestler since WWII and how after explaining his idea to Bruiser Brody, Brody told him he knew the right guy to play the character was working as a jobber in Kansas City that guy became the Great Kabuki. And how while managing on TBS in the late 80’s a the booker asked him to create another Great Kabuki, Hart didn’t want to copy the scariness of Kabuki instead he wanted a Japanese superhero while keeping some similarities and after seeing Keiji Mutoh wrestle as the White Ninja and Super Black Ninja he knew he found the right guy to become a Japanese superhero.
Gary talks a lot about the deaths of several of his friends like David, Mike, Chris & Kerry Von Erich, Chris Adams, Bobby Shane, Don Jardine, Gino Hernandez and Bruiser Brody. Along with talking about being involved in not one but TWO airplane accidents!
Gary Hart tells about his later days in World Class working with the Dingo Warrior and Al Perez. After reading this I finally know why Al Perez just seemed to disappear from wrestling since I’ve always been a big fan of the guy.
I found it strange that Gary Hart has seemed to keep strong friendships with several guys who were notoriously hard to get along with like, Brody, Abdullah & Mark Lewin. He talks a lot about his relationship with the Von Erich family and how the kids all knew him as Uncle Gary.
Gary has 2 sons and one is wrestling on the indy scene as Chad Hart, Chad was used by WCW as a jobber a few times but after Gary’s friend Kevin Sullivan was fired as the booker Chad stopped being used.
I strongly suggest checking this book out to find out: why Gary never got to go to the WWF and what were the plans for him there if he did go? Who was the wrestler that Gary cut up with a razor blade in a locker room fight? What was the relationship between Gary Hart and Fritz Von Erich? What were Gary’s thoughts on guys like Bill Watts, Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Paul Boesch, Joe Blanchard, Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, and many others.
This was a 5 star book
www.playboygaryhart.net/index.html
