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George Raymond Wagner (better known by his ring name of Gorgeous George) was a professional wrestler from the 1940s to the 1960s. During the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s to the 1950s, Gorgeous George was one of the biggest stars of the sport, gaining attention for his outrageous, flamboyant and charismatic character. He was a major celebrity at his peak, and was a pioneer of early entertainment television. He was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 and the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010. He passed away in 1963 at the age of 48 AND Burt Lancaster was born in 1913, and was one of the last great "superstars". Yet his first released movie (The Killers) wasn't in theaters until he was 32, after working in a circus for years, and being in WWII. There has never been another actor like him, before or since! After a series of prison, crime, and swashbuckler movies (where he removed his shirt and showed his physical prowess often) he started taking "offbeat" roles (like in Mister 880, Come Back Little Sheba and The Rose Tattoo) and then, as his star grew and he had the clout to do so, he began taking more and more "different" roles, like in Sweet Smell of Success, Judgment at Nuremberg, Birdman Of Alcatraz (nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for this film), A Child Is Waiting, The Leopard, Seven Days in May, The Swimmer, Elmer Gantry (winner of the Best Actor Academy Award for this film) and others, and if you haven't seen any of the above, I highly recommend them all! Of course he was also great in most of his "commercial" movies like Trapeze, Brute Force, From Here To Eternity (nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for this film), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Lawman, and many others! At 64 he played the lead in Go Tell the Spartans, a great anti-Vietnam War movie, and two years later he was a credible male romantic lead (at 66) in Atlantic City (nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for this film). Two of his best supporting roles came at the end of his career, in Local Hero and in Field of Dreams. He is well remembered for his odd clipped speech (loved by impressionists) and for his supposed great friendship with Kirk Douglas, with whom he made 7 films (but he said, "Kirk would be the first to admit that he's difficult to work with - and I would be the second"! He seemed so much larger than life, and a giant of a man, but he was 6'1". He passed away in 1994 at the age of 80. AND Bob Hope (born Leslie Townes Hope) was an English-born top Hollywood comedian and actor from the 1930s to the 1990s. He was briefly a boxer in his youth (as Packy East), and that is where he acquired his distinctive ski-shaped nose. Some of his movies include: Story of G.I. Joe, The Cat and the Canary, The Ghost Breakers, My Favorite Blonde, and the "Road" movies he made with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, including Road to Morocco. In spite of his great success, Hope never won an Oscar, although he hosted several of the Oscar telecasts! Hope was also well known outside of movies, especially for his entertaining of U.S. troops overseas, for his charity golf tournament, and his many hostings of the Oscar ceremonies. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 100.

Important Added Info: Note that this still was taken at a really amazing event in 1948. The Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey Circus held a benefit performance in Southern California to benefit Saint John's Hospital, and an amazing 200 stars performed in this special benefit! This included Ann Sheridan as an animal trainer, Abbott & Costello and many others in clown suits (including Joe E. Brown, who actually had been a circus clown!), plus famed wrestler Gorgeous George appeared in a mock wrestling match with Burt Lancaster, and Bob Hope was Gorgeous George's valet. Certainly, this must have been an amazing performance, and one could never imagine today's stars getting together in a similar way!

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