The Winter Palace podcast

2:43

Whitey Caldwell and Kevin Sullivan as tag champs in the early 1970s. We’re happy to have Beau James (@kingofkingsport) back on the pod for a wide-ranging chat about his career and other classic wrestling topics. First up, we discuss Beau’s start in the business as a teenager, as it is currently Southern States Wrestling’s 44th anniversary month. We hear about going from behind the scenes gofer to referee to running his own promotion while still in high school. Did the kids in school know about Beau’s “after school job?” And since SSW was just getting started in the early 1990s, we talk about what relationship if any he had with Smoky Mountain Wrestling, which started up in Knoxville around the same time. How did Beau get along with Jim Cornette at the time? Did they peacefully co-exist or did things go sour, like another promoter in the area at the time, Terry Landell? After that, there’s a long discussion about wrestling footage? Beau talks about of the tapes he acquired when East Tennessee wrestling super fan Kenny Short passed away last year and what newfound footage was on some of those tapes. This leads to a chat about “holy grail” footage that may or may exist and what would we most love to find out actually exists. And then we talk about the wrestlers who were known to be tape collectors during their career and what other wrestlers might have had footage squirreled away that we do not know exists. We also talk about Beau’s upcoming talk in July at the Thesz/Tragos Wrestling Hall of Fame about East Tennessee wrestling and what artifacts he may be bringing with him to Waterloo this summer. Plus some random chat about the recently-deceased Ed Wiskowski, traffic in East Tennessee and just how amazing it is that just how few travel-related fatalities there were during the territory era, given just how many wrestlers were driving thousands of miles a week at high rates of speed before every place in the country had Interstate roads. As always, a great time talking to Beau. Be sure to check out the From Outlaws to Independents podcast that Beau does with Jon Boucher and Southern States Wrestling content on YouTube and other streaming platforms.…

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Episode 137 - Carolina Drama 2:15:00

πριν 13 weeks2:15:00

2:15:00

Dusty Rhodes bemoans to Magnum TA and David Crockett how Baby Doll spent $4035 of his money in Hawaii. I’m happy to say that after almost ten years of doing the podcast, I can finally welcome Rob Naylor (@NINaylor) to the podcast to talk about Jim Crockett Promotions in the summer of 1985, when Rob and I both starting watching the company. We begin by talking about how we first found it, possibly on the same TV station in Philadelphia, even though we live 200 miles from each other in different states. And yes for longtime listeners, we play Mid-Atlantic TV Station Bingo (17, 29, 43, 45, 54, 57). We talk about our favorite wrestlers from those shows, including the booker at the time and later Rob’s mentor Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Magnum TA, Ole and Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Baby Doll, Sam Houston, Manny Fernandez, Jimmy Valiant, the Rock and Roll Express, the Midnight Express and Jim Cornette, Ron Bass, Black Bart, J.J. Dillon and maybe our favorite person of that era, Nature Boy Buddy Landell. We discuss how the guys in the Georgia loop of the company were rarely on the syndicated TV shows, which is all Rob and I could watch regularly, since neither of us had cable yet. We discuss some of the more memorable angles and feuds of that time frame. Suprisingly, we totally did not discuss the return of Superstar Billy Graham to wearing the tie-dye gear and quoting Bo Diddley and/or George Thorogood. There’s also a lot of meandering and digressions as one would expect, including the importance of the magazines in our fandom, first getting the Observer, the history of the National, booking around Japan tours, the blandness of Central States and, as young fans, not undestanding the importance of the Missouri title in the wider NWA ecosystem. This was a very fun show to do and I’m glad Rob and I finally got to nerd out on the show about our early fandom.…

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Episode 136 - Whip It Good 2:15:53

πριν 14 weeks2:15:53

2:15:53

Do you remember this 1980s TV show, one of many Indiana Jones-inspired projects? We’re happy to welcome Jason Pays (@JasonPlaysNMS) back to the show for a chat about video games, adventure movies and more. The main reason Jason is here is to discuss the new game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Since it’s a massive game and Jason has other titles to play, neither of us has been able to even put a dent in the game yet. At the time of recording, Jason was still in the first setting and I just started the second. So, as you might imagine, not much spoiler talk. We do talk about how much we have enjoyed the game so far and how far the franchise have come since the Raiders game on the Atari 2600. This leads into a discussion about the original Raiders trilogy, not much about the later films and much talk about the 1980s Indy-inspired knock-offs, including Romancing the Stone, High Road to China, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Bring ‘Em Back Alive, Tale Spin and yes, even The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak, a favorite bad movie from the 1980s Skinemax generation and many impressionable teenagers. And, as always, there’s some James Bond talk, the eternal ranking of 007 actors, what we’d like to see in future installments and the like. There’s also chat about No Man’s Sky, Light No Fire and the lack of news about the game at this year’s Game Awards, Jason recently joining the cult of Balatro and other video game chatter. Thanks to Jason as always for doing the show. You can catch him streaming multiple times a week on You Tube.…

