Etta's mother told Etta that Fats was her father. To be fair, though, Dorothy Hawkins was a wild child in those days, running with the pimps and the hustlers on Central Avenue, living hard (and probably turning a few tricks herself) -- she no doubt looked a lot older than 14, and it's almost certain, either way, that the sex was consensual (if indeed the story is true). Etta did meet Fats once, and he told her he honestly couldn't remember everything he did (and everyone he did it with) back in those days. If you look at their facial features, though, there is certainly a strong resemblance.
He was one of the few people that could talk, talk, talk, embellish, embellish, embellish and almost everyone still couldn't wait for his next story. He speaks with a mix of W.C. Fields and Mae West, lol. Of course he has always claimed to have had a relationship with Mae West. Supposedly that one is true. He was also known to be a very charitable person towards both people and animals. When most people think of pool, they still think about "FATS". What a great character, we were fortunate to have him.
Good points. Just like when people think of baseball, you can't not think of the Babe. Yea, he wasn't the best, nor was Fats in pool, but the myth became legend and there you have it. Same with Ali and boxing. I can't think of one for football.
@@packman5906 Yes, those are good examples, although there can still be an argument made for the Babe being the greatest.......... He did it when no one else was doing it and "he pitched". You're right, the football one is difficult. There are a lot of players that come to mind after giving it consideration but no-one is popping up immediately and that is what counts. Well done.
I remember watchin fats on the tv that he invented when I was a kid. he invented tv and the internet on his lunch break just so he could sell more books.....btw he also invented written language then books. He jumped over the st Louis arch on a $100 bet one time and taught Muhamed Ali how ta box. Noah didn't even know what a boat was till fats showed him his blueprints, then latter taught Jesus how to build a better pool table.
Fats was the best and knew anyone who ever lived "you see". The greatest carrrd player by 8 yrs old. Ya gotta love the entertainment. "Ill outtalk anyone Alive you see"
His real nickname was New York Fats but he was smart enough to commandeer the name of Minnesota Fats after the movie The Hustler came out. Rudolph Wanderone was a real hustler.
Dude, the Loch Ness Monster's my homeboy. We hang out at Atlantis where we drink Fountain-of-Youth Juice and fuck hot fairy chicks all day long. I ride on unicorns as well as get guidance from Big Foot. Dude, Minnesota Fats is my son.
Fats was great he was very funny and indeed lived through a lot ! On a "brighter" note though,aparently he also taught Chuck Norris martial arts too :)
One of my idols growing up also Alex Higgins, the great Mark Roth, Roberto Duran and Phil (the hill later the power) Taylor. I was the youngest world champion on record in pinball and 6 times world champion. I was always known as the man who busted "Jelly" Cartagena at the Broadway Arcade in New York. Took him for over a hundred grand betting on pinball.
met him in front of the hermitage hotel and he was sitting on the steps and i asked him what he was doing. "i am waiting on one of my tomatoes to take me to lunch" when she pulled up she was at least sixty,but still a hottie.
His two most famous lines: "I knew him all his life," and, "I knew her all her life." I love Rudolf Wanderone aka Minnesota Fats. Whatever dem people feel is false about him don't matter, see... 'cause he was a true character!
Say what you will about Rudolph Wanderone, but my memories of him are quite good. He was a friend of my Uncle Joe Wagner who owned Travelers' Inn, a restaurant and bar on State Hwy 51 in Southern Illinois. My first pool lesson was from the great man himself at the Mule Barn tavern in DuBois, IL. My Uncle lived next door to the Mule Barn (which is still in operation) and I was sent over to tell my Uncle and Father that dinner was ready (they were playing pool with "Fats"). He took this 8 year old girl, put a cue in her hands and said, "I'm going to show you how to play pool". He spent about 15 minutes showing me how to hold the cue, helped me put a few balls in pockets, setting them up so I could not miss! I'll never forget it as long as I live. At that time he lived in Dowell, IL, a small town south of DuQuoin, IL (it is mentioned in the interview). My cousins and I went to his home in Dowell many times with my Uncle Joe for one reason or other and he was always kind to us. I met him again in the late 1980's at Buster's in Little Rock, AR (where I lived at the time), he was there giving an exhibition and doing very well. We spoke about my Uncle and he remembered me and my cousins (Uncle Joe's kids) from the times we kids followed him around when he was in DuBois at one of the three taverns in town. I was going to play a game with him at Buster's, but his time was fully booked and he was catching a plane later that evening so I had to forgo my 2nd lesson. For further proof of his time in Southern Illinois and other interesting things about "Fats" read the following articles in The Southern Illinoisan. thesouthern.com/news/local/remembering-minnesota-fats-the-real-imagined-and-exaggerated/article_22f1194c-f194-58f0-95c0-91338d53f5d1.html www.egyptianaaa.org/SI-MinnesotaFats.html I do not believe the stories about "Fats" being the father of Etta James. He never alleged to it and being the kind, good hearted , generous person he was, HAD HE BEEN HER FATHER, he would not have hesitated to admit it. Rest in Peace my dear friend. Charlotte Hearn Alexander
The group and movie "The Wanderers" we're named after im you see. Dats how it were back den. Back in New York and on earth you see. He wandered everywhere. Been everywhere. Just wandered around like his name, you know.
