I said when I hit 500 followers on Facebook, I would announce a new book project. We shot past that benchmark last night, so here it is.
I am happy to announce I am not in the early stages of research on a book about the life of Wee Willie Davis!
Davis was a notorious heel in his time, a 6’6″ monster who appeared all over the United States from the 1930s through the 1950s. In the 1940s, he followed his buddy Mike Mazurki into the film industry and appeared in more than two dozen films including Mighty Joe Young, The Asphalt Jungle, Son of Paleface, Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion, and Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. He also made a splash on television as a contestant on The $64,000 Question, and he was the co-inventor of an early form of “heads up display” technology called the Glowmeter.
Davis has a unique connection to the Louisville, Kentucky wrestling scene as well. Not only did he work for Francis McDonogh and the Allen Athletic Club, he is the missing link between the Allen Club and Memphis Wrestling. He partnered with McDonogh’s widow Betty to open his own wrestling promotion in 1958 and later became the local point man when Dick the Bruiser took over the territory in the 1960s.
It took me almost five years to compile enough information to finally tell Jim Mitchell’s story, and while I don’t expect Davis to take quite as long, I do plan to take my time and do it right. My current goal is to release his story in late 2020, but that’s subject to change. The good news is you’re going to see at least 3-4 books from me between now than then, including to very exciting autobiographies that I’ll be announcing in the coming months.
Wee Willie Davis was a colorful personality and a man of many talents. He’s become a fascination of mine, and I am looking forward to sharing his story with a generation that’s never heard of him.