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Governor Ventura “The Body” Exposed
by Dan Creed
The Man. The Mansion. The Meltdown.
Jesse “The Body” Ventura, former World Wrestling Federation star and governor of Minnesota, was subjected to “deep-seated fears and insecurities” that ultimately led to a “personal meltdown.” So says Dan Creed, manager of the governor's residence during Ventura's four-year reign, in a memoir that outlines those insecurities and other quirks.
According to Creed, the governor slept in the mansion's pink bedroom with his trademark pink boa hanging in the closet and state business was routinely put on hold so the governor could watch his favourite soap opera, The Young and the Restless.
Once, the entire mansion staff was involved in a search for Ventura's favourite Speedo (which he had left in the backseat of his car) so he could take his morning swim.
TV news anchor, Dan Rather, summed up Ventura's 1998 gubernatorial election victory by saying, “people could not be more surprised if Fidel Castro came loping across the midwestern prairie on the back of a hippopotamus!” Ventura's campaign slogan was “Retaliate in '98!”
Creed has peppered his memoir with celebrity encounters, listing famous guests that Ventura entertained in the mansion including Sean Penn and his inebriated bodyguard, a teetotalling Jack Nicholson, Woody Harrelson (who drank so much they ran out of liquor), and others.
While entertaining, Governor Ventura certainly wasn't shy. He was, well, himself. According to Creed, Ventura asked the Dalai Lama if he had ever seen the movie, Caddyshack, and he asked Fidel Castro “if he really did have a hand in President Kennedy's assassination.” Ventura's first proclamation as governor was declaring February 15th “Rolling Stones Day” in the state.
Creed describes Ventura as “reclusive, sullen, short-spoken and moody,” avoiding fundraisers, dinners, events and other public appearances or inconveniences like shaking hands or signing autographs, by issuing the standard dictum, “it's not on my schedule.”
While governor of a state where 70 percent of the population regularly attends church, Ventura said in an interview, “religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers.”
He regularly shunned reporters that wrote critical articles about him and insisted reporters that came to press events at the governor's mansion wear a press badge that read “Media Jackal.”
The governor's wife, Terry, also had her moments. Reprinted in Creed's book is an angry letter from Mrs. Ventura to Creed in which she bitterly complains about her position and the lack of respect she felt she was being accorded by the mansion's staff.
Creed also reveals that the Venturas' teenage son, Tyrel, frequently used the governor's mansion for his party headquarters at the taxpayers' expense, entertaining young women he had met at bars.
Although interesting, Creed's memoir suffers from pervasive grammar, syntax errors and tongue-in-cheek narration and sometimes comes across like sour grapes. Ventura closed the mansion in 2002, putting residence staff (including Creed) out of work in the face of a growing state deficit, a situation not aided by the fact that in 2001, alone, the state budgeted $1.43 million to Governor Ventura's security detail.
Another celebrity mentioned in the memoir is Ventura's friend and predator co-star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has since followed in Ventura's gubernatorial footsteps.
Title: Governor Ventura “The Body” Exposed
Author: Dan Creed
Publisher: Hunter Halverson Press
ISBN: 0974414301
Review written by: Marc Duane Anderson
Reviewer's Rating:7.5
Reader's Rating: 5.00
Reader's Votes: 4
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