Come join us Monday May 22nd for a fun and informative local history program with Michigan Notable Book author Brian R. Solomon. Solomon will discuss his book Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling’s Original Sheik. The Sheik was the character and brainchild of Lansing Catholic Central graduate, US Army Veteran, and professional wrestling pioneer Edward George Farhat.
The Library asked Solomon about being a wrestling fan and his experience writing this book.
Q: How long have you been a wrestling fan?
A: I’ve been a wrestling fan since I first saw Andre the Giant turn on Hulk Hogan on Piper’s Pit in 1987, in the lead-up to WrestleMania III. I had no idea what I was watching, but I knew I had to see more of it. My 12-year-old mind was blown by the drama, the intensity, the larger than life characters.
Q: What made you want to write this book?
A: I decided to write the book when I realized that I could not think of a single more important and more prominent pro wrestling star of the past who did not already have a book out about them. I felt it was a travesty that no one ever told The Sheik’s story, and I wanted to rectify that.
Q: What did you find surprising while researching this book?
A: One of the things I found very surprising about researching The Sheik’s story was his career actually went back a couple of years further than anyone else seemed to realize. All accounts previously had indicated that he started in 1949, and was already wrestling as The Sheik (of Araby) right out of the gate. But I discovered he worked for two years in the Lansing area using his given name, Eddie Farhat, as a fresh-faced GI home from the war.
Q: What is a funny moment you uncovered?
A: I discovered that young Eddie Farhat had run away from home at about the age of 12, back in the 1930s. He and some friends decided to hitch-hike to get to California. They made it about 75 miles before getting picked up by police. And Eddie was the ringleader! It was so amusing that I wound up making it the opening of the book.
Q: What is a lesson you took note of learning about his life?
A: A very important lesson would be that no matter how successful you become, and how big you get, you’re always vulnerable to bad decision-making, and pride can be anyone’s downfall. Sheik went from the hottest star in the business, with the hottest promotion, to being blacklisted and bankrupt within a handful of years.
Q: What do you want the reader to take away from this story?
A: I’d hope that readers of the book will appreciate it as one of the most unorthodox and unconventional of immigrant success stories. Ed Farhat achieved the American Dream not by running away from xenophobia, but by turning it against the xenophobes, by embracing it and harnessing it, and making himself a multi-millionaire.
Q: What would you like to see as his (Farhat’s) legacy?
A: The legacy of Ed Farhat, The Sheik, is that of the single greatest and most effective heel or bad guy in pro wrestling history. No one was more feared and hated by fans, and no one drew so much money, in so many places, for so long a time. He is in a class by himself, especially among wrestling villains.
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