1 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: Seventeen past five sad news obviously with the passing of 2 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: Hulk Hogan. He passed away from a heart attack at 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: seventy one years old. His real name is Terry Bollier. 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: He became the face of the WWF with Hulkamania sweeping 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: across the US in the nineteen eighties. Now Sharon Maser 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: is a professor of theater and performance studies at aut 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: who literally wrote the book on professional wrestling and is 8 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:26,159 Speaker 1: with us. 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 2: Hi, Sharon, Hello, how are you? 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: I'm very well. Thank you. I can't tell if you're 11 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: excited to be on the radio or sad about Hulk Hogan. 12 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 2: I'm mostly amused in having flashbacks at the theme song, 13 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 2: are you? 14 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: It was a good time? Did you ever see him wrestle? 15 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 2: Oh? Yes, I used to go when I started this 16 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 2: research almost forty years ago. I hate to add Matt 17 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: when I first wandered into Madison Square Garden for the 18 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 2: first matches, Yes, Alk Cogan was the top of the 19 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 2: card often. 20 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, And is it true that he would stay behind, 21 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: he'd do his fight, he'd be the superstar, He'd stay behind, 22 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: and he'd pack up the chairs. 23 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 2: Well, he didn't pack up the chairs, but he'd be 24 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 2: in the center of the squared circle, still posing for 25 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 2: whatever kids were left, as the garden itself was getting 26 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 2: itself ready for other things, packing up the chairs as 27 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 2: fast as they could. I mean, Madison Square Garden very busy. 28 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 2: You know, basically you sneeze, they got right, you're over 29 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 2: and have you out and the next thing in. But 30 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 2: he'd be posing and signing shirts and entertaining into the 31 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 2: last little kid had left. It was quite extraordinary. 32 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: Was he the biggest star in recently? 33 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 2: I think for a time? Yes, and no, absolutely. 34 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: Who else is even comparable over the time. 35 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 2: Period, Well, I think they were all superstars in their 36 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 2: own way. He wasn't the best wrestler, but he was 37 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 2: the golden boy. He was the one in the bright 38 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 2: light at the end of the night and generally the 39 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 2: victor unless he was the poor but raggle cheated upon 40 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 2: and and you know who had been robbed of his belt. 41 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 2: You know, he was the golden boy in the spotlight. Yeah, 42 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 2: when he won at whichever WrestleMania it was, I watched. 43 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 2: I couldn't get a ticket. I was too late to 44 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 2: get a ticket. I watched at the Beacon Theater on 45 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 2: a closed circuit television, you know, back in the days 46 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 2: before we have all these fancy things now, But back 47 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:30,959 Speaker 2: in the day, you could go into the Beacon Theater 48 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: in the Upper West Side and watch it on a screen. 49 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 2: And I watched WrestleMania, and when he won, the crowd 50 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 2: went wild and was taking pictures of the screen with 51 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 2: their little flash cameras. The end of the eighties, so 52 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 2: you couldn't see the screen any longer. I mean, just 53 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,399 Speaker 2: wiped out the screen. The fans were so excited. 54 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: Why did you say he wasn't a very good wrestler 55 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: or wasn't the best. 56 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 2: Well, he was stiff. He had a number of moves 57 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 2: that he could do, but he wasn't a great elegant wrestler. 58 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 2: He had his signature moves. He was best at work 59 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 2: in the audience and he did that really, really well. 60 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, did you know that he was He got baptized 61 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago. 62 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 2: Wouldn't surprise me? 63 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,399 Speaker 1: Why wouldn't it surprise you, because that seems so out 64 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: of step with somebody whose whole persona is this, you know, 65 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: aggressive wrestling character, pumped up on steroids. 66 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, but he was mister Virtue. He was you know, 67 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 2: you know, a whole cam maniacs, take your vitamins, follow 68 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 2: the amandements. I mean, it was the kind of fervor 69 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 2: that you would associate also with you know, I don't 70 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 2: know the Power Team who were bodybuilders for Jesus at 71 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 2: the same time, and you know, big evangelical kinds of movements. 72 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 2: He was the same, big tent kind of performers. So 73 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 2: it doesn't surprise me. 74 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: Okay, hey, Sharon, thank you. That's fascinating. Sharon Mason, professor 75 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 1: of Theater and Performance Studies at aut For more from 76 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks it'd 77 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.