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Episode 135 - History Repeating 1:34:00

πριν 22 weeks1:34:00

1:34:00

Gorilla Monsoon squares off against Muhammad Ali in 1976, prior to the Ali vs Inoki fight. It’s our second WON HOF show of the week. We’re happy to have back on the show author and podcaster Brian R Solomon (@brianrsolomon) for another round of discussions about this year’s ballot. We cover a lot of the same topics as we did with Greg on the last show, including measuring tag teams in dog years, not voting for active competitors, judging someone’s entire career regardless of the category in which they are placed and comparisons to both Cooperstown and the Rock and Roll HOF. We also to talk to Brian about his upcoming book next year on the legendary Gorilla Moonson and what surprised him most while researching the man, in his career, billed from both Manchuria and Cherry Hill, NJ. And since it’s almost Halloween, we also threw out a couple of film recommendations for the season, including Gothic, The Abominable Dr. Phibes and The Black Cat. Be sure to check out Brian’s podcast Shut Up and Wrestle, especially if you love hearing about the Weston/Apter wrestling magazines, as well as Brian’s great ability to get wrestlers’ children on as guests, as they always have fascinating stories to tell.…

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Episode 134 - Yippy-Yo Yippy-Yeah 1:55:00

πριν 23 weeks1:55:00

1:55:00

Michael Hayes blinds the Junkyard Dog with the Freebird Hair Cream in 1981. It’s WON Hall of Fame season and this is the first of our shows examining this year’s candidates. We’re happy to welcome back Greg Klein (@jydbook) to discuss his advocacy of two people in particular, the Junkyard Dog and Houston promoter Morris Sigel. We go over both candidates in detail, including JYD’s drawing power in Mid-South and New Orleans in particular, his time as a main eventer versus his later career, the cultural implications of JYD’s push and his feuds, comparing him candicacy to Paul Orndorff, Sigel promoting Houston for 40+ years, the scope of the Texas wrestling office and how that compares to Roy Welch in the Southeast, wrestlers who got their break in Houston, the Texas Wrestling War and more. We also go over the rest of the ballot discussing things like “should tag team longevity count in dog years,” lack of footage for pre-territory wrestlers, voting for still-active competitors on the ballot and comparing candidates to their baseball equivalents. Be sure to check out Greg on some other wrestling podcasts this HOF season. The more discussions on worthy candidate, the better.…

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Episode 133 - Legend of a Mind 2:15:17

πριν 33 weeks2:15:17

2:15:17

Kevin Sullivan, King Curtis Iaukea and Mark Lewin. Sullivan passed away on August 9 at age 74. Before we start, an apology for no podcasts during or after the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. During the travel to the event, we had some weather-related issues at home that necessitated putting any recording plans on hold. But we are now back, although we were it were under better circumstances. We’re very grateful to Mike Sempervive (@sempervive) to take some time to discuss the recent passing of the great Kevin Sullivan at age 74. There’s no rhyme nor reason for how we talk about the great man’s career: We go from Florida to Knoxville (all six more or times he worked there) to WCW to ICW to Hawaii and all points along the way. We discuss our favorite angles, try to place the Prince of Darkness gimmick in historical context, our favorite angles and promos, including The Dream Mike Davis, the Slaughterhouse, the Varsity Club, the third Head Hunter, the Sheik, Mark Lewin, King Curtis and so much more. It’s great when Mike has time to fit us in. If we had him on more often, maybe the shows wouldn’t be as long, but the winding road takes us to where we want to be, in the end.…

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Episode 132 - Furious Anger 1:02:00

πριν 43 weeks1:02:00

1:02:00

Come on, join our convoy. Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) and Furiousa (AnnaTaylor-Joy) in Furiousa.(c) 2024 WB. It’s movie time again, as we are again joined by Justin Jones (@xPrimusPilusx) to discuss Furiousa, the latest film in George Miller’s Mad Max series and the prequel to Fury Road focusing on the origin of the character played by Charlize Theron. As you might imagine, it’s a spoiler-filled discussion of all aspects of the film,so if you’ve not seen it yet, you’ve been warned. We start with our overall thoughts and then break down the story beats, the characters, the acting, the practical stunts and everything else under the hot Australian desert sun. There’s also some other movie chat, including the issues of presenting historical artifacts through contemporary mores, the sale of Criterion and should we worry about its future and a tease of a future episode detailing the great cinematic year that was 1999. This episode was recorded on my phone immediately after seeing Furiousa, so we apologize for the dip in audio quality Also, to answer some questions asked in the episode, the actor who originally played Immortal Joe, Hugh Keays-Byrne, did pass away in 2020 and the role was played this time by Lachy Hulme, who also played Rizzdale Pell, Dementus’ chief lieutenant. And “the truck driver” was Praetorian Jack, played by Tom Burke.…

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Episode 131 - Old Lady McDuffie 3:36:53

πριν 44 weeks3:36:53

3:36:53

Greg Klein returns to discuss the UWF Title Tournament, held in May 1986 in Houston, Texas.

