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The Hard Way
Don Fargo is one of the overlooked stars of the classic era of pro wrestling. He was a headliner in almost every territory in which he appeared — New York, Amarillo, Dallas, Tennessee, Buffalo, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Louisiana, just to name a few.
As famous as he was for his ability to draw crowds to the arenas, he probably was more famous for his hijinks behind the scenes. Stories about the wild lifestyle of professional wrestlers abound. Many are true, but there also are many that are either downright false or exaggerated to epic proportions over the passage of time. Rest assured, the stories in this book about Don Fargo are all true, regardless of how outlandish or implausible they may sound. The stories about his pranks and wild lifestyle are talked about to this day by those who were witness to the events.
For the first time, Don tells, in detail, the story about what happened when he and his tag-team partner ran afoul of a group of motorcycle outlaws, and how he inadvertently wound up on the wrong side of the law on more than a few occasions. He also tells stories about pulling ribs on his fellow wrestlers, including well-known celebrities like boxing champ Joe Louis, and classic, hilarious stories about many of the well-known wrestlers of the golden era of pro wrestling. Don tells the story about how he met Jackie Fargo, how they formed the tag team that became known as the Fabulous Fargos, and the story behind how they became the first team to be billed as "world tag team champions" in Madison Square Garden.
He shares stories about winning the 1952 Mr. Pittsburgh bodybuilding contest, being punished by veteran wrestlers when he tried to get into professional wrestling, dangling from the roof of the King Edward Hotel in New York, riding naked on the roofs of cars traveling at high speeds, nailing a certain body part to a table, and getting his hand stuck in … well, let’s just say, somewhere you wouldn’t normally put your whole hand.
Fargo talks about how he created the more than 13 different characters he portrayed in the ring, his discovery of the "hard way," for which he became famous in wrestling circles, his problems with drugs and alcohol, and the friendships he developed along the way.
This is the most detailed book ever written that ties together important events in wrestling history with the hilarious shenanigans that went on behind the scenes. You’ve never read a more entertaining life story than this one.
As famous as he was for his ability to draw crowds to the arenas, he probably was more famous for his hijinks behind the scenes. Stories about the wild lifestyle of professional wrestlers abound. Many are true, but there also are many that are either downright false or exaggerated to epic proportions over the passage of time. Rest assured, the stories in this book about Don Fargo are all true, regardless of how outlandish or implausible they may sound. The stories about his pranks and wild lifestyle are talked about to this day by those who were witness to the events.
For the first time, Don tells, in detail, the story about what happened when he and his tag-team partner ran afoul of a group of motorcycle outlaws, and how he inadvertently wound up on the wrong side of the law on more than a few occasions. He also tells stories about pulling ribs on his fellow wrestlers, including well-known celebrities like boxing champ Joe Louis, and classic, hilarious stories about many of the well-known wrestlers of the golden era of pro wrestling. Don tells the story about how he met Jackie Fargo, how they formed the tag team that became known as the Fabulous Fargos, and the story behind how they became the first team to be billed as "world tag team champions" in Madison Square Garden.
He shares stories about winning the 1952 Mr. Pittsburgh bodybuilding contest, being punished by veteran wrestlers when he tried to get into professional wrestling, dangling from the roof of the King Edward Hotel in New York, riding naked on the roofs of cars traveling at high speeds, nailing a certain body part to a table, and getting his hand stuck in … well, let’s just say, somewhere you wouldn’t normally put your whole hand.
Fargo talks about how he created the more than 13 different characters he portrayed in the ring, his discovery of the "hard way," for which he became famous in wrestling circles, his problems with drugs and alcohol, and the friendships he developed along the way.
This is the most detailed book ever written that ties together important events in wrestling history with the hilarious shenanigans that went on behind the scenes. You’ve never read a more entertaining life story than this one.
442 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 10, 2019
Fargo, who claims to be illiterate, collaborated with Scott Teal on this extremely comprehensive overview of his long, colorful, and gimmick-filled careers. Going from the 50s into the 80s, this is the life story of someone who moved around a lot, saved no money, and partied all the time (and was also a klansman and collector of nazi memorabilia).
August 10, 2015
The first-person POV, characters, terminology, and atmosphere all rang true, and brought back memories of dad’s stories. (Wild Bill Zim)
Fargo mentions that he can’t read or write, so Teal’s job must have been difficult. (Fargo’s memory seems good, based on the wealth of detail.)
Notes:
9... Cowboy Bob Kelly...Fargo thought about the business all the time and knew what it took to get over
18… different names = gimmicks
21… He was underage (under 17), but bluffed his way into the Marines [like dad, at 14]
24… loved to loudly drop weights in the gym, attract attention
28… March 1951 went to Columbus and started working for Al Haft … $50/week
The old guys roughed him up, tested him...Speedy LaRance, Ruffy Silverstein, Stu Hart … see how he handled the pressure and pain
29… Haft’s gym was across the street from the Southern Hotel (Main and High)
33… rib --- Big Bill Miller pretended to be to be irate husband..mask and shotgun
37… Jack The Neck Vansky
38… Haft’s Acre described
40… sucking wind, blowing up...work holds until regain breath
Buddy Rogers ahead of his time by wearing swimming trunks instead of tights … ahead of his time (like dad!) .. Wrestlers didn’t wear tights in the 30s and 40s.
Old timers wouldn’t shave and rubbed and ground their stubble into you...like sandpaper
44/45… Buddy Rogers power and charisma...superstar...more than Hulk or Flair
46… pan faces --- wrestlers with no expression...didn’t convey pain and agony
Rogers: whatever character you assume, LIVE it. Believe what you are..and do it well ... COMMIT
48… territory
51… heat… audience reaction
55… Thesz didn’t have a gimmick …. just solid wrestling
56… Antone Leone..loved to play tricks. … Putting a bug in his pie to welch on the bill.
