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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The early days of Hulkamania were something to remember
Those early Hulk Hogan days were a blur. They were simple days when we'd argue about whether wrestling was real. I remember one kid in the locker room at my grade school, Mike Rutledge was his name, staking his mother's life on the premise that it was. In the sense that wrestling was actual, that it existed, we can only hope she was spared. Those were the good days. When, of all the neon colors that were in fashion, yellow was the loudest. This was when Hulkamania was just about to kick up, right as the Iron Sheik came into his focus. This was when Hulk was synonymous with air guitar, and the kids on my block would try to tear their own shirts off while flexing. This was when 'Rocky III' came out, and we wanted to sneak a peek at Thunderlips, the strutting villain who tossed Rocky out of the ring. Hogan a villain? That was beyond our wildest imaginations. We went around calling each other "brother" in the Hulkiest voice we could manage long before our voices changed. There were Saturday morning cartoons of the Hulk. Cereals. They used to have thumb wrestlers, these little rubber figures with holes in their backs where the thumb would go, and me and my friends would get together with a pile of them and have them go at it — Big John Studd, Iron Sheik, Junkyard Dog, Nikolai Volkoff. That was a way to spend a Saturday. Thing I remember most is, I wanted him to lose. I should say, I wanted to see what the world would look like if he lost. I knew too damn many Hulkamaniacs. He was as ubiquitous as the American flag and larger than life with his gonzo patriotism. Everyone who claimed to be an American loved him, because he was part of the fabric of American culture. The version that rocked with the times. Loud. Audacious. Bombastic. Yoked. He was bigger than most movements of that time, bigger than Springsteen, bigger than the mall. Bigger than Muhammad Ali. Bigger than the Cold War itself. Wrestling's Goliath who made sure all of us were paying attention, because he was forever in your face. The timeline blurs, and Hulk's reign for me runs together. This was when Hulk was beating guys like David Schultz regularly. I kept thinking, "What if Schultz wins?" What if some no-name came out of nowhere and beat the great Hulk Hogan? Wouldn't that be the most miraculous thing? If a jobber shocked the world? We'd all remember where we were at that moment. It would be like Mellow Yellow overthrowing Coca-Cola. It was impossible. Even when he was losing consciousness, he'd never let his hand fall limp a third time. There was always that resistance, a gathering of strength that you knew was coming. And yet the crowd would let up a roar when his arm halted short of the canvas and then shake as it rose to the heavens. It meant he was coming back. That it wasn't over. That he wasn't dead yet. The news that Hulk Hogan had passed on Thursday brought it all back. Hogan, who would never die, is now gone. And it's a complicated thing, as legacies often are. Seen as a whole, those early Hulkamania days belong to another time. Same with the nWo days. The later years were less kind. The racist remarks he made in 2015 changed everything. By then I'd long been looking the other way. Some people love a band in an era, but are afraid to listen to an album that comes out 20 years after the fact. Afraid to see the wrinkles. They don't want the associations or the complications. They don't want interference to their nostalgia, which some of us protect at all costs. I think I was like that with Hulk. If ever there was a figure that connected so vitally to youthful times, it was him. And it's funny to think back on now. Those leg drops always had a way of making my heart sink, because that meant whoever was in there was at death's door. Same goes for the names that were lesser than his own, which was everyone. "Big" John Studd, Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine, 'Mr. Wonderful' Paul Orndorff, George 'The Animal' Steele. All of them. I thought at the time Hulk only wrestled once in a great while, at most once every couple of weeks (which can feel like an eternity when you're young). I had no idea that what was televised was a small part of what went on. I only knew the stringy, impossibly blonde hair. The impossibly deep tan. The yellow boots laced to the knee and the banana-yellow bandanas. The handlebar mustache, which spilled off the sides of his face like a waterfall of masculinity. He'd kiss those pythons and boom, instant promo. I wanted to see him wrestle in person, but he didn't come through Denver too often. Seeing him at the old McNichols Arena would've been, for me and my friends anyway, like seeing the Beatles at Shea. Even as my interest in pro wrestling began to wane, I wanted to see him lose. There was something about the security of his reign. People were safe in rooting for Hulk, which meant cowards rooted for him, I thought. The bandwagon could roll on forever, and he'd never break a single heart. Where's the fun? I thought all that, yet I can't explain the sadness I felt when he lost to Andre the Giant and all of that went away. The finality of it.
