At the age of 24, Wagner hit on a bright idea and recreated himself as Gorgeous George, a bleach blonde, effeminate man with long elegant robes and gold-plated bobby pins keeping his hair in place. He was one of the very first to wear long, sequined robes. He nicknamed himself "The Human Orchid" and had butlers escort him to the ring, who would spray perfume or disinfectant all over his opponents and the ring, claiming "Why be half-safe?". He used the classical hit, "Pomp and Circumstance", as his ring entrance theme when ring entrance themes were incredibly rare. In fact, some historians claim that he was the very first wrestler to EVER use entrance music, making him a major trend setter in something that has become a defining part of a wrestler's character. Of course, Gorgeous George was a very hated villain and cheated openly in the same spirit of sports entertainers to come. His great catch-phrase was "win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat", a phrase adopted later on by Jesse Ventura. He became the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion in May of 1950, defeating Don Eagle, and later lost that title to the great Lou Thesz. He would remain active in wrestling until 1960, losing one of his final matches to a young Bruno Sammartino. 

    Gorgeous George passed away in 1963 at a relatively young age, no doubt adding to the mystique of the great one himself. His influence was huge in professional wrestling as the robes he wore were picked up by the Nature Boy Ric Flair, Greg Valentine, Kerry Von Erich, Rick Rude and a host of others. His trend-setting bleached blonde hair was picked up by Flair and Valentine, as well as Jesse Ventura, Freddie Blassie and a host of others who did so to anger the men who saw this as vain and effeminate. His interest in a theatrical entrance has been picked up with grander entrances every year by such stars as the Undertaker and more. Gorgeous George transcended popular culture, influencing Liberace, Little Richard and Elton John who took the flamboyance of Gorgeous George and made it their own. Muhammud Ali even said that his over-the-top media personality was influenced by this great wrestling icon. Gorgeous George not only belongs in the UWOW Hall of Fame, but he belongs in every wrestling Hall of Fame that calls itself legitimate. This man set the stage for what has become professional wrestling and sports entertainment in the modern day. For his contributions, we welcome Gorgeous George to the UWOW Hall of Fame.