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Back in the Day: Wrestler 'Gorgeous George' had Inland turkey ranch

Posted: Sep 3rd 2016 By: Kim Jarrell Johnson

Few people have heard of George Raymond Wagner.

But mention his professional wrestling name of “Gorgeous George,” and most people of a certain age will remember the flamboyant blond-haired character.

Born in 1915, Wagner began wrestling at local fairs when he was 14. In the 1930s there was a wrestler who went by the name of Lord Patrick Landsdowne.

He entered the ring wearing elegant attire and accompanied by two valets. Wagner learned about Landsdowne, realized the value of an “out-there” persona in wrestling, and decided to take that idea farther than anyone had before.

He came up with the name Gorgeous George, and began entering wrestling rings in long flowing capes and putting on a show as an effeminate man, tossing gold -plated bobby pins from his hair into the audience and having a valet spray Chanel perfume around the ring.

This really got the crowds going. They loved booing him and Wagner loved the attention.

When television came into being in the late 1940s, wrestling was one of its biggest programs. Gorgeous George’s fame really took off. The early 1950s were the best of times for the wrestler. He made $160,000 from his ring appearances in 1951 alone. He even legally changed his name to Gorgeous George in late 1950.

During this time, Wagner spent $250,000 to purchase a 195-acre turkey ranch. While most information from the time said the ranch was in Beaumont, authors Ken Holtzclaw and Tom Chong said, in their book “Cherry Valley,” wrote it was in the Cherry Valley area, north of Beaumont, on Cherry Avenue.

Known as Gorgeous George’s Turkey Ranch, the property was home to Wagner’s ex-wife and children. He also had a roadside stand that sold turkey burgers. The wrestler even promoted his turkeys at his wrestling matches. The ranch supposedly brought in a significant profit of $128,000 in 1951.

According to Woody Strode’s book “Goal Dust,” he was a friend of George and his whole ranch was painted lavender, even the turkeys. It is hard to imagine that hundreds or thousands of turkeys would have been dyed purple, just to hang out while waiting to become someone’s dinner.

There was one well-reported incident about Gorgeous George and his colorful Cherry Valley turkeys.

Gorgeous George became famous for wearing, in and out of the ring, a shade of purple called “orchid.”

At the 1951 National Turkey Show, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that he showed two turkeys with their feathers dyed orchid. The turkeys were apparently in a cage decorated with orchids and hung with orchid drapes. Fans turned out to see the spectacle of Gorgeous George’s purple turkeys.

George began to have financial problems and it was reported that he lost the turkey ranch. In 1962, he was diagnosed with a serious liver condition. On advice of his doctors, he retired. He suffered a heart attack Dec. 24, 1963, and died two days later, at age 48.