*APOLLO & THELMA: A TRUE TALL TALE* *MIGHTY APOLLO’S SONS EXPOSE TRUTH*
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*APOLLO & THELMA, NOT AN INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY, BUT A TALL TALE*
*APOLLO’S STORY - FICTITIOUS & ERRONEOUS*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: A TRUE TALL TALE- SONS REVIEWS OF DISMAY*
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO'S SONS ONE YEAR AFTER THEY WERE ABANDONED BY THEIR MOTHER. LEFT TO RIGHT, MARK 8YRS, PAUL 9YRS, BRUCE 6YRS, IN FOSTER CARE.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: A TRUE TALL TALE- REVIEW BY MIGHTY APOLLO'S ELDEST SON PAUL ANDERSON.*
The family despite the author's claim do not give the book approval. It is total story creation on many levels. It was written in this false manner to big note the author, his degree of interaction & knowledge of our family.
Further a gritty fake narrative is designed to sell more books. This is shameful to a family's feelings & heritage. From our perspective, various claims & assessments can all be shown to be provably false.
This book is Fictional especially in regard to Mighty Apollo, written by an unknowledgeable writer who was lucky to met my father a handful of times in his youth, relying on our archival input. The family was assured by Faine at the start of the project that the book was to be factually correct through our full inclusion in draft checking, the only reason we would contribute to its creation. After final draft, the family was almost totally blocked from editing, despite Faine's Trust me promise.
Faine had created a Tall tale, which was withheld to our disgust & surprise until publication. There are embellishments on many levels to suit his ill qualified narrative, despite the verified facts supplied by the family.
Mighty Apollo's gym, living conditions, character, mind set, retrieval of items, elderly visit, funerals, author's many interactions with Apollo; all fictional story creation.
There are numerous misquotes, time line mistakes & Mighty Apollo performance description errors. Additionally family accounts regarding Thelma were totally ignored. Yet her disgraceful death description was included, the sons totally unaware of this inclusion until the book reading! Mighty Apollo's struggle with the closed social welfare system to regain & visit his children also disregarded.
The True story of Mighty Apollo, not present in the book, will be posted, supported by archival evidence. Our betrayal in the book creation process is also verifiable in emails & voice memos which will be presented.
This is not the book Faine promised our Family, one that we would be proud of, fair & accurate. At least he was honest changing the sub title from an
'Incredible True Story' (shown to us), to 'A True Tall Tale.
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*APOLLO AND THELMA. NOT A TRUE TALL TALE, BUT A SKEWED TALE.*
This book had the potential to be so much better than it is. On the surface it will seem to be a good read to those who did not know of Apollo or Thelma, personally or by individual deeds or reputation. Unfortunately the end product is biased and largely based on the author's personal unqualified opinions regarding the two key namesakes in this publication.
For me, my brothers or anyone who knew Apollo personally, It shows a great deal of disrespect towards the memory of our father, his thought processes and mindset which underpinned a legacy of great feats of strength in a career spanning more than seventy years in show business. He was also a pioneer and innovator in the health and fitness industries, including the martial arts cultures.
Much of the actual timeline, facts and oral history along with the wealth of information provided by Apollo's family are often misquoted or ignored in favor of opinion based story telling by the author.
Apollo's character is continually being attacked by Jon at every opportunity as a mumbo jumbo spruking narcissist. He even casts personal opinion and insult on Apollo's funeral details. While Thelma by no means a saint, is a woman surviving and making it in a man's world in the most remote part of outback Australia. She is singled out and shamed for being a ruthless business women while at the same time in Australia's not too distant past, men around her were literally getting away with rape, beatings and murder.
It is also important to state that Jon Faine was never a close family friend or confidant to my father or us brothers over the decades. He was randomly hired as a lawyer representing his law firm at the time to handle my Aunt Thelma's estate in the same way you hire any professional to do a job. While respected by us for his efforts as a lawyer, it was strictly a business based relationship. Once the estate was finalised I never heard from Jon again for around thirty years, until he paid me to provide interviews and assorted media items for sole use in this publication.
Sometime in 2020 Jon promised us brothers that we would have an opportunity to read a complete draft of the book before it went to publishing. This to make sure we were as happy as was possible with its content. From the many chapters in this book that relate to the life and times of my family history, I was only given a copy of one chapter to fact check and send my feedback to Jon. He did not want us to read any other chapters concerning my family pre publication.
I did however view a copy of an additional chapter. This was sent to me by my brother Paul but I had no input into its eventual outcome. On the whole, while I did not expect to be entirely comfortable with everything written in this book, but after reading it, I am less than happy with Jon's version of events concerning Apollo and Thelma. It contains many Misquotes and unqualified opinions by the author? I only received a copy of the finished publication on 24th March 2022.
