Tag Archives: Minnesota Fats

Celebrity Billiards with Minnesota Fats

It’s been almost 18 years since his passing, and an incredible 45 years since his television show Celebrity Billiards with Minnesota Fats first aired.  But, watching the three episodes just released last month on DVD by VCI Entertainment, one instantly recalls his larger-than-life presence, both in his physical girth (at times as much as 300 pounds) and in his verbal swagger and elocution, to say nothing of his pool-playing bravado.

Celebrity BilliardsRunning for four seasons, from 1967-1971, Celebrity Billiards with Minnesota Fats was, quite literally, celebrities playing billiards (for charity) with Minnesota Fats.  Until VCI released the DVD, I had never seen a full episode, though partial clips existed online.  The low-budget set, even by late ‘60s standards, featured a single pool table surrounded by a horseshoe of audience members a few rows deep.  Each episode featured Minnesota Fats, the “world’s most accomplished billiards player” (or some variation of such hyperbole), playing a form of billiards against one of the popular comedians or actors of that era.  The celebrity was given an agreed-upon handicap, and if the celebrity won, s/he got $1000 (about $6700 in today’s dollars) toward the charity of her/his choice; if s/he lost, then $500. At the end of the game, which was shown in its entirety, “Mr. Fats” then demonstrated a series of trick shots, sometimes successfully, other times not. Most of these shots felt impromptu and intimate between him and his celebrity guest, and in all the episodes I watched, the credits rolled even as he was continuing to share shots.

Before delving into the three specific matches on the VCI DVD, it’s worth providing some context around this show, and its master impresario.  To start, in 1961, the movie The Hustler was released, which had two notable effects.  First, participation in billiards skyrocketed. “Sales of equipment soared. The number of pool halls doubled. Organized billiards boomed. Even television sports began to cover straight pool matches,” according to one Chicago Tribune article.

Bank Shot and Other Great RobberiesSecond, in introducing the world to the fictional Minnesota Fats (played by Jackie Gleason), it enabled Rudolf Wanderone Jr., a traveling pool hustler from New York City, to claim the name as his own, forever mixing fact and fiction.   And with the Minnesota Fats moniker, the former Wanderone, a decent but largely unknown billiards player, became a household name, parlaying his fame into every facet of media, from magazine articles (Sport Illustrated) to autobiographies (The Bank Shot, and Other Great Robberies) to instructional books (Minnesota Fats Plays Pool) to television (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) and later, even to movies (The Player).

Also, it had been more than a decade since Ten-Twenty, the last billiards game show.  And with the popularity of bowling shows, such as Jackpot Bowling, on the air, it was the perfect time to try the billiards game show format again, this time with its own superstar, who used to pass out stamped autographed trading cards proclaiming himself “the greatest pool player ever.” Pairing the portly propagandist with celebrities equally made sense, given the success of game shows prominently featuring celebrities, like Hollywood Squares, which debuted in 1966. On top of it all, pool had emerged at this time as the “number one sport in Hollywood, according to some news media.

In the four seasons of Celebrity Billiards with Minnesota Fats, a who’s-who of the era’s A-listers came on the show, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Bill Cosby, Mickey Rooney, and Phyllis Diller.  Apparently, in the show’s pilot episode, James “Maverick” Garner came on, allegedly a reputable pool hustler in his own right, and actually beat Fats, winning the $1000 charity prize.

The newly-released VCI DVD features three episodes from 1971.  In the first episode, Fats plays the comedian Groucho Mark (sans cigar) in 9-ball, giving him the break plus three subsequent shots.  Marx’s game is okay, but his one-liners, such as “It wouldn’t hurt you to practice once in a while,” are classic.  After Fats wins, he reveals to Marx a number of trick shots, though he misses a handful, prompting Marx to reply, “You want to apologize?”  Some of this episode is available to watch below on YouTube.

In the next episode, Fats plays the folk-singing comedians, the Smother Brothers, in a game of “Last Ball,” in which players take turns pocketing balls, but the winner is the one who sinks the last ball.  The Smother Brothers played as a team, effectively getting two turns for every one turn Fats got.  Though the games were presided over by commentator Tim Travers, it’s Fats who provides the real play-by-play, such as describing Dick Smothers’ narrow miss as a “good boy who got in some bad company.” Fats also showcases some beautiful trick shots, including a “kiss, bank, kiss three-cushion” shot.

In the final episode, Fats plays “Mr. Television” Milton Berle in a game of three-cushion billiards, in which Berle is given a three point head-start.  Berle admits to picking this lesser-known variation of billiards because he thought Fats lack of familiarity with the game would give Berle an advantage. This episode tends to lag, as both players struggle to earn points.  Though it is rather amusing when Fats attempts to explain the diamond system to Berle in what comes across as near-dizzying calculus.

