Helen Hart: A friend's recollection
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Stu and Helen on the rear verandah of Hart House, in November 2000. -- Bob Leonard, Stampede Wrestling
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By BOB
LEONARD -- For SLAM! Wrestling
On the evening of December 15, 1995 I stood beside Helen Hart in a place
where she had virtually never been: inside the ropes of the
Stampede Wrestling ring. We listened together as more than 5,000
Calgarians rocked the storied Stampede Corral with waves of cheers. And
we
watched from just a few feet away as a rich sampling of Stampede's
greater
and lesser lights from years past -- Dory and Terry Funk, Leo Burke,
Moose
Morowski, Angelo Mosca, Gil Hayes, Tor Kamata, Brian Pillman, John
Helton,
Dan Kroffat and more -- streamed into the ring to add their best wishes
to
Stu Hart at the huge wrestling event that officially marked his
eightieth
birthday on that night.
"Helen, when we first met going on 40 years ago, did you ever imagine
you
and I would end up in a wrestling ring together?" I jokingly queried, as
the
cheers and the handshakes washed over Stu. And in the delightfully
nonplussed manner that she often exhibited, Helen allowed that she
certainly
hadn't imagined any such thing, adding "...and I'm still not sure just
what I should do in here, even after all these years!"
The quiet sense of humour, the gentle wit and self-deprecating manner,
were
so typical of the true heart of the Hart household. Helen's innate
dignity,
her warm and effusive personality, exerted its gentle charm and
persuasion
equally on legendary boxing champions, ruggedly individualistic
wrestlers,
businesses seeking trade or pressing for payment, jaded sports editors,
and the wide range of others who crossed her path.
Her genuine graciousness to all who entered her home -- and there were
so
many, for Hart House has for 50 years been a people place -- or whom she
met in Calgary or on visits to some of North America's premier wrestling
venues with Stu, sticks vividly in many minds and hearts. Helen had a
wonderful ability to make old friends or new acquaintance feel
"special".
She combined an attentiveness in conversation and a sincerity in her
gaze,
and a small gesture or a few well-chosen words, to make each meeting
with
her that extra bit more memorable.
To remember Helen is to recall as well her deft handling of many major
and
minor problems of the sometimes abrasive personalities on Stu's talent
roster. To marvel at her solo juggling act in running the business end
of
Stampede for some 40 years: payrolls, taxes and accounts, immigration
clearances and talent scheduling, publicity and advertising, arena
rentals
and commission problems, complaints and concerns and a myriad of
secretarial
duties, along with an occasional frantic long-distance call from a local
promoter demanding, "where are the wrestlers, it's 7:15 and nobody's
here
yet!" To be amazed at her ability to lovingly raise a dozen children in
the
midst of ever-ringing phones. Helen handled it all, and more often than
not transformed potential chaos to a semblance of order.
And there are the special personal recollections. Helen's wonderful New
York accent, still present after more than 50 years so far from the
place of
her upbringing, and the precise diction of her speech. Her loving touch
on
the arm of her burly "Buff", or her fingers gently patting down a stray
cowlick of his hair, so spontaneous and unself-conscious as we reminisce
about the people of the old Stampede days. Her companionable
presence during those early-morning Calgary Stampede breakfasts of the
'60s
and '70s, where Stu's and Helen's introduction to the crowds prompted
cheers
equaling those for Hollywood celebrities and world champion cowboys.
And
her trips to the kitchen at 2:30 in the morning, to bake up just one
more tray of chocolate chip cookies to crown an after-show Hart House
buffet
for the whole Stampede Wrestling crew, at the promotion's relaunch in
April
1999.
That warm, wonderful voice is stilled. That loving touch is gone. But
the
memories will keep Helen Hart forever in so many hearts and minds.
Rest well, dear friend.
Bob Leonard has been associated with Stampede Wrestling since the
mid-1950's, as a photographer, ring announcer, referee, promoter and
publicist. Bob and legendary TV announcer Ed Whalen are likely Stu and
Helen Hart's longest-serving associates.
Please check out our amazing Helen Hart photo gallery, constructed with the Mr. Leonard's help.
