What's the truth about Eddie Parker????

greyghost

greyghost

Coast to Coast
Silver Member
Who on here knows the real story? I know Rudolph Wanderone "Minnessota Fats" was in his own time a hell of a player, but what about Eddie Parker? Is it just more myth or was the guy a bonafide bad ass, and the Fast Eddie Felson character being based on him?

Thanks,
G.G.
 
Fast Eddie Parker was a real person. He was a great showman and entertainer. I have seen several of his shows and worked in private with Eddie.

Sorry to say that he died at one of my tournaments.

Hope Robin can fill in more details........SPF=randyg
 
POOL GREAT PARKER DIES; INSPIRED 'HUSTLER' FILM

Monday, February 5th 2001, 2:20AM

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Eddie Parker, a legendary pool player who was known as Fast Eddie and who was the inspiration for the movie "The Hustler," died at a pool tournament in Texas, authorities said yesterday.

The 69-year-old Parker died of an apparent heart attack at the U.S. Classic Billiards Eight-ball Showdown and was pronounced dead after being airlifted to a hospital in Brownsville, Tex.

Parker was one of the best money players in pocket billiards.

He is credited with inspiring Walter Tevis to write the book and screenplay for the 1961 classic "The Hustler," in which Paul Newman played the role of Eddie Felson, based on Parker.

In its sequel, "The Color of Money," Newman, as an older Fast Eddie, won an Academy Award.

Parker, who lived in San Antonio, started playing at age 9.

He said he earned the nickname Fast Eddie in high school - but insisted he wasn't a hustler because he was always upfront when gambling.

"A hustler will let the other guy win and then up the bet. He's fooling his opponent," he said.

He also said he never got rich from pool, with his biggest jackpot a $30,000 bet in the 1950s.

Retired from the road but still greatly admired by the billiards community, Parker spent time giving exhibitions, working on a novel and other ventures.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2001/02/05/2001-02-05_pool_great_parker_dies__insp.html [Retrieved 7 August 2009]
 

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Fast Eddie was born in Springfield, Missouri in 1931. He began playing pool at age nine. He attended school at Ava, Missouri, and he was graduated from high school in 1949. While he was still a teenager, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he was tutored by the late, great Benny Allan, a six-time World Champion; and it was during that time that Fast Eddie became a money player.

In 1952 Fast Eddie joined the Navy and moved to California. After a tour of duty in the Navy, he continued playing pool throughout the country in the 1950's and 1960's. He has taught pocket billiards to hundreds of students, and although Fast Eddie was a money player, he won a number of tournaments, including the California 14.1 straight pool tournament in the 1950's.

It was when Fast Eddie was playing pool down South, in Kentucky, in the early 1950's that he became acquainted with a young man who had helped pay his way through college by working in a pool hall. That young man, Walter Tevis, wrote a book in 1959 entitled "The Hustler", of which a motion picture was made in 1961, starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott.

Being a money player, Fast Eddie would sometimes use assumed names. As well as Eddie Ezzell, Eddie Santee, Terry McKee, he used the name Eddie Felsen, and it was the later that the author changed the spelling to Felson and used in his novel. Fast Eddie's real name is Eddie Parker. According to Fast Eddie, only about thirty percent of the novel is based on fact. The remainder is fiction. For example, Fast Eddie had told Tevis about Rudolph Wanderone, also known as "New York Fats". Tevis changed the name to "Minnesota Fats" in his novel. Fast Eddie also related a few of his own experiences while on the road, such as the finger breaking incident and the big money match with the wealthy Kentuckian, which was played in the Kentuckian's home. Tevis changed the events slightly. Instead of Fast Eddie getting his two thumbs broken, as depicted in the movie, in reality his right forefinger was broken during the incident. The big money match with the wealthy Kentuckian was described accurately, except the match was played close to Lexington, Kentucky, instead of in Louisville, Kentucky as suggested in the movie. And Fast Eddie and his stakehorse (financial backer) won $30,000, instead of $12,000 as depicted in the novel and in the movie. The error was that Fast Eddie's percentage of the $30,000 was $12,000, his stakehorse received the remaining $18,000. The famous pool hall "Bensinger's" was changed to "Bennington's" in the novel and to "Ames" in the motion picture.

Fast Eddie attended Missouri University and the University of Tennessee for one year each. He has had many newspaper and magazine articles written about him; he has made television commercials; he has been on television talk shows; and he had his own television shows, "Shooting Stars with Fast Eddie" and "The Fast Eddie Show".