The DVD with these three episodes is available to buy on Amazon.

[Wanted!] The Player

Among the world’s greatest unresolved mysteries is the identity of the Zodiac serial killer, the location of the Bermuda Triangle, and the translation of the Voynich Manuscript.  But, equally high up on that list is another perplexing mystery:  Whatever happened to the 1971 billiards movie The Player?

The Player - billiards movieFor a while, the pursuit of this movie was a periodic topic of discussion within the most popular billiards forums, such as AZ Billiards and Inside Pool Magazine.  Often, the initial thread began with the question, “Has anyone heard of this movie The Player? I’d really love to see it.”  This was then followed by a bandwagon of “Me too!” or “I’m also interested” responses, before someone dropped the hammer and shared that he’s already been searching for this movie for some time and has run into nothing but dead ends.

What is the fascination with The Player?  Why does this long-lost billiards movie produce such passion, craving and rumors, whereas other “missing” billiards movies, such as Lemon Tree Billiards House (1996) or Running Out (2001) evoke nary a whisper?  Finally, does it still exist?

Here’s what we know: The Player, was directed and written by Thomas DeMartini, a man with no prior or posterior film credits.  The main cast included Jerry Como, Rae Phillips, and Carey Wilmot, all people who again had no previous or subsequent acting experience.

But, the remaining two cast members, who played themselves in the film, were a completely different story.  First, there was “Gentleman Jack” Colavita, a Tri-State straight pool champion.  And then there was Rudolf Wanderone Jr., aka “Minnesota Fats,” one of the most famous pocket billiards players of that era.  Though he never won a major tournament, he gained great fame in the early ‘60s by claiming the Minnesota Fats character in The Hustler was based on him.  And he then parlayed that fame into a series of book deals and television appearances, including the Celebrity Billiards with Minnesota Fats game show and a guest spot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

While there have been many billiards movies that star pool professionals (e.g., Jennifer Barretta in 9-Ball; Jimmy White in The Legend of the Dragon; Efren Reyes in Pakners; Marcello Lotti in The Pool Hustlers) The Player is the only movie that starred Minnesota Fats.  Even juicier, it billed him as “The greatest pool hustler in the greatest pool movie.”

According to the Temple of Schlock’s “Endangered List,”  the movie was about a down-and-out professional pool player who, struggling with his relationship, hits the road, resorts to hustling, and makes a series of bad decisions (including challenging Minnesota Fats) that only worsen his situation.

Beyond the appeal of Fats and the hustler storyline, the excitement about this billiards movie has grown because of the confusion around its release.  For example, the Turner Classics Movie website mistakenly says it was released in 1972.  And, within online forums, some people incorrectly argue the movie was never actually released.  But, from the various first-hand testimonies I’ve read, it’s clear the movie showed at a few private screenings in 1971 and 1972 in the Southeast at theaters owned by the family of the movie’s producer, George Ogden, though it never had a mainstream release.

The Player - billiards movieBut here is where the story turns tragic, as it appears this billiards movie will never become viewable again, based on the investigatory work done by Craig Rittel, owner of Full Splice Billiards in Lakewood, Washington.  He has done considerable research, talking to industry professionals and tracking down people involved with the film.  According to his online posts (and some of my own research), we know:

  • There were management problems, presumably within International Cinema, the movie’s production company, that led to the film getting shelved. International Cinema no longer exists.  It was merged with RSL Entertainment in 1985 to form Alliance Entertainment, now the largest wholesale distributor of home entertainment audio and video software in the United States.
  • Producer George Ogden was believed to have the original film. He passed away years ago, and the only thing found among his estate related to The Player was a framed poster.
  • The Ogden Theater in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which privately screened The Player, closed in 1985.
  • There is no information that can be learned from the main cast and crew members. The director Thomas DeMartini is deceased (date unknown), Minnesota Fats died in 1996, and “Gentleman Jack” Colavita died in 2005.  In fact, Colavita’s son, Jack, has also unsuccessfully tried to find the film.
  • Even the Jackson Mall Cinema, another of the few venues that did a private screening of the film, is no longer around. It is now a medical center.

So, that’s where the story ends…or does it?  If there is a lesson to be learned from the 2012 smash documentary Searching for Sugarman about the hunt to find the singer Rodriguez, or the 2002 documentary Stone Reader, which details one person’s quest to find the author of a well-received novel from 30 years ago, it’s that maybe, just maybe, with a lot of sleuthing and a lot of luck, something seemingly gone forever will show up again one day.  We can only hope.

[Periodically, I will publish posts on movies that I have been unable to find and watch.  These are part of my “Wanted!” series. If you have any information about a “Wanted!” movie, please contact me.  I will be most grateful.]