Los Angeles Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Miss Huntington Beach queen's rose garden celebrates 60th anniversary
The rose garden at Huntington Beach Civic Center has a new addition. Nicole Allyson Vogt, the 2025 Miss Huntington Beach Queen, chose a 'Mellow Yellow' rose to be planted on Friday morning. 'As Miss Huntington Beach 2025, I've had the honor of representing a city full of vibrant spirit, continuous warmth and community pride,' said Vogt, a recent graduate of Cal State Long Beach, the 112th queen in Huntington Beach history. 'Through this journey, I've learned that kindness is not a gesture, it's a way of life, just has Huntington Beach loves to represent.' Vogt said the yellow rose signified that spirit, as a symbol of joy, friendship and new beginnings. 'It embodies the kind of light I strive to bring into every space I enter,' she said, adding that her mother and grandmother taught her what it meant to shine for others. The 60th anniversary Queen's Rose Garden ceremony was put on by the Sand Dollars of Huntington Beach. The nonprofit Sand Dollars and president Love Ghione organize the Miss Huntington Beach scholarship and pageant program each year; Vogt was crowed queen last October. 'Our mission here is to support young women in their quest to achieve their dreams,' Ghione said, giving a special shout out to Sand Dollars treasurer April Gentry and member Andrea Roberson for nursing the rose bushes back to health. Marlena Guadarrama, the director of Miss Huntington Beach, introduced the queen and court to the audience. Vogt was joined at Friday's ceremony by her court princess, Huntington Beach High graduate Catherine Dosier, who sang the national anthem. Dosier now attends UC Irvine. Other former Miss Huntington Beach Queens at the event included Laura Sholar Roberts (1976), Elaine Bauer Keeley (1979), Stacey Jue (1995), Jena Jean Faris (2017) and Ruby Brown-Bilyeu (2024). Each queen since 1963 has been honored by planting a rose bush in a public location, which became City Hall when the new building was constructed in the 1970s. Mayor Pat Burns, City Council members Don Kennedy and Butch Twining and City Clerk Lisa Lane Barnes also attended. 'I love the tradition,' Burns said. 'Believe it or not, I'm kind of a goofy guy because I love roses. I used to grow them myself when I'd give them to my girlfriends and stuff when I was young. Now I've been married 37 years, so the roses don't come as often, but they still come. 'Now I know a source of them,' he added, as the audience laughed. Former Mayor Lyn Semeta emceed the event, which was followed by a catered reception at City Hall.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ione Skye, 54, Reveals She Slept with Costar John Cusack — and Other Juicy Revelations from Her Memoir (Exclusive)
Actress Ione Skye, 51, is an open book in her debut memoir Say Everything. (Out March 4). The delightfully juicy tome details everything from the Say Anything star's bohemian childhood, her fraught relationship with her father, 'Mellow Yellow' singer Donovan and tons of famous friends like River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Sofia Coppola, Madonna and her first husband, Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz. "I'm a little nervous," Skye tells PEOPLE of name-checking so many celebs in the book. But she also says that at her age, she's found peace with telling the truth about her life and career. "I think as you get older, you feel freer just taking chances creatively and not worrying so much about everybody being happy," she says. "Or worrying about looking like a fool." "I definitely don't want to hurt anyone. But some people I named in the book have read it, and luckily everyone has loved it." One of those readers? Her Say Anything costar John Cusack. Skye had always maintained that while they had crushes on each other during filming, they never hooked up on set. In the book, she divulges that they eventually did sleep together, albeit years later. "I had to get it out of my system," she writes in the book, of getting together with him after her divorce from her first husband, Adam Horovitz. Related: Kathleen Hanna's Rebel Girl Shares Love Story with Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock — Get a Sneak Peek Here (Exclusive) She says she allowed Cusack to read a draft of her memoir, and afterward, he texted her: "You made the experience sound so meh! It wasn't 'meh' for me," he told her. "I was like, I'm telling a story, and it was more about how all of our chemistry was in our working together and stimulating each other's minds, not sleeping together!" Skye says, adding with a laugh, "I felt a little bad, but, oh well." Skye, who began acting at age 16, also reveals other crushes she had on costars, including her longtime friend River Phoenix, with whom she starred in 1988's A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. "River ended up being a brother to me, but I remember at the time thinking, 'Oh I'm in love with him!' I couldn't wait to do my kissing scene with him. He was just delicious.'" Related: Ione Skye Shares Final Text Exchange with Matthew Perry Days Before His Death: 'Love This Guy' She also goes into her tumultuous relationship with rocker Anthony Kiedis, who she dated when she was 16 and he was 24 and struggling with a heroin addiction. Skye also had an abortion after getting pregnant by him in her late teens. "I'm not in touch with him," she admits, admitting that she's a little nervous over what he'll think of the book. Skye also opens up about meeting and falling for Horovitz when she was 20, and what it was like being part of the "It Couple" of the early '90s. The duo got married in 1992, but during their union, Skye discovered her bisexuality and entered into a series of affairs, including one with model Jenny Shimizu, the author reveals. They eventually divorced in 2000, and Horovitz later married Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I wrote to Adam," Skye says, of letting him know he'd be in the book. "He's private, but also such a big part of my story so he couldn't not be in it." One person who she knows won't have any issue with the book is her husband of 15 years, Aussie rocker Ben Lee. (The two share daughter Goldie, 15, and Skye is mom to daughter Kate, 24, with her ex David Netto.) Related: A Wedding in India for Actress Ione Skye "My husband, yeah, he knew everything," Skye says of Lee, 46. "I mean, he's kind of amazing. I don't think anything ruffled his feathers except that I spent so much time ruminating on a lot of the early chapters, and then by the time I got to the end and his chapters, I was sort of rushing through it. And he was like, wait a minute, wait a minute. I've been by your side this whole time and you can't rush through my part!" Jokes and first-time author jitters aside, Skye just hopes that people will have as much fun reading her story as she did writing it. "It's almost like motherhood, in that you know it's going to be a huge experience, but you don't know how big until you get there," she says of the three-year undertaking. "But it's one of my favorite projects I've ever done. I thought it would be kind of just annoying and difficult, but I ended up loving it. And yes, I do care about what others will think. But I also have the feeling that everything will be okay." Say Everything is available now, wherever books are sold. Read the original article on People