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Episode 130 - Some Jackets Required 2:05:40

πριν 52 weeks2:05:40

2:05:40

Don Fargo and his new Fabulous Fargos (Ken Timbs and Pat Rose) with host Christopher Love (Bert Prentice) from a 1987 episode of World Organization Wrestling We’re happy to welcome back Al Getz (@AlGetzWrestling) to discuss the latest edition of his Charting the Territories books, this one covering 1971-1973 Gulf Coast Wrestling. We talk about the main players in the territory at this time, including Cowboy Bob Kelly, Bobby Shane, Don Fargo and Rip Tyler, as well as future stars like Kevin Sullivan, Steve Keirn, Ron Bass and Greg Valentine, wrestling as Don’s brother Johnny Fargo. We talk about the towns the promotion ran and some of the interesting ways they crowned champions there (not with belts or trophies). Then, as we did recently with Beau James, we talk about the travails of being a wrestling historian, covering a business that’s built on a lie. How hard is it to get “accurate” data on things like shows, box office and the like? And Al talk us through his methodology, both online and boots on the ground research. We chat about Al being inducted into the Tragos/Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa, getting the James C. Melby Historian Award. The show ends with some quick baseball chat, with the season just a week old and Al’s Atlanta Braves being the only National League East team with a winning record. He also tells us about his first road trip of the year and dealing with weather issues with early spring baseball in the Midwest. And the next episode of the Charting the Territories will look at Dick the Bruiser’s WWA in Indianapolis coming next week.…

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Episode 129 - I Am A Rock 2:15

πριν 1 year2:15

2:15

Young Tony Schiavone interviews Ole Anderson on WTBS in 1985. RIP Ole Anderson. We welcome back Beau James (@kingofkingsport) to the show for some wrestling history chat, including looking back at the lives of Ole Anderson and Mike Jones aka Virgil. We discuss Ole’s long career, as wrestling and booker in both Georgia and Charlotte. We talk about his tag teams with Gene Anderson, Stan Hansen, Ivan Koloff and Arn as a member of the Four Horsemen. We talk about his famous feud with Dusty Rhodes, the ups and downs of Georiga Championship Wrestling and more. Beau also tells us some stories about running into Ole at the Gulf Coast Wrestler Reunions. We chat briefly about the passing of Mike Jones, his longevity in the business in both WWF and WCW, his internet notoriety and meeting him on indy shows. From there, we talk about the Iron Claw movie, even though Beau hasn’t watched it yet. There’s chat about dramatic licenses vs historical inaccuracies, Easter Eggs, when can a sad movie have a positive ending and more. That segues into a long discussion about being a wrestling historian and the problems that can entail, when you research something built on a lie, including primary sources and their trustworthiness, faulty memories and newspaper reporters keeping kayfabe. We end the show with a talk about Beau’s Southern States Wrestling promotion, their recent Hall of Fame inductions and upcoming shows this spring and summer.…

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Episode 128 - Hellfire and Brimstone 2:04:15

πριν 1 year2:04:15

2:04:15

L: Peter Wyngarde as Jason King. C: Jason Wyngarde and Jean Grey in Uncanny X-Men 132. R: Jason Wyngarde and Diana Rigg in The Avengers. Imitation and flattery, et cetera. It’s been a while, but we are happy as heck to welcome back writer, journalist and From the Sublime editor Iain Hepburn back to the show for a long chat about some classic British popular culture (and other stuff). We start with the recent passing of film and tv music composer Laurie Johnson at age 96. Although probably best known for The Avengers (and New Avengers) themes, he had a long career that includes Jason King and The Professionals on TV and films including Dr. Strangelove. We talk about his career and other British TV composers like Ron Grainer (The Prisoner and Doctor Who) and Edwin Astley (Randall and Hopkirk Decased, Danger Man). This leads into a chat about 1960 British shows, the ones that made it to the US and the ones that didn’t and the fun of spotting actors on those before before they were famous. Then, there’s plenty of chat about Doctor Who and the return of Russell T. Davies to run the show. We talk about how the vast Doctor Who library is now on BBC iplayer, the Tales of the Tardis special featuring classic cast members, modernizing old episodes for a contemporary audience and the hunt for missing episodes. This segues into a chat about physical media, streaming services, the phenomenon of Talking Pictures TV in the UK, preservation and restoration of older programs, how that relates to classic wresting TV shows and more. There’s also chat about Iain’s magazine From the Sublime, who third/fourth issue is currently in production. We talk about the previous issues and some of the topics, including a Buck Rogers-themed restaurant in Glascow in the 1980s and futbol kit culture, including an unexpected discussion of the NASL and MLS. If you want a copy of From the Sublime and you order from their website , enter “WINTERPALACE” for 15% discount. It’s always great to talk to Iain about stuff, so hopefully it won’t be more than eight years before he is back on the podcast.…

