Focus on wrestling: the real deal
Theo Ehret interviewed by Cameron Jamie
Page 1 2 3 4 5
C.J.: "Fred Blassie was the wrestler who popularized the theatrics of blood with his famous biting-into-the-forehead routine. The blood was never fake. I remember some of the magazine covers would have photos of wrestlers with their heads busted open, covered in blood, and it looked like a still from a horror movie."
T.E.: "That's right. Fred Blassie, John Tolos, The Sheik, Rivera, Abdullah the Butcher, Goliath,... those guys were bleeders! Whenever The Sheik came into the ring, there was always blood."
C.J.: "I loved the dramatic interaction between the wrestler and the spectator. I remember seeing The Sheik screaming at old ladies in the front row."
T.E.: "A wrestler walking out into the ring hollering and screaming at the audience always looked good. Because you would see the ring, the crowd, and the wrestler; those were interesting shots."
C.J.: "Tell me how apartment wrestling came about. Who approached you with this concept?"
T.E.: "It was started by Stan Weston, who was the owner of those Detective magazines. One day he called and said, 'What do think about getting a couple of gals in bikinis, and have them pretend to wrestle in an apartment?' He wanted to start having this 'apartment wrestling' thing in pro wrestling magazines."
C.J.: "He was proposing to bring soft-core erotica to the masses."
T.E.: "That's right. I mean they had done stuff like this in the 30s ... but I had never seen it before. They wanted it to be sexy. He instructed me to shoot it in an interior, a living room, or an apartment. And after that, it was called 'apartment wrestling.' At that time, pro wrestling had slackened off, and it was made to spice up the magazines. That's when it started."
C.J.: "Tell me about where you shot these interiors."
T.E.: "I turned my photo studio into the set of an apartment. I got hold of a couple of girls, and asked them if they could make faces and act like they could wrestle. They all said, 'Oh sure, no problem.' And I have to say that all the girls I worked with were excellent."
C.J.: "And did they know how to wrestle?"
T.E.: "I made a pin-up board with my pro wrestling photos and had them imitate the moves. They didn't know what to do, and I'm not an expert either. I picked out some wrestling photos and things started to develop from there. I would tell them to just move around and get into the hold and fall over each other, or do whatever. We would try it once, and if it looked good, I would say, 'Okay, repeat the same pose,' and I would shoot it. We went from one hold to the next."
C.J.: "Where did you find the apartment wrestling models?"
T.E.: "The first ones I got through an agency. I used the agency about three times, and I asked those girls if they had any girlfriends who wanted work. The word spread around. From then on, I had an endless supply of girls. They were hippie girls, and they kept calling me wanting to do it."
C.J.: "Did you have any say about the style of these girls? Did you supply them with the bikinis?"
T.E.: "Yeah, I went to Frederick's of Hollywood. Jeff Walton's wife worked there at the time, and I would have her pick out some. I think I still have some of those things lying around somewhere."
C.J.: "When apartment wrestling came out in the early 70s, it became a big deal with the pro wrestling fans?"
T.E.: "Yes. We put a little sex in it. Instead of the blood shots, and the gory faces, we brightened things up a little bit. I hope no one took it too seriously."
Page 1 2 3 4 5
Page 1 2 3 4 5
C.J.: "Fred Blassie was the wrestler who popularized the theatrics of blood with his famous biting-into-the-forehead routine. The blood was never fake. I remember some of the magazine covers would have photos of wrestlers with their heads busted open, covered in blood, and it looked like a still from a horror movie."
T.E.: "That's right. Fred Blassie, John Tolos, The Sheik, Rivera, Abdullah the Butcher, Goliath,... those guys were bleeders! Whenever The Sheik came into the ring, there was always blood."
C.J.: "I loved the dramatic interaction between the wrestler and the spectator. I remember seeing The Sheik screaming at old ladies in the front row."
T.E.: "A wrestler walking out into the ring hollering and screaming at the audience always looked good. Because you would see the ring, the crowd, and the wrestler; those were interesting shots."
C.J.: "Tell me how apartment wrestling came about. Who approached you with this concept?"
T.E.: "It was started by Stan Weston, who was the owner of those Detective magazines. One day he called and said, 'What do think about getting a couple of gals in bikinis, and have them pretend to wrestle in an apartment?' He wanted to start having this 'apartment wrestling' thing in pro wrestling magazines."
C.J.: "He was proposing to bring soft-core erotica to the masses."
T.E.: "That's right. I mean they had done stuff like this in the 30s ... but I had never seen it before. They wanted it to be sexy. He instructed me to shoot it in an interior, a living room, or an apartment. And after that, it was called 'apartment wrestling.' At that time, pro wrestling had slackened off, and it was made to spice up the magazines. That's when it started."
C.J.: "Tell me about where you shot these interiors."
T.E.: "I turned my photo studio into the set of an apartment. I got hold of a couple of girls, and asked them if they could make faces and act like they could wrestle. They all said, 'Oh sure, no problem.' And I have to say that all the girls I worked with were excellent."
C.J.: "And did they know how to wrestle?"
T.E.: "I made a pin-up board with my pro wrestling photos and had them imitate the moves. They didn't know what to do, and I'm not an expert either. I picked out some wrestling photos and things started to develop from there. I would tell them to just move around and get into the hold and fall over each other, or do whatever. We would try it once, and if it looked good, I would say, 'Okay, repeat the same pose,' and I would shoot it. We went from one hold to the next."
C.J.: "Where did you find the apartment wrestling models?"
T.E.: "The first ones I got through an agency. I used the agency about three times, and I asked those girls if they had any girlfriends who wanted work. The word spread around. From then on, I had an endless supply of girls. They were hippie girls, and they kept calling me wanting to do it."
C.J.: "Did you have any say about the style of these girls? Did you supply them with the bikinis?"
T.E.: "Yeah, I went to Frederick's of Hollywood. Jeff Walton's wife worked there at the time, and I would have her pick out some. I think I still have some of those things lying around somewhere."
C.J.: "When apartment wrestling came out in the early 70s, it became a big deal with the pro wrestling fans?"
T.E.: "Yes. We put a little sex in it. Instead of the blood shots, and the gory faces, we brightened things up a little bit. I hope no one took it too seriously."
Page 1 2 3 4 5
