Magnificent Maurice

Magnificent Maurice was a big star in the 1960s as essentially a Gorgeous George clone with dark hair. H looked at himself in a hand mirror as he made his way to the ring. He wore flowing capes and robes. He strutted, smirked and showed disdain for opponents and fans alike, provoking the audience to a riot pitch on many occasions. He was, in short, an outstanding heel.

Maurice made his way to Arizona at varied intervals, though he was never a regular on the cards.

He is best noted for a feud in the territory with he popular Jerry Usher, gaining a set of wins over him by cheating and setting the stage up for rematches which of course drew the angry fans back for more. The two met in phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and several other locations, usually with Maurice sneaking by with a victory that was never fairly achieved.

"Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat," was a statement Maurice made many times on television and he lived up tot his philosophy.

He died in a plane crash many years ago, bringing his career and life to an unexpected end. The stories, however, live on.

Maurice saw big pushes in California, Ohio, Michigan and Hawaii as well. No matter where he went, he was hated by the crowd and this brought the people in, hoping to see him lose.

A few times at the Phoenix Madison Square Garden he caused security headaches, for they needed to stay totally on the ball in anticipation of fan attacks when members of the crowd took unkindly to the way he treated Jerry Usher.