Former pro wrestling super star Ted DiBiase, aka “The Million Dollar Man,” appeared to have it all: fame, wealth, parties. But then, in March 1992, he received one of the toughest phone calls of his life.
It was his wife, Melanie, confronting him about his infidelities, which finally came to a head while Mr. DiBiase was on the road in Indianapolis to participate in WrestleMania VIII.
“It’s like, ’You fool. You have put at risk the most valuable things in your life: the love and commitment of a devoted wife, not to mention the future, stability, peace of mind [and] the well-being of your children,’” Mr. DiBiase explained from his home in Clinton, Mississippi.
Mr. DiBiase admitted that his road philandering was an “ego trip” meant to “fill a void” in his life — even one that was so successful.
“It was like having two different lives,” he said of his home and road personalities. At the same time, he said, “there was no doubt that I loved my wife and my kids. I’d take a bullet for them.”
In 1997, just a few years after that painful phone call from his wife and his conversion to evangelical Christianity, Mr. DiBiase came clean in his autobiography, “Every Man Has a Price: The True Story of Wrestling’s Million-Dollar Man.” And the new documentary, “The Price of Fame,” which hits theaters nationwide Tuesday for one night only, also shines an unflinching light on many of the sins of Mr. DiBiase’s star-studded past.
Directed by first-time helmer Peter Ferriero, “The Price of Fame” follows Ted DiBiase Jr., a WWE wrestler in his own right, as he tells the story of his famous father’s rise to fame, his lapse into self-destructive behavior and his new life as an evangelist and motivational speaker.
Clips from the elder Mr. DiBiase’s many famous wrestling matches are shown from his days in the WWF and later WWE. The film also features other wrestlers of the ’80s heyday like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, George “The Animal” Steele, Shawn Michaels and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
“I’ve been in evangelism for 17 years, which was a result of the crisis that I went through with my family and my wife,” the elder Mr. DiBiase, now 63, said of the rock star lifestyle he led before finding his way back.
Besides speaking to the importance of faith and forgiveness, “The Price of Fame” also focuses on fatherhood, a critical subject for Mr. DiBiase.
“I grew up in the wrestling industry. My step-father was a wrestler, and I loved him dearly,” he said of Mike DiBiase, who died of a heart attack during a match in Lubbock, Texas, in 1969, when his step-son was just 15.
“I watched my mother sink into alcoholism,” Mr. DiBiase said of the difficult times that followed “Iron Mike”’s sudden death.
But losing his step-father at a young age helped Mr. DiBiase realize the importance of fatherhood, something he believes is undervalued in American culture.
“It’s a huge problem. Every child needs the affirmation of his dad,” he said.
Mr. DiBiase, an ordained minister, speaks frequently to men about the dangers of unchecked pride.
“What I’ve found out about men is that it’s hard for them to be transparent,” he said. “It’s hard for men to be vulnerable. It’s an ego thing. It’s a pride thing.
“You put a bunch of women in the room, give them 20 minutes, and they’re pouring out their hearts to each other.”
Men, on the other hand, have a tendency to be less candid and may even opt for dishonesty rather than admitting to having any problems.
“You ask a guy, ’How’s it going?’ and he says, ’Ah, it’s going great.’ That guy’s life might be falling apart,” Mr. DiBiase said. “He might be losing his job or whatever. He’s not going to tell you that because his pride’s not going to let him.
“And one thing that I have heard from men in a lot of the churches where I’ve gone is they’ll come up to me and say, ’Thank you for being so transparent.’”
Mr. DiBiase credits his faith with helping him to overcome his voluptuary lifestyle and helping him to finally place the needs of his family above his career — something his wife of 31 years had been willing to forgive.
“I was on the receiving end of much forgiveness,” Mr. DiBiase said. “If my wife hadn’t been as grounded in her own faith at the time, I probably would have lost her.”
In light of her husband’s cheating, Melanie DiBiase was initially counseled by some of her friends to “divorce the bum,” her husband recalls now. However, her church circle told her that it was possible to forgive Ted’s many infidelities and to save the marriage.
“She said, ’I ran to my church family. I ran to those people who I knew would give me sound council,’” Mr. DiBiase said.
“The Price of Fame” will play Tuesday in theaters nationwide through Fathom Events Digital Broadcast Network. To find a screening, go to ThePriceOfFame.com.
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