Pop Culture 101 - THE HUSTLER

The Hustler and its characters have become so firmly identified with professional pool that since its release in 1961, both the public and many pool players, even pros, believe the characters of Fats and Fast Eddie are based on real people, although the novel's author, Walter Tevis, insists they were entirely fictional. That didn't stop pro player Rudolph Walter Wanderone from taking the name Minnesota Fats after the movie became famous, which upset and angered Tevis. Wanderone was not a particularly good pool player but a relentless self-promoter who was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame for his contributions to popularizing and legitimizing the sport. So pervasive was the myth Wanderone perpetrated that his 1996 Associated Press obituary claimed Tevis had based the character on him, even while acknowledging that Wanderone took the name after the movie came out.

Another pool player who benefited from the book and movie, though not to the extent of Wanderone, was Eddie Parker, who became known as "Fast Eddie" like Newman's character. His 2001 Associated Press obituary said Parker's "billiards play was said to have inspired the book and movie The Hustler." The article then went on to say Paul Newman starred in the film "in the role of Mr. Parker." Another player named Ronnie Allen allegedly claimed the character of Fast Eddie was based on him, despite Tevis's protestations.

Newman played the character of Fast Eddie Felson again as an older man in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (1986). After six previous Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, and one honorary award for his lifetime achievement, Newman finally won the statue for this role.

Jack Lemmon, who was reportedly considered for the part of Fast Eddie, played pool to help his energy during production of Days of Wine and Roses (1962) and insisted the producer have a pool table available for him on the set. "Seriously, it's not just The Hustler's influence," Lemmon told an interviewer. "On my last picture, I found that if I played pool between scenes it kept up my emotional level."

by Rob Nixon