| "Mean Gene" Okerlund | |
|---|---|
 Okerlund in 2009 | |
| Birth name | Eugene Arthur Okerlund |
| Born | (1942-12-19)December 19, 1942 Brookings, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 2019(2019-01-02) (aged 76) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Nebraska |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2; includingTodd Okerlund |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gene Okerlund |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 212 lb (96 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Robbinsdale, Minnesota[1] |
| Debut | 1970[1] |
| Retired | 2018 |
Eugene Arthur Okerlund[2] (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an Americanprofessional wrestlinginterviewer,announcer andtelevision host. He was best known for his work in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, nowWWE) andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). Okerlund was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2006 byHulk Hogan. He was signed to a lifetime contract withWWE and later worked for promotional programs. He has been described by some journalists as the greatest interviewer in the history of professional wrestling.[3]
Eugene Arthur Okerlund was born on December 19, 1942, inBrookings, South Dakota to Arthur and Helen Okerlund.[2] He grew up inSisseton and was raised on an Indian reservation.[4] He graduated from Sisseton High School in 1960.[2] He was an all-around athlete, participating inbasketball,baseball,football andtrack.[2] After studying broadcast journalism at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln),[4] Okerlund landed a job as a disc jockey atKOIL, a popular radio station in Omaha, Nebraska.[2] Okerlund later moved to Minneapolis where he worked forWDGY as a radio host under the alias ofGene Leader. He later left that position to become Program Director atKDWB. Okerlund also worked in Minneapolis for a local television station in the front office.[2]
Okerlund played with the Harold Johnson Orchestra and fronted the band Gene Carroll and the Shades.[2] The band released "Is It Ever Gonna Happen" on the albumIn This Corner, on Norton Records in 1962.[2][5]
Okerlund left the radio industry for a position at theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1970, where he occasionally filled in for ailing ring announcer and interviewer Marty O'Neill, eventually becoming O'Neill's permanent replacement by the end of the decade.[1][6] While there,Jesse "The Body" Ventura gave him the moniker "Mean Gene".[1][7] According to Ventura, "In an interview, I laughingly called him 'the Mean Gene Hot Air Machine,' and the 'Mean Gene' stuck, I'm proud that I gave him a nickname that will stick with him forever."[8] His first interview was withNick Bockwinkel andBobby Heenan, acting terrified when both were jumped from behind.[8]
He stayed with the AWA until the end of 1983, when he was one of many AWA personnel to join the expandingWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1][6]
He stayed with the WWF for nine years as their top interviewer and was a host of such WWF shows asAll-American Wrestling.[1][4] He sang the national anthem at the inaugural WrestleMania[9][7] andTutti Frutti onThe Wrestling Album.[8] Okerlund's interviews were memorable, most notably those involvingHulk Hogan, who began his interviews with "Well, you know, Mean Gene …".[6] He also notably teamed up withHulk Hogan to face the duo ofGeorge Steele andMr. Fuji in a winning effort.[9] AtSummerSlam 1989, during an interview with Intercontinental ChampionRick Rude, a sign in the background suddenly fell down, causing an outburst by Okerlund.[10] AtSurvivor Series 1990, Okerlund hosted the hatching of theGobbledy Gooker (played byHéctor Guerrero). As fans in attendance started to boo, a rock and roll rendition of "Turkey in the Straw" began to play and Okerlund and the Gooker danced in the ring.[10]
Okerlund appeared atSummerSlam 1993 and made his final WWF appearance of the 1990s on the September 18, 1993, edition ofSuperstars. He then left the WWF entirely when his contract expired.[1][6] He stated in an RF shoot interview, that although he probably could have re-negotiated a new contract, he was never actually offered one, thus opting to become an interviewer forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).[1] He claimed at the time of his hiring with WCW that he had not been on speaking terms with McMahon for the past few years he was working in the WWF.
