History Main / GorgeousGeorge

ProfessionalWrestling bookers are known to use every dirty trick in the book to make a {{heel}} hated, and Gorgeous George is one of the most basic tricks there is. Gorgeous George is an effeminate pretty-boy who, if he's not an [[CreepyCrossdresser outright cross-dresser]], at least dresses, looks, and acts very androgynous. He wears sequined robes and feather boas, he keeps his hair perfectly coiffed, his nails perfectly manicured, and if somebody hits him in the face, watch out! By presenting an effete image, coupled with the standard heel tactics of lying and cheating, he inflames the anger of the crowd. Gorgeous George never outright says that he's gay - it's [[AmbiguouslyGay constantly implied and hinted at]], but if he actually ''admitted'' it, it wouldn't be Gorgeous George anymore.

* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels had shades of this during his 1990s heel runs. He was a flamboyantly dressed, stripping narcissist who pranced around in front of a mirror and came out to a theme song called "Sexy Boy" and once posed for ''Playgirl''[[note]]Worth noting that Michaels honestly didn't know that the magazine was primarily read by gay men until after he had posed for it.[[/note]]. He also had TONS of HoYay with heel sidekicks Wrestling/KevinNash and Wrestling/TripleH. Parts of his heel runs subverted this, however, by having him hang around with [[Wrestling/SherriMartel Sensational Sherri]] or [gulp] Creator/JennyMcCarthy. His face runs tended to downplay the vanity and the HoYay (unless Triple H was around), but still pretty much ran with the trope.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Snatch}}'' has a character ''called'' Gorgeous George, but he's a boxer and is [[IronicNickname far from being either effeminate or gorgeous]].
[[/folder]]

** Ventura may have worn feather boas and other flamboyant attire, but his gimmick was more of a tough hippie, inspired by [[Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham "Superstar" Billy Graham]].
*** He wore glasses with rhinestones. That alone qualifies him for this trope.

The original Gorgeous George was Wrestling/GeorgeWagner, who began wrestling in the 1930s, making this trope OlderThanTelevision. Wagner became popular in the wrestling circuit for his outrageous character, and with the advent of television became one of the biggest celebrities of the era. UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli and Music/JamesBrown both credited Wagner as part of their inspiration for their own flamboyant behavior, and it may require two separate wikis to list everyone whom THEY have influenced/inspired. Subsequent wrestlers took on similar personae, including Johnny B. Badd, Wrestling/{{Rico|Constantino}}, Wrestling/{{Goldust}} (who subverted the trope by [[HeelFaceTurn turning face]]), [[Wrestling/RickMartel "The Model" Rick Martel]], and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.

* ''Wrestling/{{WSU}}'' has the "Boy Diva" Rick Cataldo who wears colourful and frilly outfits and has the CampGay behaviour down to a T. A man heel in an all-women's promotion isn't as rare as you would think, look no further than WSU to find "[[SarcasmMode the great women's wrestler]]" Chris Dickinson, but a Gorgeous George is pretty out there.
* ''OVW'' had the kamikaze kid become "glamazon" Paredyse, the fabulous, flamboyant, femmeboy phenom of wrestling! CJ Lane became his manservant (she is obviously a woman). Paradyse acts stereotypically gay in his matches but will not admit to being anymore than a "revolutionary" who created "new" gender roles.

* Mid-carder Tony Falk adopted the "Boy Tony" persona in the mid-80's as a ShoutOut to [[Music/CultureClub Boy George]]. When he wrestled in the World Class promotion in Texas, the persona morphed into "Cowboy Tony", a GayCowboy character.

* Wrestling/MattSydal and Lizzie Valentine did their best Adrian Street and Miss Linda impersonations on Wrestling/WrestlingSocietyX. Didn't get them as much heat as it did laughter, as Matt came off like a kid trying to impress a babysitter.

The original Gorgeous George was Wrestling/GeorgeWagner, who began wrestling in the 1930s, making this trope OlderThanTelevision. Wagner became popular in the wrestling circuit for his outrageous character, and with the advent of television became one of the biggest celebrities of the era. UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli and Music/JamesBrown both credited Wagner as part of their inspiration for their own flamboyant behavior, and it may require two separate wikis to list everyone whom THEY have influenced/inspired. Subsequent wrestlers took on similar personae, including Johnny B. Badd, Rico, Goldust (who subverted the trope by [[HeelFaceTurn turning face]]), [[Wrestling/RickMartel "The Model" Rick Martel]], and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.