17th June 2020. At the beginning of our involvement with all of this, Jon's exact words to me were; "I am looking forward to telling the story in a way that makes the Anderson brothers proud of their family history and in a way that lets a new audience know about your remarkable dad and his formidable sister."
Sorry Jon but it gives me no pride to read your version of our family history.
We mock what we do not understand. As humans we all have skeletons in our closets.
When put under the spotlight it is never pleasant. This is part of what being human is.
My father was a great man and an innovator in his chosen career path. To quote the late great Bert Newton Regarding Apollo
"For what it's worth, l pass on that I have never heard a bad word about you in show business - that in itself is a fine achievement".
As for Thelma, She was certainly no angel but was competing for survival amongst a misogynistic rouges gallery of individuals in one of the toughest locations on the planet to run a business. And still is to this day. To survive in this environment as a woman you had to be tougher than the men around you.
It is a Tall Tale indeed.
Mark Anderson (2nd Son of The Mighty Apollo) 1 April 2022
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*REVIEW FROM APOLLO’S SON BRUCE.*
Nothing more than a work of fiction!! Full of fantasy, misquotes and backhanded comments from an arrogant " little man" with a highly inflated ego. Who often unfairly employs his style of petty, cheap, caustic criticism to malign my father. Even Dad's funeral does not escape his exaggerated story telling & opinionated criticism!
He claims his credibility as a friend of Apollo's?? He was certainly NEVER a friend of Apollo's, or the family as he attempts to claim!!?? His backhanded often petty remarks reflect this!
Sadly he had the potential to write a very good truthful and accurate book as he had promised us, but the opportunity was missed when he chose to betray Apollo's sons' trust and write an inaccurate and largely fictional tale.
"Fact checking" was ignored to follow his very twisted narrative, regardless of the distress and disrespect you've shown our family! ! Extremely disappointing outcome.
Readers, unless you like being duped, save your time and your money!! If Dad were still alive, he would make you eat your book Jon!
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*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO- “A POCKET SIZED HERCULES”
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO RIGHT, WITH HIS SON PAUL ANDERSON. PHOTO TAKEN 1994, AT THE MIGHTY APOLLO GYM & COMBAT CENTRE, IN WEST MELBOURNE. *MIGHTY APOLLO WAS ONLY 5 FOOT 5 1/2 INCHES TALL, YET HIS STRENGTH WAS THAT OF A GIANT. TO PAUL, HIS FATHER WAS AN INSPIRATION TO LOOK UP TO.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO, LOVING FATHER TO HIS SONS*
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO, A PROUD FATHER, WITH HIS SONS AT ST KILDA BEACH, 1969. MARK LEFT, BRUCE & PAUL. PAUL‘S BATHERS, IN THE STYLE OF HIS FATHER’S LEOPARD SKIN STRONGMAN TRUNKS.*
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*SUBTITLE CHANGE ABOVE HIGHLIGHTS THE PROBLEM- A TALL TALE*
*MIGHTY APOLLO’S SONS REVIEW, EXPOSES FICTITIOUS CONTENT WITHIN APOLLO & THELMA: A TRUE TALL TALE. REVEALING JON FAINE’S FLAWED DRAFTING & BROKEN PROMISES.*
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APOLLO & THELMA: A TRUE TALL TALE
*APOLLO & THELMA, BOOK COVER SUBTITLE CHANGE (SEEN TOP PHOTO OF HEADER PAGE) FEATURES THE PROBLEM WITHIN ITS CONTENTS, PERTAINING TO MIGHTY APOLLO & HIS FAMILY.
*SUBTITLE LEFT, IS AN INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY, THE ONE MIGHTY APOLLO’S SONS WERE ASSURED OF BY FAINE.
*THIS WAS TO BE ACHIEVED BY ACCESSING FAMILY ARCHIVES, INTERVIEWS & BEING PART OF THE COMPLETE DRAFTING PROCESS.
*DESPITE EMAIL PLEDGES OF TRUST, PRIDE & ACCURACY, FAINE ALMOST ENTIRELY BLOCKED THE SONS FROM FACT CHECKING THE BOOK.
*WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE, THE AUTHOR CHANGED THE SUBTITLE RIGHT, TO A TALL TALE.
*EMBELLISHMENTS & INCORRECT INFORMATION THEN PLAUGE THE BOOK, TO BRING “THE STORY OUT.”
*IN A BETRAYAL OF LEGACY, FAINE FALSELY PROMOTES MIGHTY APOLLO’S FAMILY STORY AS ONE OF TRUTH.