In 1980, he set a yet unbroken record by pocketing twenty-two balls in one legal stroke (the old record of twenty-one balls was, reportedly, set by Paul Gerni). In 1982, Fast Eddie toured Europe for the Department of Defense. During that tour, he performed in West Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain. In 1987, he formed a partnership with a large Japanese company for the purpose of creating an instructional video tape; he spent nine days in Japan performing exhibitions and creating the video tape. He is the author of a pocket billiards workbook entitled, "What You've Always Wanted To Know About Pocket Billiards, But Were Afraid To Ask".

The workbook has been used by colleges and universities as an instructional tool. The workbook and an earlier video tape by him was in the possession of actor, Paul Newman, before filming "The Color of Money". Fast Eddie received a letter of thanks from the actor and from the casting director, Gretchen Rennels, before filming began.

Because his real identity was kept secret by himself and by the author, Walter Tevis, in 1987, a newspaper reporter asked Fast Eddie if he would consent to take a polygraph test to prove or to disprove his claim to have inspired Walter Tevis to write "The Hustler". In September of that year, a lie detector test was administered to Fast Eddie. The results proved that, indeed, Fast Eddie had told the truth and that his claims are accurate and truthful.

Since coming out of retirement in 1980, Fast Eddie performs more than two-hundred shows per year, and he has recently completed a novel himself, which is scheduled for publication soon.

As reported by a newspaper reporter, Fast Eddie is, indeed, "One of the last of a vanishing breed".

Source: http://www.insidepool.com/ubbthreads/printthread.php?Cat=&Board=questions&main=12369&type=thread [Retrieved 7 August 2009]
 
I got to see one of his shows when I was a teenager. He was a funny guy. I remember he introduced his assistant as "half assed Eddie", but then he had him turn around so you could see the back of his jacket, which actually said "1/2 Fast Eddie", lol.

Aaron
 
Polygraphs can be beaten and are not reliable. Tevis claimed many times that Parker was not the inspiration for Fast Eddie Felson, that the character was a composite of many players that Tevis encountered over the years, including Ronnie Allen, who many believe was the basis for Felson. Parker slammed Tevis in emails to me, claiming Tevis was a liar and a drunk, not exactly the kind of behavior of someone who did not have anything to prove.
 
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SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – Eddie Parker, a legendary pool player known as "Fast Eddie" and the inspiration for the movie "The Hustler," died at a pool tournament in Texas. He was 69.

Parker, of San Antonio, died of an apparent heart attack Friday night at the U.S. Classic Billiards Eight-ball Showdown and was pronounced dead at a Brownsville hospital.

Woody Woodworth, a friend and partner in a pool cue business, said Parker appeared in good health until Friday night. He was airlifted to the hospital.

Parker was not competing in the tournament but was to play in an exhibition Saturday. He was stricken while talking with Woodworth about a fishing trip.

"He said, 'Man, I don't feel good.' So he sat down and he was leaning over, and I said, 'Put your head back so you can breathe easier,' " Woodworth told the Valley Morning Star of Harlingen. "And he sat back and then his eyes rolled back into his head. And I screamed for help."

Parker was one of the best money players in pocket billiards. He is credited with inspiring Walter Tevis to write the book and screenplay for the 1961 classic "The Hustler," in which Paul Newman played the role of Parker. In its sequel, "The Color of Money," Newman as an older "Fast Eddie" won an Academy Award.

Retired from the road but still greatly admired by the billiards community, Parker spent time giving exhibitions, working on a novel and other ventures.

At the tournament on the Texas coast, Parker reflected on his adventures and how the game has changed.

"Pool has cleaned up its act," he said Friday. "When I was a kid, there were two places you weren't supposed to go. Don't go to a bowling alley and don't go into a pool hall. Pool is (now) a very reputable sport."

Parker was born in Springfield, Mo. He started playing at age 9 and was primarily self-taught. In Kansas City, Mo., six-time world champion Benny Allen saw something special in the teen-ager.

"I never had any idea I was going to turn professional and shoot for money until I started studying with Benny Allen," Parker said. "He didn't like to teach, but every once in a while he would find somebody that had potential."

Parker said he earned the nickname "Fast Eddie" in high school but insisted he wasn't a hustler because he was always up front when gambling.

"A hustler will let the other guy win and then up the bet. He's fooling his opponent," he said. "Whereas, a money player freezes up the money in advance and you play your best right from the start."

Parker said he never got rich from pool, with his biggest jackpot a $30,000 bet in the 1950s.

"He was a wonderful man who made days much brighter," said Parker's wife, Peg. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with him."

Besides his wife, Parker is survived by a son and seven grandchildren.

