Nationality American Role Film actress Retired 1962 Sport Roller derby Died August 9, 1971 Turned pro 1941 | Team Brooklyn Red Devils Height 1.5 m Movies Roller Derby Girl Name Toughie Brasuhn Weight 61 kg | |
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Nickname(s) Midge, Toughie, Brazooni | ||
Marjorie Clair Louise Theresa Brasuhn Monte, known as Midge "Toughie" Brasuhn (January 27, 1923 – 9 August 1971) was a roller derby skater.
Born in St Louis, Missouri, to a German-American family, Brasuhn acquired the nickname "Midge" as a child, by virtue of her height - only 4'11". She joined the roller derby in 1941, in Minneapolis, and soon married Ken Monte, a fellow skater.
Brasuhn rose to fame in the late 1940s, with a billboard campaign showing her with green dye on her face, asking the question "Who Is Toughie?" She regularly competed against Gerry Murray, sometimes on a one-to-one basis, and in 1949 took a leading role in the film Roller Derby Girl. In 1950, she was voted one of the ten leading sportswomen by the Sportswriters of America, and she became the captain of the Brooklyn Red Devils. She was known for her aggressive play, and would sometimes knee her opponents in the jaw.
Brasuhn retired from competition in 1962, and was subsequently inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame. In the mid-1960s, she briefly skated with the rival Roller Games, before moving to Honolulu with her son, where she died unexpectedly in 1971.