Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
 |
|
| Acronym | G.L.O.W. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986; 2001 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada (1986-1992) |
| Founder(s) | David McLane and Jackie Stallone |
| Owner(s) | David McLane (1986–1992) Jackie Stallone (1986–1992) Ursula Hayden (2001–present) |
| Website | http://www.gorgeousladiesofwrestling.com |
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, also known as GLOW or G.L.O.W., was a professional wrestling promotion for women, begun in 1986 (the pilot was filmed in December 1985) and continued in various forms after it left television. Colorful characters, beautiful women, and over-the-top comedy sketches were integral to the series' success. Most of the performers were actresses, models, dancers, and/or stunt women hoping to get in to show business through wrestling.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Original promotion
GLOW was originally created by David B. McLane as an aftermath of Jackie Stallone's physical fitness gym for women only, Barbarella's. Both David and Jackie created and promoted the girls for the entire running of the program. Mando Guerrero trained all of the girls, initially.[1]
The syndicated GLOW TV show was produced for four seasons (1986–1990) from the Riviera Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. During the casting for the pilot, not all of the women were taking it seriously, so Mando Guerrero put one woman in a submission hold and made her cry.[1] They cast twelve girls for the show and trained them for six weeks prior to the shoot.[1] They wrestled approximately eight matches per show, which eventually was sold.[1] Some of the women moved to Las Vegas to continue working with the promotion.[1] The show itself differed from Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation in that they had actual seasons where some wrestlers were dropped, changed, or added before the new season began. Each season consisted of 26 episodes that were each rerun once to complete the year, a total of 104 episodes were produced.
Steve Blance was the senior referee in season two before becoming GLOW's "commissioner" in seasons three and four. He was always the recipient of a GLOW Girl beatdown in season two. Johnny Cafarella (As "Johnny C.") hosted seasons 3 and 4, was the figurehead owner (buying David McLane's "interest" in a storyline) and also served as Company Manager after the departure of McLane in 1987. Jackie Stallone (Sylvester Stallone's mother) was the figurehead owner and manager of the Good Girls, and Aunt Kitty (Kitty Burke) was the manager for the Bad Girls.
Each of the GLOW performers had her own rap song (personalized lyrics using the same backing track). It was shown on videotape prior to that wrestler's match. Similar to other wrestling promotions' use of wrestler-specific entrance themes, this gimmick may have been influenced by the Chicago Bears' "Super Bowl Shuffle".
[edit] Revival
GLOW is still in existence, though not associated in any way with David B. McLane. It was revived by the Riviera Hotel & Casino, where it was originally filmed, in 2001. Among its directors was Tony Cimber, the youngest child of the 1960s American sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and a brother of actress Mariska Hargitay. Cimber started on the show playing a character called "Jungle Boy" and was led around the ring on a leash by a female wrestler named, "Jungle Woman".
David McLane also was behind three subsequent women's wrestling leagues, Powerful Women of Wrestling (1988–1990), Ladies Sports Club (1990–1991) and Women of Wrestling (2000–2001). Johnny Cafarella promoted a similar show in 2003 called CRUSH along with Steve Blance. The CRUSH concept was revived in 2008 by Cafarella for the Wrestlicious promotion. The GLOW name is currently owned by Ursula Hayden, who portrayed Babe the Farmer's Daughter during seasons 3 & 4.
