 |
David Chappell presents UP CLOSE with JIMMY “BOOGIE WOOGIE MAN” VALIANT PART 2 |
|
|
(CONT FROM PART 1) Chappell: The wrestling memorabilia you have here is just amazing! Tell us about how you’ve accumulated all of this! There’s a huge amount in the building we’re in right now.
Boogie: Yes! We’re in the main Camp building now…
Chappell: Where your ring is, and your training matches are held.
Chappell: A lot of wrestling history is on display in BWC!
Boogie: You can see a lot of the old-timers…when I was a young kid, they were going strong, like Verne Gagne and Killer Kowalski. Like Dick the Bruiser, my mentor. I mean, there are a lot of different pictures, magazine covers, articles, stories…everything!
Chappell: And a lot of wrestling history is contained in your book…
Boogie: Yes! My book, my autobiography, is Woo Mercy Daddy…Welcome To My World—The Jimmy Valiant Story. 566 pages, it’s the biggest wrestling book out there---weighs three pounds, man!
Chappell: (laughs)
Boogie: You know, hardback! I tell people to buy two copies, man, put one in each hand and work out with them!
Chappell: (laughing)
Boogie: I talk about a LOT of things in the book!
Chappell: It’s a great read, Boogie. How can folks go about getting a copy of your book?
Chappell: And even though you don’t wrestle now, you still make personal appearances where you have book signings, right?
Boogie: Each weekend I’m still active doing something, not wrestling, but I’m out there as a goodwill ambassador. Each week I go out and I’m a manager or a referee, whatever they want me to do, and I do a book signing. Not only my book, but Angel’s book as well.
Chappell: So you and Angel both do book signings?
Boogie: Yes, we do joint book signings together! I go out and I take both books. We’re real proud of Angel’s children’s book, Piggy In A Blanket.
But also, you can come here to BWC any Sunday, and purchase a book here. The good thing about this, Dave, is that you can’t get either book at any store. Any person that has my book or Angel’s book, they have it personally autographed to them.
Chappell: Please tell us a little about Angel, and her role here at BWC.
Boogie: You bet! She saved my life, and she’s the love of my life! I live for this lady, and in my book I tell about how we met and everything after that.
Honestly, she did save my life. I mean, you can read in print how she brought me back up, you know? But she is the light that I go by, man. We have so much respect for each other.
Boogie: We’ve been married 17 years now, and we’ve never had an argument! Never even had one cross word!
Chappell: Say what? You all should write a book just on that!
Boogie: You bet! People say, ‘Boogie, that can’t be right!’ But it’s the gospel! It’s so much love and respect there.
She helps me so much…I couldn’t do this without her. I mean, she has her own company, Angel’s Wrestling Wear Company. She runs the concession stand during the matches. She takes care of all the enrollees when they come in. She does it all…she’s my secretary, she’s my lover, she’s my wife, she’s my sister! We’re as one, you know, but I couldn’t function without her!
Chappell: Where would you be without her?
Boogie: I’d be lost without her! I’d probably be in an old-folks home somewhere!
Chappell: Is there a special piece of memorabilia here that stands out to you?
Boogie: The big wedding portrait of me and Angel! We were married in Tampa, Florida on 4/6/91and it says underneath it---Together Forever. And that’s the gospel!
And another thing, we have our own tombstones, which we have on the grounds at BWC. And that’s where we’re gonna be together forever…and it’s so special what we wrote on it.
Chappell: No question you two are quite a couple! Angel, please tell us about your role at BWC.
Angel Valiant: Like Boogie said, I do a lot around the Camp. I make the boys’ trunks for them, their robes; whatever they want in the way of gear. If they can come up with an idea, we can try and do it. Not just the simple tights, but if they want a design, or a picture or their name I work with them…because I’m an artist. I can draw what they can imagine!
Chappell: I imagine that gift really comes in handy!
Angel: We put it together for them, and make them look like professional wrestlers…which is what they are when they leave Boogie’s Wrestling Camp!
Chappell: Everything is really in-house here, isn’t it?
Angel: It is. You get trained here, and they learn not only the wrestling moves but also how to do interviews…anything related to the wrestling world.
And I can help them with their outfits, and help them get work…whatever they need.
Chappell: Please tell us about the books you and Boogie have written, and how folks can go about getting them.
Angel: The books are so much fun! Woo Mercy Daddy is Boogie’s autobiography, and we wrote it together.
Chappell: It’s quite an in-depth book…how long did it take you all to complete it?
Angel: It took us FIVE years!
Chappell: WOW!
Angel: The reason it took us that long was because at the time he was still working full-time on the road, and I was still working full-time as a physical therapist. So, we only had maybe 6-8 hours a week to actually devote to it.
So, it took us that long and I’m glad it did, because it gave us time to get everything just perfect! You know, if you write something real fast you’re going to leave things out…it’s just not going to come out the way you want it to.
Chappell: I agree.
Angel: But this book, we’re so proud of it! It’s 566 pages, and you can get it in any of the ways Boogie mentioned earlier, and get a personally autographed copy.
We’ve gotten a lot of real good feedback on the book. People have even told us that they’ve read it two or three times because there’s so much information in it! Not only about wrestling, but about his personal life from his birth on!
Chappell: And lots of great stories!
Angel: Lot of good stories! I like to hear about things that you can’t read in one of the wrestling magazines. You know, the behind the scenes things---the personal stories. Everybody can read about who won a title in 1980…everybody knows that. But what about what happened after the match…
Chappell: That’s right, nobody really knows that…unless you were there.
Angel: Nobody knows, and we have a lot of Boogie’s personal insight into things.
Chappell: And as I understand it, you all wrote this entirely yourselves. You didn’t bring in a ghost-writer.
Angel: Yes, we wrote every word ourselves. Boogie told me the stories, and I would be at the computer putting them down, but they were all his stories.
It was an experience David, let me tell you!
Chappell: I bet!
Angel: I tell you, I take my hat off to writers!
Chappell: Not easy, for sure…
Angel: It’s not easy. Not as easy as people may think it is. You’ve got to have your facts down and you’ve got to know what you’re talking about. Everything’s got to be just right.
Chappell: I think a lot of Mid-Atlantic fans would be interested in hearing how you and the Boogie Man met! Did you know of the “Boogie Man” before you all met?
Angel: I had heard his name, sort of like any TV star. But my Dad was a huge wrestling fan, and Jimmy was probably his favorite.
Chappell: That worked out nicely!
Angel: I can remember going into the living room on Saturday morning, and my Dad would be watching Jimmy on TV. His hair was flying around everywhere and his arms were flopping around…
Chappell: (laughing) Quite a spectacle, to be sure!
Angel: I know, I said, ‘Who is this guy?!’ It’s funny, but he stood out in my mind probably more than any of the wrestlers did.
It was just something about him. He was so flamboyant, and he had such charisma!
Chappell: Yep, at the time, his character was very different from anybody else in the Mid-Atlantic area.
Angel: You couldn’t help but remember all that!
Chappell: When you were watching the Boogie Man on TV, where were you located?
Angel: Oh, right here in Virginia. I’m a Virginia girl…born and raised in Virginia.
Chappell: Probably watched him on Channel 10 in Roanoke. Did you go to the arena matches during that time?
Angel: No, I didn’t! (laughing) At that time I was busy doing my own thing, I guess!
HOW THE BOOGIE MAN FOUND HIS ANGEL: CONTINUED IN PART 3 BUY BOOGIE'S BOOK | MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY © 2008 Mid-Atlantic Gateway |
||
Boogie:
Boogie:
Chappell: