he hadn't descended into the comedy when I had the chance to speak to him, it didn't do anything for either of them to be honest, you have to wonder what pressures were coming from Max etc to go in this direction.
Agree with all the comments so far. George was probably the first "manager" I ever recall (at least on first recollection), which was another stand out thing for him and Nagasaki.
The three piece suit and grabbing the microphone, to rile the audience, all worked a treat at the time. The excessive make up and glitter and the afro wigs were all a bit too much, and the comical tag match with McManus and Logan, with George dressed like a Victorian gentleman who had gone to take a dip in the sea at Eastbourne, was frankly laughable.
I couldn't quite put the two of them together at that point. The brooding menace of Nagasaki and the absurd comedy of George, it was just another thing chipping away at the suspension of disbelief needed to enjoy watching Professional Wrestling.
But I won't speak ill of the dead, and in the early years, he was a breath of fresh air and something very different for British audiences.
Yes, I'm with the rest. George Gillette was always approachable and willing to talk. I thought he added something to start with when he was smartly dressed. In those days we had a serious manager for a serious wrestler. Nagasaki was scarey in those days and Gillette did nothing to detract from that.
Bringing in the costumes detracted from the fearsome and mystique of Nagasaki persona and the wrestler himself could no longer be taken as seriously.
Looks like we all had plenty of chats with him and our thoughts seem to be unanimous.
I‘ll just add that it was a bit like the song “I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales”. In talking to George E., I knew I was talking to someone who was in on the whole act, knew the wrestler without his mask, even chatted to the wrestler. This was mesmerising in itself when the Nagasaki mystique was still completely intact.
Another point to add, he seemed 110% enthusiastic about his role and this was appreciated and mildly infectious.
What intrigues me is what relationship he had with the other wrestlers and especially Naggers’ opponents. Easy to imagine they all loathed him and he was banned from the dressing rooms. But as usual, it probably wasn’t as it appeared.
All things considered , I don't want to say anything bad about the man as I met him at the back of Kings Hall on several occasions when Kendo was signing those pictures they gave out. From one time to the next I don't think he remembered me but I was always asking for Kendo's schedule for the coming week. Nothing was too much trouble. Some stadiums , like Liverpool did not advertise in the Manchester Evening news. George had a little pocket book and gave me some phone numbers for the stadiums so I could phone and check as Kendo was on at least once a month at those type of places. I was able to saturate myself on Kendo matches.
More on the negative side , I never took to Kendo going into colour , nor the thickening of the Mask bars which I believe was influenced by George. It dulled the menace.
However the man of mystery would benefit even more by the development of his persona and to that end at least for a while George was magnificent. He gave the expectation a lot ,and got over exactly how unbeatable we were expected to believe Kendo was.
One wonders if a gifted MC could have done this until it needed no more.
Because that was the problem , in the end it was too much all the time.
By the time make up was introduced and the extra flamboyance , I was turning off. To be fair I could say the same about Adrian Street.
George should never have attempted to wrestle , I never enjoyed that one bit.
But memories are memories and I have much to thank George for , he spared the time to chat and was charming.
he hadn't descended into the comedy when I had the chance to speak to him, it didn't do anything for either of them to be honest, you have to wonder what pressures were coming from Max etc to go in this direction.
Agree with all the comments so far. George was probably the first "manager" I ever recall (at least on first recollection), which was another stand out thing for him and Nagasaki.
The three piece suit and grabbing the microphone, to rile the audience, all worked a treat at the time. The excessive make up and glitter and the afro wigs were all a bit too much, and the comical tag match with McManus and Logan, with George dressed like a Victorian gentleman who had gone to take a dip in the sea at Eastbourne, was frankly laughable.
I couldn't quite put the two of them together at that point. The brooding menace of Nagasaki and the absurd comedy of George, it was just another thing chipping away at the suspension of disbelief needed to enjoy watching Professional Wrestling.
But I won't speak ill of the dead, and in the early years, he was a breath of fresh air and something very different for British audiences.
Never met George but only ever heard nice things. Couldnt agree more regarding him wrestling, it was ridiculas.
Nagasaki was indeed scary, his pressence was totally intence. Brilliant wrestler, absolute legend.
Yes, I'm with the rest. George Gillette was always approachable and willing to talk. I thought he added something to start with when he was smartly dressed. In those days we had a serious manager for a serious wrestler. Nagasaki was scarey in those days and Gillette did nothing to detract from that.
Bringing in the costumes detracted from the fearsome and mystique of Nagasaki persona and the wrestler himself could no longer be taken as seriously.
Looks like we all had plenty of chats with him and our thoughts seem to be unanimous.
I‘ll just add that it was a bit like the song “I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales”. In talking to George E., I knew I was talking to someone who was in on the whole act, knew the wrestler without his mask, even chatted to the wrestler. This was mesmerising in itself when the Nagasaki mystique was still completely intact.
Another point to add, he seemed 110% enthusiastic about his role and this was appreciated and mildly infectious.
What intrigues me is what relationship he had with the other wrestlers and especially Naggers’ opponents. Easy to imagine they all loathed him and he was banned from the dressing rooms. But as usual, it probably wasn’t as it appeared.
I spoke to him at Newcastle City Hall, he was friendly, polite and approachable. I think he enjoyed the attention.
All things considered , I don't want to say anything bad about the man as I met him at the back of Kings Hall on several occasions when Kendo was signing those pictures they gave out. From one time to the next I don't think he remembered me but I was always asking for Kendo's schedule for the coming week. Nothing was too much trouble. Some stadiums , like Liverpool did not advertise in the Manchester Evening news. George had a little pocket book and gave me some phone numbers for the stadiums so I could phone and check as Kendo was on at least once a month at those type of places. I was able to saturate myself on Kendo matches.
More on the negative side , I never took to Kendo going into colour , nor the thickening of the Mask bars which I believe was influenced by George. It dulled the menace.
However the man of mystery would benefit even more by the development of his persona and to that end at least for a while George was magnificent. He gave the expectation a lot ,and got over exactly how unbeatable we were expected to believe Kendo was.
One wonders if a gifted MC could have done this until it needed no more.
Because that was the problem , in the end it was too much all the time.
By the time make up was introduced and the extra flamboyance , I was turning off. To be fair I could say the same about Adrian Street.
George should never have attempted to wrestle , I never enjoyed that one bit.
But memories are memories and I have much to thank George for , he spared the time to chat and was charming.