Tournament organizers said cue balls autographed by Parker on Friday for $10 were auctioned for $1,000 on Saturday, and the proceeds were earmarked to help defray funeral expenses. Services probably will be in San Antonio, where Parker lived for about 15 years.

Source: http://espn.go.com/classic/s/obit_parker_eddie.html [Retrieved 7 August 2009]

Photograph Credit:
http://bankthenine.com/2006/08/remembering-fast-eddie-parker.html
 

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Pushout is correct. Although Eddie Parker was a very nice man, a good entertainer, and did make some money from his alleged "identity", there was NO Fast Eddie (the closest one would have been, as mentioned, Ronnie Allen), just as there was NO Minnesota Fats. Literary characters, that may, or may not, have been based on real or imagined poolroom denizens, were what Tevis maintained, throughout the remainder of his life, after writing the original works.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Pushout said:
Polygraphs can be beaten and are not reliable. Tevis claimed many times that Parker was not the inspiration for Fast Eddie Felson, that the character was a composite of many players that Tevis encountered over the years, including Ronnie Allen, who many believe was the basis for Felson. Parker slammed Tevin in emails to me, claiming Tevis was a liar and a drunk, not exactly the kind of behavior of someone who did not have anything to prove.
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Scott Lee said:
Pushout is correct. Although Eddie Parker was a very nice man, a good entertainer, and did make some money from his alleged "identity", there was NO Fast Eddie (the closest one would have been, as mentioned, Ronnie Allen), just as there was NO Minnesota Fats. Literary characters, that may, or may not, have been based on real or imagined poolroom denizens, were what Tevis maintained, throughout the remainder of his life, after writing the original works.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Scott, this is some great information, I was looking through my collection of Billiards Memoralblia and I found this poster is this the gentleman this thread is about?

1.jpg

2.jpg

Thanks
 
greyghost said:
Who on here knows the real story? I know Rudolph Wanderone "Minnessota Fats" was in his own time a hell of a player, but what about Eddie Parker? Is it just more myth or was the guy a bonafide bad ass, and the Fast Eddie Felson character being based on him?

Thanks,
G.G.
Click to expand...

No, no and no!

I knew Walter Tevis quite well. First of all he was an honorable man. Second, he just happened to be a world class writer who liked pool enough to change it forever with his writings. He told me often and repeatedly that he made his characters up. They came from his fertile mind and imagination. And I believe him. Fats was the first to capitalize on the popularity of his book, The Hustler. "Fast Eddie" Parker came along several years later and tried to stake out his piece of the pie. He was not nearly as successful as Fats had been. Fats had a distinct advantage. He had charisma and was a real down and dirty hustler of some renown.

Check out The Man Who Fell To Earth sometime. Tevis wrote that too. And The Queen's Gambit, the best selling chess book.
 
Eddie Parker AKA "Fast Eddie"

manwon said:
Scott, this is some great information, I was looking through my collection of Billiards Memoralblia and I found this poster is this the gentleman this thread is about?

View attachment 105080

View attachment 105081

Thanks
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Yeah Manwon, thats the same poster that was up in Texarkana,Tx./Ar., the two times that Eddie Parker put on a show in town, he will always be remembered to me and a lot others as the real "Fast Eddie", whether the book is based on him or not.

I do know he was certainly a good showman, and regardless if he rode the coattails of the movie "The Hustler" he did do the game of pool alot of good.

Eddie was a gentleman, always had a smile and a laugh, everytime he did a show and had to come thru Texarkana he would stop by The Country Connection and see Country Calvin, I really did like the man. This was back in the mid-to late 90's.

I do remember his wife Peg helping him with the shows he put on, wonder how she's getting along these days.

Thanks Jam for the articles, they were Great to Read, and reflect back!


David Harcrow
 
Yea I guess thats what I was wondering...I knew the characters were false, Wanderone lied but of course as many of us know, "Fats" was one fine player to reckon with in his time, and his showmanship an use of the name helped him make his career in the spotlight, so I never had any doubts in Rudolph Wanderones skills at once upon a time. I just always wondered if Eddie Parker was really one of the best players around way back when, or if it was more less just semi talented shortstop who rode the movie.

I mean I could care less about how many balls a guy makes in one shot or some act...that has not much to do with table prowess. What did he do with the best of his time, was he shark bait or what? I just find it weird that I can find info on anyone I want really, Ronnie, Red, Fats, Shorty, Puckett, Taylor and I not once ever heard of any great player or found any match between Eddie Parker vs. whomever...and to me thats sort of odd. The only thing I ever found was the same stuff Jam posted up there, Nothing in any old book of mine, not even in Eddie Robins One Pocket books which has tons of stories, nor any other book or publication I have. Am I delusional or am I on to something here?


