The Fabulous Moolah
Until about a year ago I had no idea who the Fabulous Moolah was. I also didn't know that there were some amazing female athletes in skimpy outfits (for their time) kicking the snot out of each other as far back as the 1930's, when obedient women were supposed to be barefoot in the kitchen in dainty aprons.
I found out about all that during a business trip (when the majority of my TV watching happens), when I happened upon the stunning Showtime documentary called "Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling". These ladies fought and trained hard to have a career in something that was completely unacceptable at the time. They broke bones on a nightly basis and often got taken advantage of by their managers and buckled down, got in the car and drove themselves to the next show city, where they did it all over again.
Mary Lillian Ellison was one of those kick-ass ladies, and got exposed to wrestling by her Dad and 12 older brothers, probably as self-defense. By the 1940's she was barely twenty, already had one child, was on her second marriage and her lifelong career - Professional Female Wrestling.
Eventually, in 1956 she eventually won the NWA Women's Championship and kept it for the majority of the next 30 years. The Fabulous Moolah was also the first woman to be inducted to the WWF Hall of Fame and set the stage for Chyna, Leilani Kai, Mae Young and various other female wrestlers, including the midget wrestler Diamond Lil', whom Moolah eventually adopted.
While wrestling doesn't mean much to me, I do credit Moolah and others of her time with changing how women were viewed by proving what that they are capable of being strong and successful. I can only imagine how many little girls saw Moolah and her troupe back then and felt just a little more empowered and capable because of it.
Moolah died last weekend at the age of 84 and I leave the last words to Moolah, from her MySpace.com profile:
I found out about all that during a business trip (when the majority of my TV watching happens), when I happened upon the stunning Showtime documentary called "Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling". These ladies fought and trained hard to have a career in something that was completely unacceptable at the time. They broke bones on a nightly basis and often got taken advantage of by their managers and buckled down, got in the car and drove themselves to the next show city, where they did it all over again.
Mary Lillian Ellison was one of those kick-ass ladies, and got exposed to wrestling by her Dad and 12 older brothers, probably as self-defense. By the 1940's she was barely twenty, already had one child, was on her second marriage and her lifelong career - Professional Female Wrestling.
Eventually, in 1956 she eventually won the NWA Women's Championship and kept it for the majority of the next 30 years. The Fabulous Moolah was also the first woman to be inducted to the WWF Hall of Fame and set the stage for Chyna, Leilani Kai, Mae Young and various other female wrestlers, including the midget wrestler Diamond Lil', whom Moolah eventually adopted.
While wrestling doesn't mean much to me, I do credit Moolah and others of her time with changing how women were viewed by proving what that they are capable of being strong and successful. I can only imagine how many little girls saw Moolah and her troupe back then and felt just a little more empowered and capable because of it.
Moolah died last weekend at the age of 84 and I leave the last words to Moolah, from her MySpace.com profile:
"My name is Lillian Ellison, AKA Fabulous Moolah, Slave Girl Moolah. One of the original lady wrestlers in the biz. Still to this days i whip those young bitches into shape!"
I am slightly ashamed to admit that I actually saw her wrestle a match in person. In my younger days, I did enjoy going to watch professional wrestling, even though I knew it was completely fake. It is always good to honor the ground breaking people, no matter what arena they did their work in.
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I wish I were a good writer like the owner of this blog
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