* Of course, the {{Trope Namer|s}}, [[Wrestling/GeorgeWagner Gorgeous George]] himself, who was incidentally one of the biggest draws of the 1930s and 40s and often credited for turning wrestling into a national spectacle. He was not the first ambiguously gay professional wrestler in the USA (At least one, Patrick Lansdowne, had a similar gimmick before him), nor did he begin as one. But when he did his {{face heel turn}} he took effeminacy and flamboyance to levels none had ever seen in professional wrestling, making him largely responsible for TheGimmick as we know it.
* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels had shades of this during his 1990s heel runs. He was a flamboyantly dressed, stripping narcissist who pranced around in front of a mirror and came out to a theme song called "Sexy Boy" and once posed for ''Playgirl''[[note]]Worth noting that Michaels honestly didn't know that the magazine was primarily read by gay men until after he had posed for it.[[/note]]. He also had TONS of HoYay with heel sidekicks Wrestling/KevinNash and Wrestling/TripleH. Parts of his heel runs subverted this, however, by having him hang around with [[Wrestling/SherriMartel Sensational Sherri]] or [gulp] Creator/JennyMcCarthy. His face runs tended to downplay the vanity and the HoYay (unless Wrestling/TripleH was around), but still pretty much ran with the trope.

** His half-brother Wrestling/CodyRhodes was supposed to be a [[TheFightingNarcissist different trope]] with his "Dashing" gimmick, but some considered him metrosexual. It comes from each week on Smackdown!, he gavegrooming tips, which vary from the normal (suggestions on bathing frequency and deodorant) to the metro (lip gloss, clear nail polish). When he entered the arena, he turns to one of the screens behind him which acts as a mirror, showing a real-time video of him on the stage. Then Cody became an {{expy}} of Goldust called ''Stardust'', making him unambiguously Gorgeous George (but still ambiguously gay)

* Billy and Chuck also had Rico, their "stylist". After the breakup of Billy and Chuck, [[Wrestling/RicoConstantino Rico]] started trying to imitate Adrian Street's version of the gimmick, complete with a valet named Miss Jackie. After moving to ''Smackdown'' in 2004 and teaming with [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Charlie Haas]], Rico turned face and became popular for his antics. He once kissed [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Bubba Ray Dudley]] on the lips to a massive pop from the crowd.
* Too Cool, Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2-Hotty, were originally known as Too Much. "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and "Too Hot" Scott Taylor. The duo never really got pushed or over and they were taken off TV in under a year and then repackaged as Too Cool and teamed up with Wrestling/{{Rikishi}}. Word is that the gay marriage angle that Billy and Chuck went through was originally intended for them.

* Subversion: Wrestling/BuddyRogers imitated Gorgeous George's mannerisms, bleached hair and robes but put off audiences more with pure arrogance and obviously false claims prowess and pedigree than ambiguous homosexuality. His successor Ric Flair looks even more like George by incorporating feather boas but is even more [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday non homosexual.]]

* ''OVW'' had the kamikaze kid become "glamazon" Paredyse, the fabulous, flamboyant, femmeboy phenom of wrestling! CJ Lane became his manservant(she is obviously a woman). Paradyse acts stereotypically gay in his matches but will not admit to being anymore than a "revolutionary" who created "new" gender roles.

** He and [[Wrestling/BrianPillman "Flyin" Brian Pillman]] would make up the Hollywood Blonds, which the West Hollywood Blonds above were a ShoutOut to (despite the fact that Austin and Pillman weren't even the first {{tag team}} called the Hollywood Blonds).

!!'''Examples:'''

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/{{Snatch}}'' has a character ''called'' Gorgeous George, but he's a boxer and is [[IronicNickname far from being either effeminate or gorgeous]].

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Ash Crimson]], ''[[VillainProtagonist Ash Crimson]]'', '''''[[SmugSnake ASH CRIMSON]]'''''. At the moment you're reading this, at least one person on the planet is bashing the series solely because of his existence.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Mocked in WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoon "WesternAnimation/BunnyHugged" with "Ravishing Ronald -- the original De-natured Boy", a timid, mincing wrestler who kept his long blond hair in a net and bobby pins. In an odd inversion, Ronald appeared to be a {{Face}}; it was his opponent, The Crusher, who was the {{Heel}} (and thus, the subsequent target of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny's wrath).

* On the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS24E14GorgeousGrampa "Gorgeous Grampa"]] episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Abe reveals that he used to wrestle as Glamorous Godfrey. Mr. Burns, who was Godfrey's biggest fan, convinces him to fight again, which leads Bart to emulate him. [[spoiler:Abe feels bad about this and makes a HeelFaceTurn as [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Honest Abe]].]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse'' short "WesternAnimation/TappedOut", Mickey has to fight Pulchritudinous WesternAnimation/{{Pete}}.

[[AC:RealLife]]

* On the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS24E14GorgeousGrampa "Gorgeous Grampa"]] episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Abe reveals that he used to wrestle as Gorgeous Godfrey. Mr. Burns, who was Godfrey's biggest fan, convinces him to fight again, which leads Bart to emulate him. [[spoiler:Abe feels bad about this and makes a HeelFaceTurn as [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Honest Abe]].]]