His book The Bank Shot Other Great Robberies is a fun read, he always said that he wasn't that great in tournaments or fun pool games but put some cash on the line, he was hard to beat then.
The best thing about Fats is that he will always be an enigma. If you believe all of the stories he tells, and all of the stories other people tell, he lived enough for 10 lifetimes
This is the coolest shit. I can perfectly imagine what this guy is talking about while he’s talking about it. He is so with it, did you hear him talking about being a child and learning from imbeciles and smart people’s, and how he, “Never had the first one.” This dude had a surreal, fast paced, you-won’t-believe-this-shit life.
The whole premise of this interview was for fats to talk about everything he had done in his life. He did alot and was a supremely brilliant pool player. It came across as a boastful interview but he wasnt boasting. The interview was of such a nature that the whole premise didnt allow for a detailed discussion or breakdown on any of his points.
NEW YORK Fats. THE greatest hustler of all time. Not the best billiard player of all time, but one of the best. By his own admission he was better at getting YOU to defeat yourself by talking you into a very unfair spot.
Rudolf Walter Wanderon full name-- new york fats Then after The Hustler movie he became Minnesota Fats! I think the movie WAS based off his New York Fats persona! He was famous pool shooter in New York at the time.
I love fats. He was a master bullshitter but he was a real funny guy. He was certainly NOT the greatest pool player though. But he did more to promote the game of pool than anyone in his era and beyond.
I spit out my coffee laughing uncontrollably at 02:09, when Minnesota Fats said; with pure honesty: "I learned everything I know from imbeciles and from smart people."... prophetic statement with a double meaning.
Well "they're" trying to clarify his life, to be honest not a lot of people know very little about him,so it doesn't hurt ....if he's an "ass" he comes by it naturally.......it is history, it is what it is!
When fats says, he learned everything from imbeciles and smart people, it reminded me when Efren said that he learned shots from people who really couldn’t play pool because they would make shots that were terrific without really knowing it, or even know how they made it, and Efren would figureout how the shot was made
Interesting! I can see a likeness. I just started reading her autobiography and she mentioned that she thought he was her father. I'm about to read the part where she finds out the truth from a buddy of hers named William Best, according to the book.
She said she thinks he is. You can see a likeness. Her mouth turns down at the corners just like his does. I have to keep reading the David Ritz book about her...just started it a few minutes ago.
He is not Minnesota fats he changed he name to that when the husler became famous Jackie Gleason is the real Minnesota fats he really was that good this guy is not him.
![What's My Line? - Minnesota Fats; Ann Sothern; Alan King [panel] (Jan 17, 1965)](/img/n.gif)
He’s a legend his style was like no other he played effortlessly and had the best side talk!
He played fast & hit hard. A very hard style to master. A master craftsmen of the 20th century.
This man worked and fought his whole life to become what he was so let him brag he deserves to boast about it.
+fishman96 lol, that is just what he does, that's his character. He is a great guy but man he said some of the most ridiculous things.
He had sex with a 14 year old and created etta James... come on now. he needs to hush
never proven true, was it?
+Sein “Yvena Oreofe Merritt” Maestro
Are you even old enough to have witnessed that.
Etta's mother told Etta that Fats was her father. To be fair, though, Dorothy Hawkins was a wild child in those days, running with the pimps and the hustlers on Central Avenue, living hard (and probably turning a few tricks herself) -- she no doubt looked a lot older than 14, and it's almost certain, either way, that the sex was consensual (if indeed the story is true). Etta did meet Fats once, and he told her he honestly couldn't remember everything he did (and everyone he did it with) back in those days. If you look at their facial features, though, there is certainly a strong resemblance.
I meet him when I was 14 that was 1971.He came to lakeside center for boys to play a little pool with us, he was such a nice guy.
How’d he do?
Got to give this man his star he made pool big back then and he talked pool hustlin. New york fats a legend. Hears to you minesotta fats
Double smart triple smart fats
He was one of the few people that could talk, talk, talk, embellish, embellish, embellish and almost everyone still couldn't wait for his next story. He speaks with a mix of W.C. Fields and Mae West, lol. Of course he has always claimed to have had a relationship with Mae West. Supposedly that one is true.
He was also known to be a very charitable person towards both people and animals. When most people think of pool, they still think about "FATS". What a great character, we were fortunate to have him.
Good points. Just like when people think of baseball, you can't not think of the Babe. Yea, he wasn't the best, nor was Fats in pool, but the myth became legend and there you have it. Same with Ali and boxing. I can't think of one for football.
@@packman5906
Yes, those are good examples, although there can still be an argument made for the Babe being the greatest.......... He did it when no one else was doing it and "he pitched". You're right, the football one is difficult. There are a lot of players that come to mind after giving it consideration but no-one is popping up immediately and that is what counts. Well done.
.inessota fAts full fight
D
You look into the man hes not embellishing much...
I remember watchin fats on the tv that he invented when I was a kid. he invented tv and the internet on his lunch break just so he could sell more books.....btw he also invented written language then books. He jumped over the st Louis arch on a $100 bet one time and taught Muhamed Ali how ta box. Noah didn't even know what a boat was till fats showed him his blueprints, then latter taught Jesus how to build a better pool table.
born68 km . Ok
And my grandpa is the one who taught him everything about everything even WAY before anybody was even ANYBODY! Ever! 😅😙💝
You know it!!!😙😅
The original nigga-aint he though!😅
Fiddy cent!
I visit fatty every day his voice inspires me bringing out the best ❤ long live Fatman
Apparently Fats knew every human being on earth.
Bigwave2003 yeah. Basically full of shit
@@Dillybip he's not joking thats why he's the best.
Fats was the best and knew anyone who ever lived "you see". The greatest carrrd player by 8 yrs old. Ya gotta love the entertainment. "Ill outtalk anyone Alive you see"
he fucked ZaZa Gaboo
His real nickname was New York Fats but he was smart enough to commandeer the name of Minnesota Fats after the movie The Hustler came out. Rudolph Wanderone was a real hustler.
THE Game is different when "big money" is on the line. Fats talked them right out of their game and pocketed the cash. No one did it better..
Dude, the Loch Ness Monster's my homeboy. We hang out at Atlantis where we drink Fountain-of-Youth Juice and fuck hot fairy chicks all day long. I ride on unicorns as well as get guidance from Big Foot. Dude, Minnesota Fats is my son.
Yeah, but can you shoot pool?
One of the few people who is a total braggart and everyone loves him for it.
He didn't like himself much did he, Lol! He LOVES to talk about HIMSELF
This guy has got more stories then Walt Disney
Lol
And they are all better than Disney too
Fats was great he was very funny and indeed lived through a lot !
On a "brighter" note though,aparently he also taught Chuck Norris martial arts too :)
Would you really be surprised if he actually did?
😂🤣
One of my idols growing up also Alex Higgins, the great Mark Roth, Roberto Duran and Phil (the hill later the power) Taylor. I was the youngest world champion on record in pinball and 6 times world champion. I was always known as the man who busted "Jelly" Cartagena at the Broadway Arcade in New York. Took him for over a hundred grand betting on pinball.
The Great One, FATTY, The Most Famous Pool Player That Ever Lived. God Bless FATTY.
met him in front of the hermitage hotel and he was sitting on the steps and i asked him what he was doing. "i am waiting on one of my tomatoes to take me to lunch" when she pulled up she was at least sixty,but still a hottie.
His two most famous lines: "I knew him all his life," and, "I knew her all her life." I love Rudolf Wanderone aka Minnesota Fats. Whatever dem people feel is false about him don't matter, see... 'cause he was a true character!
My favorite comment here ⭐
Saw Minnesota Fats shoot straight pool against Wille Mosconi at Bakers pool hall in Tampa FL during the early sixties. What a show! Inspiring.
Chuck Mistretta who won?
Mosconi
Pool players don’t brag. When you become a household name, there’s a reason for it.
Its a lot like a Forrest Gump interview, he has done everything and been everywhere. A remarkable man.
The new most interesting man in the world
I genuinely Love him. He was Brilliant (Minnesota Fats) 🙌🙏💎
I love fats, and this reminds me of that twilight zone episode "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby"
Although he was not the greatest technical player---No one, I mean no one, did more to popularize the game of pool more than Fats.