*APOLLO & THELMA IS A TALL TALE & IS NOT A BOOK THE SONS ENDORSE.*—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO WORKED HARD FOR HIS NAME*
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO, VAL MORGAN GLASS CINEMA SLIDES, 1935. MIGHTY APOLLO, THROUGHOUT HIS PERFORMANCE & WORKING CAREER, UTILISED ALL ADVERTISING MEDIUMS AT HIS DISPOSAL. CINEMA ADVERTISING WAS GROUND BREAKING AT THE TIME. IN THE WORLD OF PHYSICAL CULTURE IN AUSTRALIA, MIGHTY APOLLO WAS THE PIONEER OF ITS PROMOTIONAL USAGE.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO’S LIFE WAS A REMARKABLE ONE*
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO ADVERTISING, AS SEEN ON MELBOURNE TRAM, 1962. THIS WAS TOP LEVEL EXPOSURE AT THE TIME. *MIGHTY APOLLO WAS PROMOTING HIS NEW CITY, 3 LEVEL CENTRE. *FIRST FLOOR, WOMEN’S GYM, SECOND FLOOR, MEN’S GYM & TOP FLOOR, BOXING & MARTIAL ARTS. MIGHTY APOLLO WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN ALL AREAS.*
*MIGHTY APOLLO’S & THELMA’S LEGACIES, DESERVE THE TRUTH.*
* PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO PICTURED ABOVE, PERFORMING THE DEATH DEFYING STRANGULATION FEAT. THELMA TOP SPRINGS, EARLY 50S. A HARD OUTBACK PIONEER, SHOWING HER LOVE OF ANIMALS.*
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APOLLO & THELMA: A TRUE TALL TALE
*WHEN LOVED FAMILY MEMBERS ARE NOT ALIVE TO DEFEND THEIR HONOUR, IT THEN LIES WITH THEIR RELATIVES.*
*BRUCE, EMAIL TO FAINE REGARDING CH 9, 8/11/21: Kindly DO NOT just use the snippets that suit you and twist the dialogue to your liking for the sake of a convenient story!
You have come to us to get the facts and information pertaining to our story. Misquoting, complete fabrication and only using snippets of statements is a dirty journalism trick that I don’t appreciate! I consider my time and input valuable.
The trauma and stress that we three brothers have to relive for the sake of this story deserves and demands that it be told properly! That was your promise right at the outset of this exercise. Keep your promise!
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*WHEN BRINGING A FAMILY INTO A BOOK PROJECT, THERE IS AN OBLIGATION TO MAKE THE CONTENTS CORRECT. THIS IS ESPECIALLY THE CASE, WHEN THE WRITER MAKES BIG PLEDGES TO DO SO. ANYTHING ELSE IS A BETRAYAL TO THE LIVING & THE MEMORIES OF THEIR DECEASED LOVED ONES.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: THELMA’S FAMILY SIDE, LEFT OUT OF BOOK*
*PHOTO: THELMA WANDA INN, TOP SPRINGS, EARLY 50s, WITH JOEY. THOUGH IT WAS A HARSH ENVIRONMENT, THE NATIVE ANIMALS EASED THE ATMOSPHERE.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO HIGHLY AWARDED BY HIS PEERS*
*ONE OF MIGHTY APOLLO’S MANY AWARDS- IFBB, STRONGMAN OF THE CENTURY. MIGHTY APOLLO STOOD BY HIS DEEDS & WAS CELEBRATED BY HIGH LEVEL PEERS.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO’S LEGACY, TOLD VIA FACTS*
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO ARTICLE, SECTION 1- TRUTH NEWSPAPER, 1994. MIGHTY APOLLO AGE 83yrs, INTERVIEWED, REGARDING HIS LIFE STORY. MIGHTY APOLLO’S PRESS BOOKS, SUPPORTED HIS AMAZING CAREER.*
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*APOLLO & THELMA: MIGHTY APOLLO KEPT THE CROWD ENTERTAINED*
*PHOTO: MIGHTY APOLLO ARTICLE SECTION 2, OF “THE LEGEND OF APOLLO.”*
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*WHEN THE MEDIA REPORTED ON MIGHTY APOLLO, (WHETHER THEY WERE FAMILIAR WITH HIS HISTORY, OR NOT) THEY WOULD INCLUDED FACTUALLY CORRECT INFORMATION IN THEIR ARTICLES. THIS WAS GAINED FROM THEIR RESEARCH & INTERVIEWS.
*THE SONS EXCEPTED THE SAME OF FAINE, GIVEN HIS MEDIA BACKGROUND. HOWEVER AS WILL BE SHOWN, THE AUTHOR DECIDED TO TAKE A LARGELY DISRESPECTFUL & GRITTY, FANTASY APPROACH. THE FAMILY BELIVE FAINE DID THIS, TO CREATE WHAT HE & THE PUBLISHERS THOUGHT, WOULD BE A MORE MARKETABLE “STORY”. AS WILL BE SHOWN, THE WRITER’S DRAFTING PROCESS ALIGNS WITH THIS OPINION.*
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