Published on August 8th, 2020 | by Darren Paltrowitz

Bill Apter On New York Wrestling, The “Apter Mags” Term, His 2015 Autobiography & More

If you were going to do a Mount Rushmore-style list of journalists who changed professional wrestling, Bill Apter would undoubtedly be on there. For starters, the man was who introduced comedian Andy Kaufman to wrestling legend Jerry “The King” Lawler, thus creating the first well-known wrestling angle to involve a celebrity. But Kaufman/Lawler connection aside, Apter’s credits as a writer and photographer go back to the early 1970s, and he has interviewed just about every industry great — e.g. Hulk Hogan, Sting, Bill Goldberg, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Diamond Dallas Page, Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Bruno Sammartino, Rey Mysterio — that you can think of.

While Bill Apter — an inductee to multiple wrestling-related hall of fame institutions — was indeed the co-host of pro wrestling’s first commercial home video, 1985’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents Lords Of The Ring: Superstars & Superbouts, he is far from a nostalgia act. Beyond continuing to interview and profile wrestling’s greats, he hosts The Apter Chat on 1Wrestling.com and its related social media; Apter was notably the first wrestling journalist to regularly post video interviews with wrestlers on the Internet. He continues to host events and appear at conventions. He has an “old school”-style nightclub act. Furthermore he was the author of a published autobiography, the hilariously-titled Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn’t Know It Was Broken!, as released in 2015.

I reached out to Bill Apter on August 8, 2020 with regard to providing quotes for an article I was writing for the Cauliflower Alley Club’s newsletter. Not only did Apter agree to provide quotes for that article, but he offered up time via Zoom to talk about all facets of his career. Video highlights from our August 8th conversation are embedded below, and anyone watching it will quickly pick up on how simultaneously pleasant, genuine, knowledgeable and well-respected the New York native is.

More on Bill Apter and his various endeavors — including the aforementioned Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn’t Know It Was Broken! book — can be found online via www.twitter.com/apter1wrestling.

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Tags: Andy Kaufman, Bill Apter, Cauliflower Alley Club, Jerry Lawler, Mark Tendler, Mick Foley, The Apter Chat, Wrestling

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal.Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."