Lillian Ellison autographs a copy of her autobiography The Fabulous Moolah for a fan at the Columbia showing of the film Lipstick and Dynamite. Pioneer lady wresters, The Fabulous Moolah and The Great Mae Young take on the big screen

By Natasha Whitling

It is hard to imagine that behind Lillian Ellison’s sparkling lavender suit, perfectly applied makeup, and decadent jewelry exists a fierce professional wrestler known as a The Fabulous Moolah. Ellison, a native of Columbia, has been in the wrestling business since 1949 when she debuted as The Slave Girl for the wrestler The Elephant Man. She quickly climbed to stardom as an accomplished athlete and a ruthless opponent, striking fear in the hearts of her ringmates with her dirty tactics and leg locks. According to Ellison, she held the world championship title in women’s wrestling for 29 years.

On August 9, Ellison, along with longtime friend and fellow wrestler The Great Mae Young, greeted fans at the Columbia debut of the film Lipstick and Dynamite at the Nickelodeon Theatre.

Lipstick and Dynamite , a documentary directed by Ruth Leitman, chronicles the triumphs and heartaches of the pioneers of female wrestling in the 1940s–60s. The film showed to a sold out crowd who stayed after to have Moolah sign her autobiography The Fabulous Moolah.

Moolah and Young, along with their midget wrestler companion, Diamond Lil, reside in Northeast Columbia where they run a wrestling training school. While Moolah was very successful in the ring, she has been even more successful as a promoter.

At age 82, The Fabulous Moolah still wrestles for the WWE along with her friend The Great Mae Young. They don’t plan on stopping any time soon either. In the film, Young proudly proclaims that she will celebrate her 100th birthday with a bout in the ring.

Photo by Natasha Whitling