66… bumps = stunts, action … we’d do anything to please the crowd even if it meant taking ridiculous bumps. Doing those things hurt, but that didn’t matter because all I cared about was making the people believe.
68… Frank Hickey Toledo..”You gotta have these tools ...bing, bing, bing… gotta have this, that,...”
69… DuMont TeleCenter NYC … 1955
77… People hated men with long hair, and long blond hair riled them up even more
78… do a job --- (lose a match)
79… can’t read. can’t write. don’t even know the alphabet.
80… Hell’s Kitchen 33rd & 4th
83… money meant nothing to him
85… mooning people with a lit cigar up rear
87… vagina stunt
93… Bert Ruby wanted payoffs to be a big secret. “Everybody makes different $.”
112… hardway/hard way … Buddy Rogers...if want the big $, have to go with the flow
115… loved pain...were beating the hell out of each other... no one shouted "Fake!"
86 yrs old...still sit on the edge of the bed in the mornings...like dad
116… Pfefer...The Halitosis Kid…”eating beans”
118… Pfefer initiated French Angel character (wiki credits Boston’s Paul Bowser) ... http://deathmaskofmauricetillet-thean...
120… Pfefer’s Gorgeous George Grant
124… J Michael Kenyon, "the god of wrestling historians"
129… used coat hanger to scratch under cast
133… rubber exercise strap
152… ripping extra gashes in his back
171… diving board trick on Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi)
181… JM Kenyon found obit 28 years later
190… safety pin thru forehead, nipples, ears...beer can tabs …. nail thru schwanz
212… shots = matches
214… 60 minute matches
221… strap = championship belt
228… ketchup/Tampax trick
249… 1978 Scott Teal photo session
284… bare breast dancing
287… most memorable moment? … none, because always, always happy.. (all his photos reflect that)
wrestlers bizarre people...like movie stars...but they LIVED the character
288… 13 different gimmicks
298… never whipped his kids
299… architect echocardiograms
309… safety pin thru johnson ... pull concrete block
313… wanted to have fun and to make people laugh
Fargo mentions that he can’t read or write, so Teal’s job must have been difficult. (Fargo’s memory seems good, based on the wealth of detail.)
Notes:
9... Cowboy Bob Kelly...Fargo thought about the business all the time and knew what it took to get over
18… different names = gimmicks
21… He was underage (under 17), but bluffed his way into the Marines [like dad, at 14]
24… loved to loudly drop weights in the gym, attract attention
28… March 1951 went to Columbus and started working for Al Haft … $50/week
The old guys roughed him up, tested him...Speedy LaRance, Ruffy Silverstein, Stu Hart … see how he handled the pressure and pain
29… Haft’s gym was across the street from the Southern Hotel (Main and High)
33… rib --- Big Bill Miller pretended to be to be irate husband..mask and shotgun
37… Jack The Neck Vansky
38… Haft’s Acre described
40… sucking wind, blowing up...work holds until regain breath
Buddy Rogers ahead of his time by wearing swimming trunks instead of tights … ahead of his time (like dad!) .. Wrestlers didn’t wear tights in the 30s and 40s.
Old timers wouldn’t shave and rubbed and ground their stubble into you...like sandpaper
44/45… Buddy Rogers power and charisma...superstar...more than Hulk or Flair
46… pan faces --- wrestlers with no expression...didn’t convey pain and agony
Rogers: whatever character you assume, LIVE it. Believe what you are..and do it well ... COMMIT
48… territory
51… heat… audience reaction
55… Thesz didn’t have a gimmick …. just solid wrestling
56… Antone Leone..loved to play tricks. … Putting a bug in his pie to welch on the bill.
66… bumps = stunts, action … we’d do anything to please the crowd even if it meant taking ridiculous bumps. Doing those things hurt, but that didn’t matter because all I cared about was making the people believe.
68… Frank Hickey Toledo..”You gotta have these tools ...bing, bing, bing… gotta have this, that,...”
69… DuMont TeleCenter NYC … 1955
77… People hated men with long hair, and long blond hair riled them up even more
78… do a job --- (lose a match)
79… can’t read. can’t write. don’t even know the alphabet.
80… Hell’s Kitchen 33rd & 4th
83… money meant nothing to him
85… mooning people with a lit cigar up rear
87… vagina stunt
93… Bert Ruby wanted payoffs to be a big secret. “Everybody makes different $.”
112… hardway/hard way … Buddy Rogers...if want the big $, have to go with the flow
115… loved pain...were beating the hell out of each other... no one shouted "Fake!"
86 yrs old...still sit on the edge of the bed in the mornings...like dad
116… Pfefer...The Halitosis Kid…”eating beans”
118… Pfefer initiated French Angel character (wiki credits Boston’s Paul Bowser) ... http://deathmaskofmauricetillet-thean...
120… Pfefer’s Gorgeous George Grant
124… J Michael Kenyon, "the god of wrestling historians"
129… used coat hanger to scratch under cast
133… rubber exercise strap
152… ripping extra gashes in his back
171… diving board trick on Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi)
181… JM Kenyon found obit 28 years later
190… safety pin thru forehead, nipples, ears...beer can tabs …. nail thru schwanz
212… shots = matches
214… 60 minute matches
221… strap = championship belt
228… ketchup/Tampax trick
249… 1978 Scott Teal photo session
284… bare breast dancing
287… most memorable moment? … none, because always, always happy.. (all his photos reflect that)
wrestlers bizarre people...like movie stars...but they LIVED the character
288… 13 different gimmicks
298… never whipped his kids
299… architect echocardiograms
309… safety pin thru johnson ... pull concrete block
313… wanted to have fun and to make people laugh
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews