Post by scooterdust on Jan 25, 2010 21:34:06 GMT -5
From PWInsider:
GEORGIANN MAKROPOULOS PASSES AWAY
by Mike Johnson @ 7:23 PM on 1/25/2010
On behalf of everyone at PWInsider.com, we are very sorry to report the passing of longtime Wrestling Chatterbox editor Georgiann Makropoulos earlier today at the age of 67.
Georgie, as she was known to her friends, was one of the kindest people to ever become involved in any aspect of professional wrestling. She was a long-time friend and fan of many of those who came through the WWWF as she grew up in New York, including Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rogers and Bill Watts, among others who she maintained fan clubs as a young fan and later befriended. She actually maintained the same ringside seats at Madison Square Garden in NYC for decades, until the building ended their long-standing subscription service for fans.
Over the years, Georgie worked with Bob Ryder's www.1wrestling.com and in recent years, had been working as Editor-in-Chief of Ringside Collectibles' www.wrestlingfigs.com website. Georgie's newsletters and later, her online work, was probably the most "fan friendly" in that she loved to focus on personal touches and things most other news outlets passed aside for the bigger news stories, probably because she was a life-long fan herself, discovering the business as a teenager while sick with meningitis. After recovering, she was a regular at the Sunnyside Garden, the Ridgewood Grove Arena and many other regular WWF haunts.
Georgie liked to humanize those in the business, trying to give fans a window into the friendships she had made over the years, often focusing on wrestler birthdays, appearances, and the personal aspects of their lives beyond the news of their exploits around the business. Her Chatterbox ran monthly for years, most recently publishing as late as a few weeks ago with an issue featuring Jeff Hardy on the cover.
There was more to Georgie than her fandom of the business and her writing. In many cases, she was the silent third-party going back and forth between wrestlers and different promotions to help set up negotiations. She would champion independent talents to help them get tryouts with WCW and the WWF. She was a huge supporter of independent wrestling and was beaming when she was honored by the East Coast chapter of the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1998 for all her had done to help the business. She was a historian, a networker and in many cases, the common bond between a number of different wrestling generations.
Georgie was a woman of many hats, but if there was ever one word to truly describe her, it was passionate. She loved pro wrestling and the many friends she made in those circles. She legitimately cared for everyone she came across, often calling her friends "baby." When a star she was friends with passed away, she took it to heart, even while so many others that followed the business would instead become jaded. She was the type of good person you usually hear about third-hand. She was one of a kind..
Even when wrestling was at it's lowest point, Georgie loved the business. She was fond of helping anyone and everyone she could, from Herb Abrams' UWF to ECW to various conventions to many of the indies that populate the country today, especially those in the Northeast, as she lived in New York City. It would be impossible to come across the run of any promotion that ran in the NYC area for any length of time and not find her at one of their shows.
Georgiann loved the business and there will be a great void with her passing. She was a bridge through the different generations and evolutions of the sport, one that we will never, ever be able to replace.
On behalf of everyone here at PWInsider.com, many of whom worked with her on 1wrestling.com, we send our deepest condolences to her family and friends and are extremely saddened by her passing.
Georgie's services will be as follows: Thomas M Quinn & Sons
35-20 Broadway
Long Island City, NY 11106
718-721-9200
Wake Tuesday 7PM-9PM
Wednesday 2PM-5PM
7PM-9PM
Mass: Thursday at Most Precious Blood......Time tba
***
On a personal level, I made many, many trips in the infamous "Georgie van" during my younger days going to shows and I (like countless others) am very proud to have called her my friend. I cannot begin to recount the level of kindness she showed me from the first day she met me, back when I was 17, up until our last conversation just a few days ago. She was truly the best of the best and I wish nothing but the best to her husband George and her huge, extended family, all of whom loved her very, very much. Everyone here at the site is terribly saddened by her passing.
MORE ON PASSING OF GEORGIANN MAKROPOULOS
by Mike Johnson @ 8:23 PM on 1/25/2010
For those of you who asked about sending along your condolences to the family and friends of Georgiann Makropoulos, you can do so by emailing bobmul345@aol.com. The condolences will be printed and passed on to Georgie's husband, George.
Paul Heyman, who has known Georgiann for decades, posted a note on the Heyman Hustle website, noting "pro wrestling had lost its best friend today." How right he was. Her passing truly marks the end of an era.
