When I am out early in the morning, I see a lot of lawn maintenance workers keeping everything trim and neat. I hear many weed eaters while walking on the trail. It made me wonder who invented this ingenious device? It trims very close on rounded and sloped edges, going where no lawnmower can.
According to Wikipedia, George Charles Ballas Sr. was born in Ruston, Louisiana, on June 28, 1925. He was the son of Karolos "Charles" Ballas and Maria — née Lymnaos, who were Greek immigrants that ran a restaurant. He enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 17 in 1942 during World War II and was a bombardier and would later serve in the Korean War. He married Maria Marulanda who was of Mexican and Spanish descent in 1951 and had five children.
Ballas got the idea for the Weed Eater while driving through an automatic car wash, where the rotating brushes gave him an idea. Using a tin can laced with fishing line and an edge trimmer, he tried out his idea to protect the bark of the trees he was trimming around, which worked. After some refinements, he shopped it around to several tool makers, who all rejected his invention. He went on to develop the garden tool himself, founding a company in Houston, Texas, in 1971. The first year, sales were over a half million dollars. By 1977 they were $80 million, and Ballas sold his company the following year to Emerson Electric Co. which merged with Poulan and was later acquired by Electrolux. It spun off the outdoors division as Husqvarna AB in 2006.
One of George Ballas’ sons is Mark “Corky” Ballas, a retired competitive ballroom dancer. He and his former wife and partner Shirley were 1996 Open to the World International Champions, 1995–1996 Open to the World British Champions, twice British National Champions, Star - World Cup - UK - Champions, and seven times undefeated United States International Latin Champions. They retired in 1996. Corky and Shirley Ballas raised and trained Julianne Hough and Derek Hough. Based in Los Angeles and Houston, Corky Ballas judges professional competitions and teaches.
He has trained many more of Dancing with the Stars' professionals including Karina Smirnoff, Tony Dovolani, Edyta Sliwinska, Alec Mazo, Brian Fortuna, Jonathan Roberts, Anna Trebunskaya, Jessie DeSoto and, his son, Mark Ballas.
On August 25, 2008, the show's producers announced Corky himself would compete as a pro on season 7, alongside his son and former pupils. He was partnered with 82-year-old actress Cloris Leachman. For Season 11 Ballas was partnered with Florence Henderson. They were eliminated in Week 5 of the competition.
Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born 24 May 1986) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician and actor. A professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program Dancing with the Stars, he began competing on the show in season five during the fall of 2007 and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography in 2011. He released his first solo CD HurtLoveBox in March 2011.
Ballas attended Rosemead Preparatory School in South London. At the age of 11, he earned a full-time slot at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, as well as earning a full scholarship. In 2005, he was awarded "Performer of the Year." He then moved on to win championships at The British Open to the World, The US Open to the World and The International Open to the World. With his former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics.
Ballas's partner for season 6 of Dancing with the Stars was Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. They won the season. For the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars, he was paired with Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Shawn Johnson, winning that season's competition on May 19, 2009. For season 11, Ballas was partnered with Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor and U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. They made it to the finale and finished in third place. For season 14, he was partnered with classical singer Katherine Jenkins. They made it to the finale where they finished as the runners-up, losing to Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd. For season 22, he was paired with UFC mixed martial artist Paige VanZant. They made it to the finals of the show and finished in second place. For season 25, he was paired with violinist Lindsey Stirling. They made it to the finals and finished in second place.
As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical “Copacabana” and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical “Maria de Buenos Aires.” He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of “Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story.” On September 6, 2016, it was announced that Ballas would be the final actor to portray the role of Frankie Valli in the Broadway cast of “Jersey Boys” before it closes in 2017. On May 26, 2018, it was announced that he would play the role of the Teen Angel in the 2018 Toronto revival of “Grease” in a limited engagement from 7–10 June. From 11 September 2018 to 18 November 2018, Ballas portrayed Charlie Price in the musical “Kinky Boots” on Broadway.
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