ProfessionalWrestling bookers are known to use every dirty trick in the book to make a {{heel}} hated, and Gorgeous George is one of the most basic tricks there is. Gorgeous George is an effeminate pretty-boy who, if he's not an [[VillainousCrossdresser outright cross-dresser]], at least dresses, looks, and acts very androgynous. He wears sequined robes and feather boas, he keeps his hair perfectly coiffed, his nails perfectly manicured, and if somebody hits him in the face, watch out! By presenting an effete image, coupled with the standard heel tactics of lying and cheating, he inflames the anger of the crowd. Gorgeous George never outright says that he's gay - it's [[AmbiguouslyGay constantly implied and hinted at]], but if he actually ''admitted'' it, it wouldn't be Gorgeous George anymore.

* Wrestling/{{WWE}} had Billy and Chuck, who were an Ambiguously Gay Duo. They eventually turned out to be straight after all, and admitted it was all a ruse to boost WWE ratings.
* Billy and Chuck also had Rico, their "stylist". After the breakup of Billy and Chuck, [[Wrestling/RicoConstantino Rico]] started trying to imitate Adrian Street's version of the gimmick, complete with a valet named Miss Jackie. After moving to ''Smackdown'' in 2004 and teaming with Charlie Haas, Rico turned face and became popular for his antics. He once kissed Bubba Ray Dudley on the lips to a massive pop from the crowd.

** He and [[Wrestling/BrianPillman "Flyin" Brian Pillman]] would make up the Hollywood Blonds, which the West Hollywood Blonds above were a ShoutOut to (despite the fact that Austin and Pillman weren't even the first tag team called the Hollywood Blonds).

* Tyler Breeze from NXT, a model who is obsessed with taking selfies and ''flips his shit'' if you attack his face. Despite being a heel, he's very popular (likely because he's a damn good actor).

* Younger fans might find this hard to believe, but TripleH himself started his WWE run as "Hunter Hearst Helmsley," a flamboyant Connecticut blueblood who dressed in 1700s style clothes, wore his hair in a ponytail and lectured people on proper etiquette. He would keep the initials when he started DX and became "The Game" that everyone [[BrokenBase loves or hates today.]]

* Since we mentioned Kwee Wee, he sorta fit this trope. His character was a fashion designer whose outfits were lavender and neon orange. However, he had a feminine girlfriend (Papaya). Kwee Wee was based on a SaturdayNightLive character named Mango who was also [[CampStraight heterosexual despite acting effeminate and even sexually teasing other men]].

* Younger fans might find this hard to believe, but TripleH himself started his WWE run as "Hunter Hearst Helmsley," a flamboyant Connecticut blueblood. He would keep the initials when he started DX and became "The Game" that everyone [[BrokenBase loves or hates today.]]

ProfessionalWrestling writers are known to use every dirty trick in the book to make a {{heel}} hated, and Gorgeous George is one of the most basic tricks there is. Gorgeous George is an effeminate pretty-boy who, if he's not an [[VillainousCrossdresser outright cross-dresser]], at least dresses, looks, and acts very androgynous. He wears sequined robes and feather boas, he keeps his hair perfectly coiffed, his nails perfectly manicured, and if somebody hits him in the face, watch out! By presenting an effete image, coupled with the standard heel tactics of lying and cheating, he inflames the anger of the crowd. Gorgeous George never outright says that he's gay - it's [[AmbiguouslyGay constantly implied and hinted at]], but if he actually ''admitted'' it, it wouldn't be Gorgeous George anymore.

* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels had shades of this during his 1990s heel runs. He was a flamboyantly dressed, stripping narcissist who pranced around in front of a mirror and came out to a theme song called "Sexy Boy" and once posed for ''Playgirl''[[note]]Worth noting that Michaels honestly didn't know that the magazine was primarily read by gay men until after he had posed for it.[[/note]]. He also had TONS of HoYay with heel sidekicks Wrestling/KevinNash and Wrestling/TripleH. Parts of his heel runs subverted this, however, by having him hang around with Sensational Sherri or Creator/JennyMcCarthy. His face runs tended to downplay the vanity and the HoYay (unless Wrestling/TripleH was around), but still pretty much ran with the trope.

* Mocked in a WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoon with "Ravishing Ronald -- the original De-natured Boy", a timid, mincing wrestler who kept his long blond hair in a net and bobby pins. In an odd inversion, Ronald appeared to be a {{Face}}; it was his opponent, The Crusher, who was the {{Heel}} (and thus, the subsequent target of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny's wrath).