Thanks for the help,
G.G.
 
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I guess I will chime in now. I don't care whether he was the 'real' Fast Eddie or not, I knew about a dozen that went by that name. But I do know one thing, he was a CONTRIBUTOR. He put on shows in every podunk one or two table bars from Brownsville to Toronto and from Boston to San Diego. He played in places that you would just pass by and never dream of going in.

Whenever he came through south Texas, he always made sure to look me up for the latest billiard gossip and news of our Tour and how all the players he knew were doing. We spent many a night having coffee and discussing the sport till dawn.

I was not 5 feet from Eddie when Woody started hollering....I had just bummed a cigarette off of him and was on my way outside to have a puff. We got him in a chair and then to the ground where I started beating on his chest, but I could tell it would take more than me to revive him. Dennis Strickland took a shot, but the color was gone from his face. Luckily the ambulance arrived pretty quickly, as it was just a short way down the road. They hit him with the paddles 4 or 5 times and things looked real grim. From all I could gather, once they got him in the ambulance, supposedly they got a pulse started. Just down the road on the way to the hospital, the ambulance got into a collision and may have ultimately been the end for Eddie. I do not know for sure, as I have never been back to south Padre.

He was a good man, he was a good showman, he had a wonderful family and wife in Peggy, and he was my friend.
 
catpool9 said:
Yeah Manwon, thats the same poster that was up in Texarkana,Tx./Ar., the two times that Eddie Parker put on a show in town, he will always be remembered to me and a lot others as the real "Fast Eddie", whether the book is based on him or not.

I do know he was certainly a good showman, and regardless if he rode the coattails of the movie "The Hustler" he did do the game of pool alot of good.

Eddie was a gentleman, always had a smile and a laugh, everytime he did a show and had to come thru Texarkana he would stop by The Country Connection and see Country Calvin, I really did like the man. This was back in the mid-to late 90's.

I do remember his wife Peg helping him with the shows he put on, wonder how she's getting along these days.

Thanks Jam for the articles, they were Great to Read, and reflect back!


David Harcrow
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information Dave, now I have a little more information about the poster. I never met the man, but it appears that most who met him personally thought highly of him as a promoter of pool and as a human being which speaks volumes. I don't think anyone can ask for more than that when their gone.

Thanks Again!!
 
What no Fast Eddie ... No Minnesota Fats there go some of my hero's of the pool world ... In another 20 years they will be telling us there was never any Toupe Jay he was just some fictional guy and he never worte any books they are fictional also ... ;)

I'm gonna have to hang onto my autographed copy of pool wars numbered and all... When I was at The Gem City Classic my boy took my copy of Pool Wars and got ...Varner , Archer , Nevil, Schmidt , Morris , Davenport , Bartram , Searing , Showman to put thier signature along side of yours Jay .... Now I have a very special edition of Pool Wars ... :)
 
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The "Truth" about Eddie Parker

Eddie Parker performed on 2 different occassions at my place (Duffy's Tavern) in Shreveport, LA. When I was talking to him about the second show, I said I would do it with the stipulation that he come with me to my VFW Post the next day. Eddie being a Veteran agreed immediately. We had been adding a surcharge to each beer or drink served so we would have enough to cover his extra night in the motel. (We had enough to cover a lot more than a night at the motel) Now, I want everyone to know that Eddie did not have to do a show at the VFW, but did because he was a vet and he wanted to. That day there were more people in our VFW post than I have ever seen. Eddie put on one of the most dynamic shows one could imagine. When the Post Commander presented him with the money we had collected, he did not want to accept it as he said he did this show because he wanted to. We told him how much we appreciated him and that he had to accept the stipend because we had collected it for this reason and had no other fund for it to go into.

After the show Eddie got another surprise as we had cooked a whole bunch of ribs and had all the trimmings. Man, he could put away the groceries.

I, personally, don't care if he is the original "Fast Eddie" or not. HE WAS A GENTLEMAN AND ONE HELLUVA AMBASSADOR FOR POOL AND THE BILLIARD INDUSTRY.

RIP Fast Eddie. We miss you.

Jim Griffin
 
I know he use to come through our small town of Fitzgerald here . He would put on a show at the old pool room then he would sell pictures of himself that he would sign. I walk into several homes around here and you see that same signed picture of Fast Eddie hanging on the wall...lol... No matter who or if there was a real Fast Eddie or Fats they are/were definatly great for the game of pool...
 
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