Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 19

Saturday, October 25, 1986 Mattoon, (II.) Journal Gazette C-5 (if AN? '3, JL 1 kW't I I Nation Capitalil mum -j mi. hum i. i ii I fmmMfmt muMWmvm-'tm nil 5 jpllgp1ipii(giwpj 1 pypi-i UC II! a UPlwIraphotot According to Minnesota Fats, he began playing pool at 23 months Tats' world's greatest pool player and talker THE UNITED STATES SOI1WIERS' HORU ON STAGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28 Iff 7 4 as Triple Smart "I was a genius as a kid," he say and New York Fats until the Gleason character, which was called Minnesota Fats. The real Fats has been Minnesota ever since. Fats has played for kings and queens; shot with the likes of Willie Mosconi and lifted his name to the level of the game itself.

Straight answers are hard to come by with Fats, and the question of age is no different. While he reportedly was born in 1913 which would make him 73 Fats says, "I'm 83 to 100. I've been around a long time, I'm the only living person who knows how oldlam." At any age, Fats has been a pool hall mercenary, When money is on the table, Fats claims to be unbeatable. It's tough to doubt a millionaire. "Playing for money is a whole different story," Fats said.

"But the trick ain't playing for it. It's leaving with it." While amateurs can nonchalantly run a table of balls playing for fun, a little wager often clutches their larynx and alters their game for the worse. Fats says he feels no strain. "Pressure's for suckers," he sneered. Ever the entertainer, Fats spends his time these days traveling the world and putting on shows.

He naturally can be found in pool halls, but he also visaits hospitals, where his banter draws smiles and doubles as a pep talk. ATLANTA (UPI) After all these years hanging around, pool halls, Minnesota Fats can still pocket a shot or three and take a sucker for a couple of bucks. Most of all, he can still talk a good game. "Only way you can beat me is to lock me up with handcuffs," Fats told one wide-eyed challenger-as he rattled in five balls with one shot during an exhibition in Atlanta. "I can beat anybody living on Earth." In the next breath Fats says, "I'm the world's greatest talker." Modesty has never been a long suit for Fats; draining shots into the corner pocket has.

Along the way, no individual has done more to promote pool or Minnesota Fats. With his streetwise wit and tart tongue, Fats can turn any game of pool into a stage show. It was a 1961 movie, "The Hustler" with Jackie Gleason playing Minnesota Fats and Paul Newman his protege that carried the legend of Fats outside the pool hall and into the eyes of the non-pool-play ing public. That classic film turned America onto pool, and onto With the release of "The Color of Money," a sequel to "The Hustler" starring Newman and Tom Cruise, the world of pool is preparing for another rush. "What made pool today was that.

movie and me hollering and screaming all the time," Fats said in an interview. "Before 'The Hustler' there were 2 million people playing pool. Now there's 100 million playing. "This movie will help pool some more because it's got great stars like Newman and the kid." Of course, Fats is not all that endeared to the silver screen. In his mind, it's a little too glossy for the smoky reality of a pool room.

In "The Hustler," Fats objected to the ending when the kid, "Fast Eddie," beat Gleason. "No Fast Eddie ever took me," Fats said. "They always left on their own accord. Totally broke." After viewing "The Color of Money," Fats felt a little cheated again. "It's a good movie, great for tourists and people that go to movies," Fats said.

"But that wasn't pool." Fats, it seems, has never lacked for an opinion. According to his biography, Fats, was born Rudolph Wanderone Jr. "I haven't heard my real name since I was 3 years old," he says in New York City. He claims to have, seen his first pool table at the tender age of 23 months. Growing up, Fats said he hung out in bars and pool halls "to eat the free lunches and watch the suckers play." "The Dean of Green" one of the other nicknames Fats enjoys was playing for money at age 8 and had traveled the world with his cue stick in hand by the time he became a teenager.

He was known 7:30 P.MF MATTOON HIGH SCHOOL Lieutenant Colonel William E. Clark, Commander and Conductor United States Army Field Band. Captain Robert A. McCormlck, Associate Conductor United States Army Field Band. GYM FREE TICKETS Available At Journal Gazette Office or Please send me FREE MAIL TO: Journal Gazette 100 Broadway Mattoon, 111.61938 tickets to the United States Army Field Band and Solider's Chorus concert.

BE SURE TO ENCLOSE STAMPED, SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE Please Ticket request limit to 6 tickets while seats last. A Civic Presentation Of The 4-j (0 W1H Street-wise philosopher Minnesota Fats gestures with his pool cue.