[edit] Documentary
A documentary film entitled, GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was completed in late 2011. The film was directed by Brett Whitcomb and written by Bradford Thomason, and features the music of ESG.[2]
[edit] Alumni
- (Americana) Cindy Maranne [Season 1,2]
- (Amy The Farmer's Daughter) Trudy Adams [Season 2]
- (Alicia Shamrock)New GLOW GM (Season 5)
- (Angel) Andrea Baird [Season 2]
- (Ashley Cartier) Nadine Kadmiri [Season 1,2]
- (Attache) Laura Fisher [Season 1,2]
- (Babe The Farmer's Daughter) Ursula Hayden [Season 3,4]
- (Beastie) Kell'e Favara [Season 3,4]
- (Big Bad Mama) Lynn Braxton [Season 3,4]
- (Brittany Astor) The Brat (Season 5)
-(Broadway Rose 1) Eva Chirumbolo
- (Broadway Rose2) Andrea Janell [Season 3]
- (Brunhilda) Deanne Murray [Season 4]
- (The California Doll) Jane Hamlin [Season 1,2]
- (Cheyenne Cher) Dee Chocktoot [Season 3-4]
- (Colonel Ninotchka) Lori Weathers [Season 1-4]
- (Corporal Kelly) Olympia Hartauer [Season 1]
- (Corporal Kelly 2) Lillian Weaver Crabtree [Season 3]
- (Daisy) Helena LaCount [Season 3,4]
- (Dallas) Debi Pelletier [Season 1]
- (Debbie Debutante) Ann LaBree [Season 1,2,3]
- (Dementia 2) Nancy Daley [Season 3], (The Widow) [Season 4]
- (Dementia, Sugar) Michelle Damon [Season 2]
- (Ebony) [Season 1]
- (Evangelina) Christy M. Smith [Season 3]
- (Godiva) Dawn Rice/Maestas [Season 3,4]
- (Gremlina) Sandy Rawls [Season 3]
- (Habana) Christina Gomez [Season 3]
- (The Heavy Metal Sisters, Spike and Chainsaw and The Housewives, Arlene and Phyllis) [Season 1,2]
- [Jeanne Basone|(Hollywood) Jeanne Basone]] [Season 1-4]
- (Jailbait) Trish Casella [Season 3 (Unaired}]
- (Jungle Woman) Annette Marroquin [Season 1]
- (Justice) Narice Crockett [Season 3,4]
- (Liberty) Penny Johnson [Season 2]
- (Lightning) Cheryl Rusa [Season 3,4]
- (Little Egypt) Angelina Altishin [Season 1,2]
- (Little Feather) Kuno [Season 1]
- (Little Fiji) Nha Cham [Season 1-3]
- (Major Tanya) Noel Tyler [Season 3,4]
- (Matilda the Hun) Dee Booher [Season 1,2]
- (Melody Trouble Vixen, MTV) Eileen O. Hara ([Season 3,4]
- (Mika the Headhunter) [Season 1]
- (Mina the Headhunter) [Season 1]
- (Vixxxen) - Mikaela Karr (aka Michael GLOW Karr (Season 5)
- (Mana the Headhunter) [Season 1,2]
- (Mountain Fiji) Emily Dole [Season 1-4]
- (Olympia) Debbie Core [Season 1]
- (Palestina) Janeen Jewett [Season 1,2]
- (Pepper) Cynthia Peretti [Season 1]
- (Roxy Astor) Tracey Phelps [Season 3,4,5]
- (The Royal Hawaiian) April Homm [Season 1]
- (Sally The Farmer's Daughter) Beckie Mullen [Season 1,3]
- (Salt) Charli Haynes [Season 1]
- (Sara and Mabel, The Hicks) [Season 1,3,4]
- (Scarlet the Southern Belle) Sheila Best [Season 1]
- (Sneaky) [Season 3]
- (The Soul Patrol, Envy and Adore) [Season 1,2]
- (Spanish Red) Ericka Marr [Season 1,2]
- (Star) Suzanne Duplessis [Season 3,4]
- (Stinky) Michelle Jarvis [Season 3,4]
- (Sunny) Patricia Summerland [Season 3]
- (Susie Spirit) Lauri Thompson [Season 1,2]
- (Tammy Jones) Debbie D'Amato [Season 1]
- (Tara the Southern Belle) Shiela Best [Season 1,2]
- (Thunderbolt) Dana Feltman [Season 3]
- (Tiffany Mellon) Sandra Margot [Season 3,4]
- (Tina Ferrari) Lisa Moretti [Season 1,2]
- (Tulsa) Jody Haselbarth [Season 3,4]
- (Vallerie Vendetta) Sarah Del Ray (Season 5)
- (Vicky Victory) Peach Janae [Season 3,4]
- (Vine) Janet Bowers [Season 1-3], (Princess of Darkness) [Season 1,2]
- (Zelda The Brain) Marie Moore [Season 3,4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Oliver, Greg (April 13, 2000). "'Slop' matches haven't stopped Ivory". SLAM! Wrestling. http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingWM2000/apr13_ivory.html. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ [1]
[edit] External links
- 1986 television series debuts
- 1990 American television series endings
- Performing groups established in 1986
- American professional wrestling promotions
- Women's professional wrestling promotions
- Companies established in 1986
- Companies disestablished in 1990
- First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
- Wrestling in the Las Vegas Valley