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The Plot Podcast - Episode 20 - Oh, Wolfie 35:52

πριν 1 year35:52

35:52

Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) in disguise. From Amadeus. Continuing our podcasts centering on biopics, we turn our attention to one of the best of the 1980s, Amadeus, directed by Milos Forman and adapted by Peter Schaffer from his play of the same name. It’s a look at the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), through the lens of his rival, Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). We discuss Schaffer’s play, which turned into the film, including all the well-known actors who starred in both the UK and Broadway. We look at the plot of the film, discuss some of the historical liberties taken in play and film, including the question of “did Salieri really kill Mozart?” We discuss the rest of the cast, including some well-known character actors and one young actress who would go on to star in one of the biggest US TV shows of this century. If that wasn’t enough, we talk about Rock Me Amadeus, the 1985 song by Austrian singer Falco and marvel at not only how many versions of the song there were (over 20) but just how amazingly successful it was around the world. We might be having a new comics podcast coming soon. Still working on logistics. So be on the lookout for that, maybe, along with some big name guests coming to the main show (fingers crossed).…

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Episode 127 - Yellow Rose of Texas 1:02:30

πριν 1 year1:02:30

1:02:30

Von Erichs vs Freebirds six-man match from 1984 David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions. It’s a same day turnaround for this holiday treat, as Justin Jones (@xPrimusPilusx) returns to the podcast to discuss The Iron Claw, the new movie about the Von Erich family, which we saw earlier today. There are plenty of spoilers (for a docudrama), so if you haven’t seen it yet, save it for after you watch it. Short answer: it’s a good movie, in and of itself, but not great, and pretty good for a wrestling movie. We discuss the whole film, which actors we thought did the best jobs in the main cast, as well as looking at all the actual wrestlers in the movie. (The one everyone is making fun of on social media isn’t that bad.) There’s also a lot of general wrestling chat: territorial history, foreign menaces as world champion, attendances now and then and how to judge them, the careers of Ross and Marshall Von Erich and more. We also tease which new biopic will probably be the subject of an upcoming pod and will be praised nearly as much as this picture. Note: we recorded this in the movie theater parking lot, while sitting in the car, and so the quality is not as good as usual. We apologize for the inconvenience.…

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Episode 126 - Tokyo Giant 2:21

πριν 1 year2:21

2:21

Godzilla vs The Marvel Universe. From Godzilla 24 by Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe, et al. (c) 2023 Marvel Comics. After seven long years, we’re happy to welcome Zander Cannon (@zandercannon) to the pod to discuss the mad monster party, officially known as Godzilla Minus One. We basically go through the entire film plot point by plot point, so if you haven’t seen it yet, save the pod for after you’ve watched it. Short version: it’s as good or better than all the buzz you’ve heard about it. We talk about the main characters, both the humans and Big G himself, compare it to the original 1954 film (with and without Raymond Burr in the American version), the call-backs to previous movies, the drama at the heart of the movie and what very nerdy fan service thing I would have loved to see in the movie, even if most viewers may not have gotten the reference. From there, we discuss the 1979 Godzilla comic from Marvel. Zander only read a couple issues as a kid, but I reread all 24 issues for the show. So, we discuss the creators and art style, which Marvel super heroes appear in the book and, of course, the giant Mattel Godzilla toy from that era (you know, the one with the spring-loaded fist you could shoot). That’s a natural segue into Zander’s comic Kaijumax, which finished up last year and the third of three hardcover collections is coming out soon (it may be out when you hear this) from Oni Press. We talk about the evolution of the series over its 30 issues, the lack of monster vs monster splash pages in the series, all the tropes that got turned on their heads in the series and more. We end with what could a general talk abou the comics industry, largely about original art, prices these days for older pages, creating comics digitally vs the old pen and ink days, color guides and how cool they are to see, retro technology and a bunch of other topics. It was great to talk to Zander again on the show and hopefully it won’t take seven years to invite him back.…

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Episode 125 - Sweet F.A. 2:05:00

πριν 1 year2:05:00