He debuted on the November 6, 1993, edition ofWCW Saturday Night.[7] He was mostly used in a mentor role mostly plugging the WCW Hotline in which he would talk about wrestling news from WCW, WWF and independent organizations from all over the world.[6] AfterFall Brawl '96: War Games, Okerlund's contract expired and decided to take a leave of absence from television, although it was rumored that he was going back to the WWF or left in protest overHulk Hogan's heel turn and joining theNWO. While he was away,Tony Schiavone,Mike Tenay andLee Marshall replaced him by doing the interviews and plugging the WCW Hotline. In early November 1996, Okerlund signed a new deal with WCW after fans were requesting him to come back and returned on theVeterans Day edition ofWCW Monday Nitro after Schiavone welcomed him back. Okerlund wrestled twice in WCW; the first was in mid-2000 when he andBuff Bagwell facedChris Kanyon and fellow announcerMark Madden, with Bagwell and Okerlund winning. However, Madden wanted Okerlund back in the ring the next week in a one on one match-up. The two did wrestle again and Okerlund won the match with the assistance of Pamela Paulshock. After that, he was with WCW until March 2001 when the company was purchased by the WWF.[1]
Shortly before WWF's purchase ofWCW in 2001, Okerlund rejoined his old promotion (renamedWWE in 2002). His first assignment back with the WWF was theGimmickBattle Royal duringWrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, along withBobby "The Brain" Heenan.[11] He hostedWWE Confidential in 2002, which lasted for two years.[9] Okerlund would also hostWWE Madison Square Garden Classics, a weekly series, airing on theMSG Network, featuring classicWWE matches that took place atMadison Square Garden from the last four decades and theWWE Classics On Demand Hall of Fame section, which takes a look at a different WWE Hall of Famer each month.[1]
Okerlund was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006,[9] byHulk Hogan.[7] In June 2008, Okerlund began hostingWWE Vintage Collection, a program which showcases archive footage from the extensiveWWE video library.[1]
Okerlund conducted the interviews on the three-hour "Old School" episode ofRaw on November 15, 2010, where he interviewedJohn Cena,Randy Orton, members ofThe Nexus andMae Young in similar fashion as to how interviews were done in the 1980s.[12] In November 2016, Okerlund became the narrator for theWWE Network original animated seriesWWE Story Time, keeping that spot until his death withJerry Lawler taking over the voiceover work for the show.[13]
On January 22, 2018, atRaw 25 Years, Okerlund made his final WWE appearance where he interviewed the thenWWE Champion,AJ Styles.[14]
On November 12, 1985, Okerlund, along withHulk Hogan,Bobby Heenan,Ricky Steamboat,Davey Boy Smith,Corporal Kirchner,Dynamite Kid andBig John Studd, appeared onThe A-Team. That same year, Okerlund even interviewedLiberace (one of the highest paid entertainers at the time) at his penthouse atTrump Tower.[4]
He appeared as himself, along withJesse Ventura in the 1989 action movieNo Holds Barred, as well as in the comedy filmsRepossessed in 1990, as the commentators for the exorcism, andReady to Rumble in 2000.
Okerlund appears in WCW's video gamesWCW Nitro (video game),WCW/nWo Thunder andWCW Mayhem (video game).
Okerlund lent his voice to the 2000snowboarding gameSSX as the announcer for the in-game level "Merqury City Meltdown".
Okerlund was one of the professional wrestling legends on theWWE Network's showLegends' House.[10]
Okerlund appeared as a "Celebrity Prognosticator" onESPN Radio'sThe Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on November 27, 2013.[15]
In 2018, Okerlund appeared in aMountain Dew Kickstart commercial featuringKevin Hart who during the commercial semi-impersonatedRandy Savage.
He made an appearance at the WrestleCade 2018 weekend event that took place November 23–25, 2018 inWinston-Salem, North Carolina.[4]
While in high school inSisseton, South Dakota, he formed a band, "Gene Carroll & The Shades," recording a single in 1959, "Red Devil / Do You Remember" (M&L 1001).[2][5] As "Gene Carroll," he had a second single in 1962, "Is It Ever Gonna Happen / Holly" (Wausau C-1100).[5][16] The band played parties throughout the Midwest and the Dakotas, and in 2009 were inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame.[16]
In contrast to his nickname "Mean Gene", Okerlund throughout the years was considered the friendliest person in the game by many wrestlers and promotion staff.[1] Okerlund was close friends withHulk Hogan,The Iron Sheik andBobby Heenan.[1][4]
Okerlund had been married to his wife Jeanne since March 27, 1964, and had two sons,Todd and Tor, along with three grandsons.[2][8] Todd starred on theUniversity of Minnesotaice hockeyteam from 1983 to 1987, and played on the1988United States Olympics team that competed inCalgary, playing four games with theNHL'sNew York Islanders.[8][6]
In 2004, Okerlund had a kidney transplant.[6] In his later years, Okerlund suffered frompolycystic kidney disease.[2] He also enjoyed boating,[2] golfing,[6] and spending time at his cabin inBig Sandy Lake during the summer.[8]
Okerlund died on the morning of January 2, 2019, at the age of 76 in aSarasota, Florida hospital.[17][18] It was revealed by his son, Todd Okerlund, that he had received three kidney transplants and had suffered a fall which caused his health to deteriorate in the weeks leading up to his death.[18] Later that day, condolences were sent by some fellowWWE superstars and wrestling alumni on various social media sites, including:Ric Flair,Hulk Hogan,Iron Sheik,Stone Cold Steve Austin andDwayne "The Rock" Johnson, among many others.[18][19]
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| National | |
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