Pro wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino laughed when asked which actor should portray him in a proposed movie about his life.

"My goodness, I have no idea," said Sammartino, whose representatives are trying to negotiate a Hollywood deal. "Find someone with a big nose and a long chin."

Not to mention a muscular all-natural physique and enough charisma to best capture Sammartino's essence in telling his amazing story.

Sammartino arrived in the U.S. in 1950 as a self-described "skeleton" after contracting rheumatic fever while his family hid from Nazis in the Italian mountains during World War II. Sammartino built himself into a 5-10, 275-pound powerhouse who went onto become grappling's top star as World Wrestling Entertainment champion for 12 years during the 1960s and 1970s.

Sammartino wrestled throughout the world and became a cultural icon in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh.

Such success, though, didn't come without a price. Sammartino, 69, was forced to stop wrestling full-time in the mid-1970s because of back problems that later required two major surgeries. Combined with a hip replacement, Sammartino's health failed in the 1990s to the point he declined most offers for public speaking engagements.

But Sammartino, a stickler for weightlifting since his teenage years, has rebuilt himself physically through a seven-day-a-week workout regimen. That has allowed him to begin appearing at wrestling conventions, where Sammartino said he is admittedly overwhelmed by the positive reaction he receives.

"I thought when I left (wrestling), I would go on with the rest of my life doing whatever and people would go onto new interests," said Sammartino, whose initial eight-year WWE title reign (1963 to 1971) remains the longest in the promotion's history. "I didn't expect three years later for people to know or care who Bruno Sammartino was. I was quite pleasantly surprised that it's been different."

Sammartino has distanced himself from today's wrestling scene, refusing induction into WWE's Hall of Fame and business opportunities with the promotion that owns the footage to most of his matches.

His long-standing feud with WWE owner Vince McMahon began in the mid-1980s when Sammartino said he began seeing anabolic steroid and recreational drug use in the locker room after he had returned to work as an announcer and part-time wrestler. Sammartino left the company almost two decades ago, but his disgust has continued as WWE's storylines became increasingly seedy.

"I find all of it extremely, extremely, extremely appalling," Sammartino said. "I'm hurt deeply that all the time I spent in the sport through the years has come down to this."

Sammartino is among several former WWE stars scheduled to appear August 25 and 26 at the Hollywood Collectors and Celebrities Show in Orlando, Fla. For information, visit www.hollywoodcollectorshow.com.

Sammartino also will soon embark on a small legends tour through WrestleReunion. For information, visit www.wrestlereunion.com.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: What is the "real" story with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon? _ Corry E. Sheely, Lakewood, Colorado.

A: Although their relationship generally isn't played up in WWE storylines, Paul "Triple H" Levesque married Stephanie McMahon (Vince's daughter) in October 2003. The couple had their first child, an eight-pound, seven-ounce daughter named Aurora Rose, on Monday.

More of the Bruno Sammartino interview can be found at www.wrestlingobserver.com. Questions can be sent to Alex Marvez c/o the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301, or e-mailed to [email protected]. Please include your full name and city of residence. Because of volume, no phone calls will be accepted and letters will not receive a written reply.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service)