GEORGIANN MAKROPOULOS PASSES AWAY
by Mike Johnson @ 7:23 PM on 1/25/2010
On behalf of everyone at PWInsider.com, we are very sorry to report the passing of longtime Wrestling Chatterbox editor Georgiann Makropoulos earlier today at the age of 67.
Georgie, as she was known to her friends, was one of the kindest people to ever become involved in any aspect of professional wrestling. She was a long-time friend and fan of many of those who came through the WWWF as she grew up in New York, including Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rogers and Bill Watts, among others who she maintained fan clubs as a young fan and later befriended. She actually maintained the same ringside seats at Madison Square Garden in NYC for decades, until the building ended their long-standing subscription service for fans.
Over the years, Georgie worked with Bob Ryder's www.1wrestling.com and in recent years, had been working as Editor-in-Chief of Ringside Collectibles' www.wrestlingfigs.com website. Georgie's newsletters and later, her online work, was probably the most "fan friendly" in that she loved to focus on personal touches and things most other news outlets passed aside for the bigger news stories, probably because she was a life-long fan herself, discovering the business as a teenager while sick with meningitis. After recovering, she was a regular at the Sunnyside Garden, the Ridgewood Grove Arena and many other regular WWF haunts.
Georgie liked to humanize those in the business, trying to give fans a window into the friendships she had made over the years, often focusing on wrestler birthdays, appearances, and the personal aspects of their lives beyond the news of their exploits around the business. Her Chatterbox ran monthly for years, most recently publishing as late as a few weeks ago with an issue featuring Jeff Hardy on the cover.
There was more to Georgie than her fandom of the business and her writing. In many cases, she was the silent third-party going back and forth between wrestlers and different promotions to help set up negotiations. She would champion independent talents to help them get tryouts with WCW and the WWF. She was a huge supporter of independent wrestling and was beaming when she was honored by the East Coast chapter of the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1998 for all her had done to help the business. She was a historian, a networker and in many cases, the common bond between a number of different wrestling generations.
Georgie was a woman of many hats, but if there was ever one word to truly describe her, it was passionate. She loved pro wrestling and the many friends she made in those circles. She legitimately cared for everyone she came across, often calling her friends "baby." When a star she was friends with passed away, she took it to heart, even while so many others that followed the business would instead become jaded. She was the type of good person you usually hear about third-hand. She was one of a kind..
Even when wrestling was at it's lowest point, Georgie loved the business. She was fond of helping anyone and everyone she could, from Herb Abrams' UWF to ECW to various conventions to many of the indies that populate the country today, especially those in the Northeast, as she lived in New York City. It would be impossible to come across the run of any promotion that ran in the NYC area for any length of time and not find her at one of their shows.
Georgiann loved the business and there will be a great void with her passing. She was a bridge through the different generations and evolutions of the sport, one that we will never, ever be able to replace.
On behalf of everyone here at PWInsider.com, many of whom worked with her on 1wrestling.com, we send our deepest condolences to her family and friends and are extremely saddened by her passing.
Georgie's services will be as follows: Thomas M Quinn & Sons
35-20 Broadway
Long Island City, NY 11106
718-721-9200
Wake Tuesday 7PM-9PM
Wednesday 2PM-5PM
7PM-9PM
Mass: Thursday at Most Precious Blood......Time tba
***
On a personal level, I made many, many trips in the infamous "Georgie van" during my younger days going to shows and I (like countless others) am very proud to have called her my friend. I cannot begin to recount the level of kindness she showed me from the first day she met me, back when I was 17, up until our last conversation just a few days ago. She was truly the best of the best and I wish nothing but the best to her husband George and her huge, extended family, all of whom loved her very, very much. Everyone here at the site is terribly saddened by her passing.
MORE ON PASSING OF GEORGIANN MAKROPOULOS
by Mike Johnson @ 8:23 PM on 1/25/2010
For those of you who asked about sending along your condolences to the family and friends of Georgiann Makropoulos, you can do so by emailing bobmul345@aol.com. The condolences will be printed and passed on to Georgie's husband, George.
Paul Heyman, who has known Georgiann for decades, posted a note on the Heyman Hustle website, noting "pro wrestling had lost its best friend today." How right he was. Her passing truly marks the end of an era.
