Documentary on Bowling Green's Quonset Auditorium to debut next month on Kentucky Educational Television

Rovers, Wrestlers & Stars, a documentary on Bowling Green’s Quonset Auditorium, will debut Oct. 16 on Kentucky Educational Television.

During the post-World War II entertainment boom of the 1940s and ’50s, the Quonset Auditorium served local legends and national stars, including Bill Monroe, Ray Charles, James Brown and Ernest Tubb.

Through oral histories, archival photographs and audio recordings, Rovers, Wrestlers & Stars provides a glimpse into the lives of diverse entertainers, ranging from country, R&B and gospel musicians to professional wrestlers whose paths intersected there during a time when segregation was being challenged. The film also will inspire discussion about the politics of historic preservation and the construction of public memory.

The documentary grew out of research by director and producer Amber Ridington for her master’s thesis in folklore at Western Kentucky University. Ridington became interested in the Quonset Auditorium as part of another folk studies project, and when she learned the Quonset was slated for demolition, she decided the building’s entertainment and cultural history deserved public attention. Award-winning Louisville filmmaker Walter Brock joined Ridington as cameraman and editor for the documentary.

Featured interviews include songstress Mary Ann Fisher, jazz luminary David “Fathead” Newman, local music legends Joe Marshall, Robert Phillips and John Edmonds and professional wrestlers Jackie Fargo and Jeanetta Collins. These entertainers also tell stories about others who shared the stage at the Quonset including cowboy movie star Sunset Carson, musicians Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe, Ray Charles, James Brown and Memphis Slim, child evangelist Marjoe Gortner and professional wrestling icons Cora Combs and Sweet Georgia Brown, among others.

The 35-minute documentary debuts at 9:20 p.m. (Central time) Oct. 16 on KET then airs again at 1 p.m. (CT) Oct. 17 on KETKY; 8:50 p.m. (CT) Oct. 18 on KETKY; 7:30 a.m. (CT) Oct. 19 on KETKY; and 9:23 p.m. (CT) Oct. 22 on KET2.

Funding for the project was provided by The Kentucky Educational Television Fund for Independent Production; The Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc. and the National Endowment for the Humanities; The Kern Family Trust; The Kentucky Oral History Commission; and Bowling Green Municipal Utilities.

The documentary also will air in January on WKYU-PBS, WKU’s public television service.