Say what you will about Rudolph Wanderone, but my memories of him are quite good. He was a friend of my Uncle Joe Wagner who owned Travelers' Inn, a restaurant and bar on State Hwy 51 in Southern Illinois. My first pool lesson was from the great man himself at the Mule Barn tavern in DuBois, IL. My Uncle lived next door to the Mule Barn (which is still in operation) and I was sent over to tell my Uncle and Father that dinner was ready (they were playing pool with "Fats"). He took this 8 year old girl, put a cue in her hands and said, "I'm going to show you how to play pool". He spent about 15 minutes showing me how to hold the cue, helped me put a few balls in pockets, setting them up so I could not miss! I'll never forget it as long as I live.
At that time he lived in Dowell, IL, a small town south of DuQuoin, IL (it is mentioned in the interview). My cousins and I went to his home in Dowell many times with my Uncle Joe for one reason or other and he was always kind to us. I met him again in the late 1980's at Buster's in Little Rock, AR (where I lived at the time), he was there giving an exhibition and doing very well. We spoke about my Uncle and he remembered me and my cousins (Uncle Joe's kids) from the times we kids followed him around when he was in DuBois at one of the three taverns in town. I was going to play a game with him at Buster's, but his time was fully booked and he was catching a plane later that evening so I had to forgo my 2nd lesson.
For further proof of his time in Southern Illinois and other interesting things about "Fats" read the following articles in The Southern Illinoisan.
thesouthern.com/news/local/remembering-minnesota-fats-the-real-imagined-and-exaggerated/article_22f1194c-f194-58f0-95c0-91338d53f5d1.html
www.egyptianaaa.org/SI-MinnesotaFats.html
I do not believe the stories about "Fats" being the father of Etta James. He never alleged to it and being the kind, good hearted , generous person he was, HAD HE BEEN HER FATHER, he would not have hesitated to admit it.
Rest in Peace my dear friend. Charlotte Hearn Alexander
Umm he couldn't admit.to it, one her mother was black and two, she was underage
The group and movie "The Wanderers" we're named after im you see. Dats how it were back den. Back in New York and on earth you see. He wandered everywhere. Been everywhere. Just wandered around like his name, you know.
His book The Bank Shot Other Great Robberies is a fun read, he always said that he wasn't that great in tournaments or fun pool games but put some cash on the line, he was hard to beat then.
The best thing about Fats is that he will always be an enigma. If you believe all of the stories he tells, and all of the stories other people tell, he lived enough for 10 lifetimes
Great story teller 👍 I love it
Pocket billiards needs yet another outrageous flamboyant entertainer personality like Fats, though no one will be better.
What an incredible life he led. Those were the days.
Such a humble man. The silent professional.
Yeah you really had to pull the answers out of him 😂
sounds like he gained the whole world , BUT LOST HIS SOUL , WHAT GOOD IS STUFF.
Confidence is a good part of a pool game. No wonder he was a natural!
He is Mrs. Etta James Father is he know it they could pass for TWINS .
@@brianleach8529 I guess so....are u shocked?
what a humble guy
The more time goes by the more I love fats
This is the coolest shit. I can perfectly imagine what this guy is talking about while he’s talking about it. He is so with it, did you hear him talking about being a child and learning from imbeciles and smart people’s, and how he, “Never had the first one.” This dude had a surreal, fast paced, you-won’t-believe-this-shit life.
This guy brings me to tears
Why?
what a shame that there was never a camera around to prove a single thing he says.
😅
It was the original rapper's bullshittin. Real good bullshit old old school.
Full of more stuffing than a Thanksgiving turkey.
Ella Fitzgerald is his daughter
Goddam- l just loved Fats-
If you look up the word "modest" in the dictionary it says "Not Minnesota Fats"!
Etta James looks just like him
I can see why he wouldn't claim her, that would make him a child molester
“Ive been everywhere on earth” “ i knew howard hughes his whole life”
I thought I was listening to that guy who's named rhymes with hump ! Right listen to the vocabulary , exactly . And the modesty is the same !
The whole premise of this interview was for fats to talk about everything he had done in his life. He did alot and was a supremely brilliant pool player.
It came across as a boastful interview but he wasnt boasting.
The interview was of such a nature that the whole premise didnt allow for a detailed discussion or breakdown on any of his points.
Funny...Fatty fooled the What’s My Line panel in ‘65....but everybody knew him 😎✌🏻
I could talk from now until doomsday..
Most everything he said is impossible But very entertaning
NEW YORK Fats. THE greatest hustler of all time. Not the best billiard player of all time, but one of the best. By his own admission he was better at getting YOU to defeat yourself by talking you into a very unfair spot.
Michael Foster he was not a hustler he played all the grates of the game
he was a great man
Rudolf Walter Wanderon full name-- new york fats
Then after The Hustler movie he became Minnesota Fats! I think the movie WAS based off his New York Fats persona! He was famous pool shooter in New York at the time.
Not the greatest pool player ever. The biggest B.S. artist...........YES
Shit he gave it all to charity? I hope he was smarter than Joe Louis.That IRS will beat your ass up
He is so funny this guy reminds me of Commander Mcbragg. He is one of the greats. God bless him.
legend at pool and poker
My grandpa played Minnesota quite a bit and often bragged that he let him win 'one' .
I love fats.
He was a master bullshitter but he was a real funny guy.
He was certainly NOT the greatest pool player though.
But he did more to promote the game of pool than anyone in his era and beyond.
He drew a crowd of 350k in a stadium that only holds 10k
I spit out my coffee laughing uncontrollably at 02:09, when Minnesota Fats said; with pure honesty: "I learned everything I know from imbeciles and from smart people."... prophetic statement with a double meaning.
He wasn't the best, but he would tell you and do just enough to convince you he might be. Then you fell for the hustle. Gotcha!
Fats as an entertainer, singing, can you imagine, remembering that, knowing later in life that you he was Minnesota fats, not Ralph W?
the b.s. is miles deep here
What a great guy.
Well "they're" trying to clarify his life, to be honest not a lot of people know very little about him,so it doesn't hurt ....if he's an "ass" he comes by it naturally.......it is history, it is what it is!
When fats says, he learned everything from imbeciles and smart people, it reminded me when Efren said that he learned shots from people who really couldn’t play pool because they would make shots that were terrific without really knowing it, or even know how they made it, and Efren would figureout how the shot was made
Did Minnesota ever play blackjack win when playing at casinos not private games ?
With all the movies and parodies you forget that the character was a real person
I heard fats was a tough guy too connected protected
Classic
He was my good pal I was one of his little tomatoes
And that's Etta dad. Sorry bastard
His lies are old but he tells them pretty good
If it ain't true, it oughta be.
Very humble.
and all that jazz! ,ahahah!! one of the GREATS.....from 4 miles away... it only holds 15...AMAZING.FED A MILLION PEOPLE....:))
the original balla
Did he father Etta James?
What yr is the interview
Sounds full of it to me.... as is the 'definition' of 'Some' HUSTLERS
PURE HUSTLER OG. Love this dude. Crush ur lazy asses. Sober wins.
I think that his face looks a bunch like Etta James... I"ll bet he was her dad! She has his face! She said he was her dad.
Efrén bata reyes vs Minnesota fats. Who is going to win, I'm going with the magician Efren Reyes
Raul Ortega Efren would be fatty playing left handed! Efren shoots pool better with his opposite hand than most people can with their dominant hand!
T
his guy is just like Donald Trump talk about ego!
And then what happened?
Good stuff
Betcha he couldn't hold a light to Cornbread Red when it comes to greatest money player
Your 10000% right
Cornbread was the greatest $$$ player ever.
Read stories of Cornbread owning Fats on the pool tables :)
@@EricPetersen2922 he was from my neck of the woods :)
Joseph Newcomb - do you know Steve Lomoco??
@@EricPetersen2922 doesn't ring a bell
55k people only holds 15k smooth
He has always over exaggerated facts or added to one
If you don't sell yourself, who will do it?
He has Etta James' nose.
No, she had his nose!
Yep starchild Etta James father indeed. I'm so saddened by her condition.
Interesting! I can see a likeness. I just started reading her autobiography and she mentioned that she thought he was her father. I'm about to read the part where she finds out the truth from a buddy of hers named William Best, according to the book.
That's good I'm glad to be here. Immediately gets up to leave...😆
Noticed also..he must have had some hot tomatoes waiting for him!
yeah, top shelf
She said she thinks he is. You can see a likeness. Her mouth turns down at the corners just like his does. I have to keep reading the David Ritz book about her...just started it a few minutes ago.
I wondered why the name "fats" when the guy look pretty slim. Then I realized fats was probably a reference to how big his ego was.
Swamp Fire Productions He used to be fat.
why was he called Fats???He looks quite slim!!
+Richard van Egneem Was super fat as a young man
Richard van Egneem They also called him Fatty... I love those days when you called people what they were and they were OK with it.
He gets the cayyysh! LOL
He use to be quite overweight " fat-- yes "
Over the years into older age he's thinned out quite a bit-- like most everyone else does. 🤔👍🤚👳♂️
My Dad beat him easily in a Las Vegas tournament. #FACTS
He was full of it
He is not Minnesota fats he changed he name to that when the husler became famous Jackie Gleason is the real Minnesota fats he really was that good this guy is not him.