* [[Wrestling/ExoticAdrianStreet "Exotic" Adrian Street]] was, according to many wrestling fans, the best wrestler to ever play this gimmick. Street found exactly the right balance between the antics and having good matches. He even had a "girlfriend", Miss Linda, who played a feminine inversion of the gimmick by dressing in leather and getting physically involved in matches. Despite pushing 70, Street has remained in shape and still uses the gimmick on occasion.

* Masked women's swimsuit wearing wrestler Japanese Pool Boy is a more comedic version than most other examples but still manages to get under a lot of fans' skin.

* Of course, the {{Trope Namer|s}}, [[Wrestling/GeorgeWagner Gorgeous George]] himself, who was incidentally one of the biggest draws of the 1930s and 40s and often credited for turning wrestling into a national spectacle. He was not the first ambiguously gay professional wrestler in the USA, nor did he begin as one. But when he did his {{face heel turn}} he took effeminacy and flamboyance to levels none had ever seen in professional wrestling, making him largely responsible for TheGimmick as we know it.

* ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Super Punch-Out!!]]'':
** Heike Kagero, a shirtless woman without breasts who boxed. He had a slim build, lilac trunks, lipstick, long silver hair which he used as a lethal weapon, and he used to skip back and forth when he knocked you down. He also punched in an effeminate manner--it was just very, very painful. Oh, and he [[NoblewomansLaugh laughed in a high-pitched cooing tone]] when he won. As far as can be told Kagero was actually trained in kabuki before taking up boxing as a means of defending himself. Based on his mannerisms, he was most likely an ''onnagata''--meaning that he played female characters.
** There's also Narcis Prince, who will go berserk when punched in the face.

* On the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS24E14GorgeousGrampa "Gorgeous Grampa"]] episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Abe reveals that he used to wrestle as Gorgeous Godfrey. Mr. Burns, who was Godfrey's biggest fan, convinces him to fight again, which leads Bart to emulate him. [[spoiler:Abe feels bad about this and makes a HeelFaceTurn as [[AbrahamLincoln Honest Abe]].]]

The original Gorgeous George was Wrestling/GeorgeWagner, who began wrestling in the 1930s, making this trope OlderThanTelevision. Wagner became popular in the wrestling circuit for his outrageous character, and with the advent of television became one of the biggest celebrities of the era. UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli and Music/JamesBrown both credited Wagner as part of their inspiration for their own flamboyant behavior, and it may require two separate wikis to list everyone who THEY have influenced/inspired. Subsequent wrestlers took on similar personae, including Johnny B. Badd, Rico, Goldust (who subverted the trope by [[HeelFaceTurn turning face]]), [[Wrestling/RickMartel "The Model" Rick Martel]], and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.

* Pigtail wearing Lazarus who was in [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] Wild Side, who did lap dances for the security guards. His finisher was called the Brittney Spear, a spear that would end with him on top in the missionary position.

* ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Super Punch-Out!!]]'' had Heike Kagero, a shirtless woman without breasts who boxed. He had a slim build, lilac trunks, lipstick, long silver hair which he used as a lethal weapon, and he used to skip back and forth when he knocked you down. He also punched in an effeminate manner -- It was just very, very painful. Oh, and he [[NoblewomansLaugh laughed in a high-pitched cooing tone]] when he won. As far as can be told Kagero was actually trained in kabuki before taking up boxing as a means of defending himself. Based on his mannerisms, he was most likely an ''onnagata'' -- meaning that he played female characters.
** Don't forget about Narcis Prince, who will go berserk when punched in the face.

* One of the characters in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic IV'' was a pirate named Pete Girly after his long blond hair. He was very vain about his appearance, especially the hair. Of course, the first person who called him "Pete Girly" ended up dead - he started wearing the nickname with pride later.

See also SissyVillain, DepravedHomosexual, DepravedBisexual and PsychoLesbian. Contrast TheFightingNarcissist whose sexuality is rarely questioned.

* [[HardGay Razor Ramon HG]], could have been considered an example early in his Wrestling/{{HUSTLE}} career, besides the fact he was always a {{face}} but he eventually became so popular that the FanNickname Hard Gay stuck and the ambiguous elements were totally abandoned.

** His half-brother Wrestling/CodyRhodes was supposed to be a [[TheFightingNarcissist different trope]] with his "Dashing" gimmick, but some considered him metrosexual. It comes from each week on Smackdown!, he gavegrooming tips, which vary from the normal (suggestions on bathing frequency and deodorant) to the metro (lip gloss, clear nail polish). When he entered the arena, he turns to one of the screens behind him which acts as a mirror, showing a real-time video of him on the stage.

* ''Wrestling/{{WSU}}'' has the "Boy Diva" Rick Cataldo who wears colourful and frilly outfits and has the CampGay behaviour down to a T. A man heel in an all-women's promotion isn't as rare as you would think but a Gorgeous George is pretty out there.