It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes [Hardcover]

Jerry Lawler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 2002

The full story of one of wrestling's most colourful and outspoken personalities. An often controversial figure, Jerry 'The King' Lawler has been at the top of his profession both as a wrestler and most recently as a commentator for over 30 years. Holder of more than 90 regional or national titles over the course of his career, he is as well known for his feuds, both in and out of the ring, as he is for his achievements and his expertise. No stranger to the airwaves, he has hosted his own show both on radio and on television, and he is also a successful commercial artist whose work can be seen on several sites around his home city of Memphis. Outside the WWE arena perhaps his most famous dispute was with actor and comedian Andy Kaufman, a long-running conflict that at one point put Kaufman in hospital and culminated in a televised brawl on 'Late Night With David Letterman'. Now in a no-holds barred autobiography 'The King' is prepared to tell all both about his sometimes stormy career and about the backstage secrets of the WWE.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this surprisingly listless behind-the-scenes memoir, Lawler, a veteran wrestler and a commentator for WWE Raw, delivers the standard run-down of the show business behind the "sport": matches are tightly choreographed, trash-talking interviews are scripted and simmering wrestler feuds are plotted out months in advance by the same folks who concoct the sociopathic characters the wrestlers impersonate in the ring. The premise of the wrestler tell-all genre is that the making of wild spectacle is more interesting than the spectacle itself. That may be true, but in Lawler's telling the rollicking charlatanism of the wrestling world gets bogged down in aimless anecdotes, bad one-liners ("I wanted to ask a fan, "Who did your makeup? Bozo?") and unfunny practical jokes in which he douses people with water or spikes their food with laxative. A big Memphis celebrity, Lawler dutifully plugs a local vinyl siding companies and a few eateries ("Half a slab of pork ribs with slaw and beans is $8.95" at Cozy Corner); and much of three late chapters is taken up with the Lawler's increasingly shameless post-divorce quest to scare up groupies. Wrestling fans and connoisseurs of kitsch will swoon over the many photos of big men in trunks and tights, but others may find it a chore to wade through this slackly written story.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Himself a former wrestler, Jerry Lawler is now a TV, radio and video presenter who is known to millions as a ringside commentator for the WWE. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: World Wrestling Entertainment (December 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743457676
• ISBN-13: 978-0743457675
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars right up there with Mick Foley's book, May 8, 2003

By 

Joe Sherry (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes (Hardcover)

I have held up Mick Foleys book Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood, Guts, and Sweatsocks as the pinnacle of wrestling autobiography. Since I have read that book, nothing has come close to being nearly as good or as honest. I was skeptical about reading Jerry Lawlers autobiography because all I knew of him was the joke he has become as a WWF/E announcer. I was aware that he was a legend in Memphis wrestling and that he had the famous angle with Andy Kaufman (I learned about this from the film Man on the Moon). That was all I knew of Jerry Lawler. I decided to read the book anyway and Im glad that I did. While Mick Foley is a more sympathetic person and it is easier to care for Foley, Jerry Lawler has written (with a co-writer) one of the best wrestling biographies on the market.

Even though the narrative jumps around a little bit, this is a straightforward and mostly chronological account of Jerry The King Lawlers life and career in professional wrestling. We are introduced to a young Jerry Lawler going to local wrestling events with his father, but having no interest in being a wrestler himself. It was only through his art (he originally wanted to be an artist) that he even had any contact with the world of professional wrestling and the men outside the ring. It was only later, as a radio DJ that Lawler ended up with the exposure and interest to try to be a professional wrestler. Since then, Lawler has led a charmed career in the ring. We learn about the scope of his career in Memphis and finally his entry into the WWF (later WWE).

If Lawlers professional life has been charmed, his personal life has not been. While Jerry Lawler reveals that he has never drank alcohol or done any drugs, he does admit that his one vice has always been women and sex. Lawler freely admits that he has been a horrible husband and father and that he has not been able to stay faithful to his wives. The pattern has been that near the end of a marriage, Lawler meets a very young woman (early 20s) and ends up leaving his wife for the other woman. The only exception to this is his last wife, Stacy Carter. Stacy (former WWF Diva, the Kat) married Lawler when she was 19 and she ended up leaving him. Lawler has continued his interest in young women. Lawler makes no excuses for his lifestyle and he does not attempt to wallow in pity (nor does he try to incite others to pity him).

This is a very honest book and revealing of many aspects of the culture of professional wrestling. Jerry Lawler does throw in a bit too many jokes and references that one would expect from Jerry Lawler the announcer, but as a whole, this is one of the best wrestling biographies that I have read. In terms of quality, I would place this one second behind Foleys first autobiography.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read...Sometimes, December 24, 2002

By 

Steve Crawford (Eldridge, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes (Hardcover)

As someone that grew up watching Memphis wrestling, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Is it an in-depth history with lots of information on dates, ratings, attendance records...no? At the same time, Lawler buries nobody (he mentions "ego" issues between him and Bill Dundee but doesn't state who is at fault; never criticizes Austin Idol - who blackmailed the Memphis promotion on the pay-off of the famous cage hair versus hair match and had a frequent no-show problem). Lawler does come across as sexist and as a bad husband/father, the latter two he owns up too.

Lawler does a good job of explaining how he got into the wrestling business, the importance of "selling," (I hope every active wrestler reads that section), and talks about some of the stars/gimmicks created in Memphis (Fabulous Ones, Kimala, Rock and Roll Express). Not a lot of in-depth discussion about many of the wrestlers (very little about people like Tommy Rich, Eddie Gilbert, Dutch Mantell, Jim Cornette, etc.). He does give high praise to Handsome Jimmy Valient and talks at length about working with Andy Kaufman - which sounded like it was much better than working with Jim Carrey or Roddy Piper.

If you didn't see Memphis wrestling during the late '70s/early '80s, it's probably impossible to understand how huge wrestling was and what a star Jerry Lawler was in the community. This book, while probably not providing a lot of new information to wrestling historians, is an easy read/enjoyable trip through memory lane.

Thanks for all the great memories, Jerry.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The King has written one of the best WWE books!, January 1, 2003

By 

Chickie Singer (Meyersdale, Pa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes (Hardcover)

It's Good to be King sometimes is a great read. Jerry Lawler talks about why Jim Carrey is a crazy ..... while Andy Kaufman is just a normal guy. Lawler also tells a good story about how Elvis Presley would have became a pro wrestler in the Memphis area if it wasn't for his tragic death. Learn why the Kat(Lawler's ex-wife) is not a very nice person! I can't believe Lawler still wants the Kat back after all those stories he tells about her. Also, learn the true story according to the King on his first constrovial departure from the WWE. Some great Jerry Lawler artwork is include in the book as a extra bonus! My only negative feedback on the book is Lawler does not mention his classic feud with Saved by the Bell's Dustin Dimond(Screetch Powers) in the Memphis area and doesn't even mention Brandon Baxter's name in the entire book. Brandon and the King had a classic feud in the USWA were Brandon told the King and the other USWA legends they were to old to wrestle and it was really funny stuff. Jerry Lawler also fails to mention the sex scandel he had with a teenage girl in the 1990's. This book would have been a good chance to clear his name once and for all! The book is still a great read even though it has it's flaws. I hope this book review has been helpfully!