RIP George "The Animal" Steele

[T_Bone0806]

WWE Hall of Fame Wrestler who was a major draw in the days when guys like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage reigned in the organization. He started as a villain who was completely unhinged, brutal and looking (and acting) like the missing link, but became a lovable fan favorite who may have had a non-functional brain but a big heart, as evidenced by his crush on the "lovely Miss Elizabeth", manager and mistreated paramour of the sinister (at the time) Macho Man Savage, who used The Animal's infatuation with Elizabeth to his nefarious advantage in continually beating down poor George. It was one of the most popular storylines of those days. Despite his Neanderthal-like appearance, the man was extremely intelligent and was in fact a high school teacher at one point. When the Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame was located in my hometown of Amsterdam NY, he made the trip out every year to attend the ceremonies and meet with fans. By all accounts, a very nice man.


http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/george ... sses-away/

[silverscreenselect]

In a case of life imitating art, Steele had one significant movie role, playing Tor Johnson in Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Johnson was a similar looking wrestler from an earlier generation who became a B-movie regular, playing hulking henchmen in various horror movies, including the infamous Wood classic, Plan Nine from Outer Space.

I loved George's routines with Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage (now sadly, all gone). Here's George doing an interview (of sorts) with Roddy Piper in Piper's Pit: