Iconic Hulk Hogan single-handedly transformed pro wrestling from spit & sawdust viewing to multi-billion dollar behemoth
LEGACY OF AN ICON Iconic Hulk Hogan single-handedly transformed pro wrestling from spit & sawdust viewing to multi-billion dollar behemoth
RIPPING his tee-shirt from his muscle-bound torso like Superman, Hulk Hogan revealed a bright red vest endorsing Donald Trump underneath.
"Let Trumpamania run wild, brother!" he bellowed in a mash-up of his own catchphrases at last summer's Republican Convention.
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Hulk Hogan rips his shirt before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden
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Hogan and Donald Trump backstage during the 2024 RNC
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Hulk Hogan posing with Trump
Credit: hulkhogan/Instagram
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Hulk Hogan displaying the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
It says much for the controversial Hogan's popularity that the now leader of the free world had chosen the wrestler to endorse him for President.
Instantly recognisable in trademark bandana and shaggy, blond handlebar moustache, Hogan had long been a larger-than-life icon for middle America.
Without Hogan - who died aged 71 following a cardiac arrest on Thursday - it's unlikely professional wrestling would be the multibillion-pound behemoth it is today.
His cartoonish charisma and deft ring theatrics helped transform the sport from spit and sawdust blokeish viewing into family entertainment.
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Hogan became such a big star that he was able to transcend wrestling and starred in the movie The Rock III with Sylvester Stallone, as well as securing his own reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best.
There was also controversy. In 2012, a sex tape between Hogan and Heather Clem, the estranged wife of the improbably named radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, appeared online.
During the clip, Bubba is heard telling the couple they can 'do their thing' and he will be in his office.
Then, at the end of the tape, Bubba tells his wife: 'If we ever need to retire, here is our ticket.'
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Showbiz blog Gawker ran a short clip of the video. It hardly chimed with the wholesome image that Higan had cultivated.
Hogan later admitted to radio host Howard Stern that 'it was a bad choice and a very low point'.
WWE legend Ric Flair leads tributes to 'close friend' Hulk Hogan who has died aged 71
Three times married Hogan added: 'I was with some friends and made a wrong choice. It has devastated me. I have never been this hurt.'
Hogan then sued Bubba, and a settlement was announced. He also sued Gawker and was awarded £85million, which put the gossip site out of business.
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Born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, in 1953, his dad was a construction foreman father and his mum was a dance teacher.
Hogan remembered: 'Some of my earliest memories of childhood involve getting bullied by other boys in my neighbourhood. Especially by this one red-haired kid who was meaner than a snake: Roger.
'I remember one day, I was six or seven, and I was out in the yard collecting caterpillars from the trees and putting them into glass jars.
'The next thing I know, Roger has taken all my caterpillars and put 'em in his jar.
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'That was it for me. I got all pissed off. So I stormed over to pick up his jar, and he came up from behind and pushed me down. Smash!
'When Roger saw my finger hanging there and the blood gushing out, he started running home.
'So I bent down and picked up a rock, like David and Goliath, and I threw it so hard and hit him right in the back of his head. Dropped him right there on the pavement. Blood was everywhere.'
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Hulk Hogan attends Day 1 of the Chiller Theatre Expo at Sheraton Parsippany Hotel in October 2014 in Parsippany, New Jersey
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President Donald Trump and Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania Vl Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey in March 1987
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Hulk Hogan displaying the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Yet, the fight game was his first calling.
A decent baseball pitcher, Hogan began weightlifting as a teenager while living in Tampa, Florida, which helped him develop the massive arms he called his '24-inch pythons'.
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At school, he was called a hippy because of his long hair, love of rock music and hatred of American football despite his physique.
Hogan recalled: 'I started out playing guitar in junior high school, because I wasn't a big sports guy.
'I was into music and had long hair. So I started out playing guitar, and as things go, as a music kid, you start playing in bands.
'All of a sudden, I started playing in this kick ass rock n' roll band, and a couple of wrestlers came in to the show. Before I knew it, there were a bunch of wrestlers at our gigs.
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'These were regional wrestlers, so they'd come back to Tampa every night, where we would be playing till 3am.'
Eventually, he plucked up the courage to ask for a ring tryout, pumping iron to develop his massive arms, which he called his '24-inch pythons.'
Hulk Hogan tributes
Tributes have poured in for Hulk Hogan following his death at 71 years old.
"When I nearly lost my dad 8 years ago, one of the few people who was there for all of it was Hulk Hogan. My heart breaks for Nick and Brooke. Rest in peace, brother." - Charlotte Flair
"Saddened To Hear About The Passing of Hulk Hogan…I Guess God Needed An Incredible Angel. R.I.P. My Friend." - Sergeant Slaughter
"He Was One Of The First To Visit Me When I Was In The Hospital With A 2% Chance Of Living, And He Prayed By My Bedside. Hulk Also Lent Me Money When Reid Was Sick. Hulkster, No One Will Ever Compare To You! Rest In Peace My Friend!" - Ric Flair
"WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture's most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan's family, friends, and fans." - WWE
"R.I.P to a legend. HULK HOGAN." - Donald Trump Jr.
"Hulk Hogan was a great American icon. One of the first people I ever truly admired as a kid. The last time I saw him we promised we'd get beers together next time we saw each other. The next time will have to be on the other side, my friend! Rest in peace." - Vice President JD Vance
Hogan's leg was broken in his first training session by pro-fighter Hiro Matsuda.
It might have ended his career there and then, but ten weeks later, he was back facing Matsuda in training and managed to block the move that had broken his limb.
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Hogan began wrestling in the southern US under names such as Terry the Hulk, Boulder and Sterling Golden.
The flag-waving American hero hit the big time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) playing the muscular, egotistical blond villain.
Also fighting in Japan, it was there he became a sensation and Hulkamania - the wild scenes he generated in packed stadiums - was born.
'Hulkamania,' as the energy he created was called, started running wild in the mid-1980s and pushed professional wrestling into the mainstream. He was a flag-waving American hero with the horseshoe moustache, red and yellow gear
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Strutting the stage in his signature red and yellow costume, his rippling physique and preening yet magnetic personality saw him become the world's most famous wrestler.
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Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock at Wrestlemania X8
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Hulk Hogan vs Andre the giant at Wrestlemania Vl in March 1988
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His popularity helped lead to the creation of the annual WrestleMania event in 1985, when he teamed up with the A-Team star Mr T.
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The pair beat 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and 'Mr. Wonderful' Paul Orndorff in
Facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon, he won a string of WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Inevitably, Hollywood came calling. He starred as Thunderlips in the movie Rocky III in 1982 and in other films and TV shows.
However, Hogan was booted out of the WWE in 2015 after a tape surfaced of him making racist remarks, including the use of the n-word.
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In a video made public by The National Enquirer, Hogan said: 'I guess we're all a little racist' and used the n-word while referring to his daughter's love life, repeating the phrase 'f***ing n******' several times'.
After making numerous apologies, he was reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
He married his first wife, Linda Claridge, in 1983 and had a daughter, Brooke and a son, Nick, together. The family featured on the reality television show Hogan Knows Best.
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Hulk Hogan gestures to the audience during his Hulkamania Tour at the Burswood Dome in Perth, Australia in November 2009
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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Hulk Hogan attends the N.A.T.P.E. Convention in January 1994 in Florida
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The show was a hit, but Nick struggled with fame and was involved in a number of high-speed car accidents. The worst came in 2007, when his 22-year-old friend and passenger, John Graziano, was left paralysed.
In his autobiography, Hulk Hogan: My Life Outside the Ring, he revealed how the crash left him suicidal.
He said: 'Here I was nearly four months later, consumed by thoughts of John Graziano, who was still barely clinging to life in a hospital bed.
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'I took another swig from that bottle of rum. I got angry at the cops and the media and everyone who blamed my son for hurting John. It was an accident, a horrible accident.
'I could feel the life draining out of me. Not from a cut on my body but a wound somewhere deeper.
'It had me curling my index finger on the trigger of a loaded handgun and putting it in my mouth. Why not end it?'
The couple divorced, with Linda citing that Hogan had been unfaithful, which the wrestler denied.
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He married Jennifer McDaniel in 2010, but they divorced 12 years later. In 2023, he wed yoga instructor Sky Daily.
In the summer, Hogan had roared on stage at the Republican Convention: 'Let Trumpamania make America Great Again!'
Yelled by a wrestler who became bigger than the ring.
President Trump paid tribute to the wrestler whom he called "a great friend" and the "Hulkster".
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"Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way - Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart," he posted on social media.
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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How Hulk Hogan's family life fell apart: From hit reality TV show with his children to cheating scandals, leaked sex tapes and a bitter divorce - with third wife set to take staggering share of WWE icon's fortune after death
A larger-than-life character who became an undisputed legend of wrestling as a young man, Hulk Hogan captured the attention of the public in his later years for far different reasons. The maverick, who transcended his sport and became a household name across the globe, died last week at his home in Clearwater, Florida, after suffering cardiac arrest aged 71. He'd survived many a scandal in the years before his death and was arguably one of the most controversial figures in sporting history. There was a leaked sex-tape including a racist rant, an affair with his daughter's best friend, and political stances which turned even some the Hulksters' most avid fans against him. What left Hollywood Hogan 'heartbroken' in his final months, however, was a rift which tore him away from his family. At the time of his death, he hadn't spoken to his daughter Brooke for more than two years, with his ex-wife Linda accusing him of tearing his own family apart. 'We're in the worst mess,' she claimed in an astonishing video in March. But how did a family so close-knit, who once starred in their own reality show, become so fractured? Six foot 8in Hogan, born Terry Bollea, began his journey into wrestling in 1976 when he was scouted to enter the sport after idolising Dusty Rhodes and 'Superstar' Billy Graham during his youth. It wasn't until eight years later that the muscle mountain earned himself a full-time spot in the WWF, a platform which would shoot Hogan to stardom over the proceeding years. But 1983 wasn't only significant in terms of the Georgia-born wrestler's career - it was also the year he tied the knot with his first wife Linda. The pair hit it off immediately when they met two years earlier, as Hogan recalled in his 2009 autobiography: 'There was just something about Linda. She didn't care about the fame or the wrestling thing - she saw me, Terry, the person. That meant everything to me.' 'The good ol' days' in the 1980s, as Linda referred them in a tribute to Hogan following his passing, were indeed seemingly filled with love between the newly-weds. As the blonde behemoth rose to the top of Wrestlemania donning his iconic red and white costume, he and Linda were raising their two children, Brooke (born in 1988) and Nick (born in 1990). The family became the subject of interest from a number of production companies as the kids grew older and the popularity of reality TV boomed. After the astounding success of The Osbournes - which followed the late Ozzy Osbourne and his family at their Los Angeles home - Hogan was first pitched a television series in 2002, but turned the proposition down. The divisive superstar, then aged 50, agreed to allow cameras into his home three years later, with the first episode of the iconic 'Hogan Knows Best' airing in July 2005. The wrestler later revealed that he only agreed to the show in a bid help his children kickstart their own careers. 'I was offered lots of reality shows when I was making my career comeback against The Rock,' he told Fox News. 'But I kept saying no. Years later, it was my daughter's career and my son's racing career that we were thinking about it.' While warning his family 'what they were getting themselves into', Hogan hoped the series could show a different side to the bellowing wrestler the public had become accustomed to. 'They (fans) don't realise that I go to soccer games, play frisbee, watch The Lion King and start crying,' he candidly revealed in one of the show's early episodes. Producers tried to portray Hogan as a gentle giant, with the wrestler devoting himself to his daughter's career. Cameras would follow him and Brooke at label meetings, recording studios and their family home. But while Hogan may have thought he was helping his aspiring popstar spouse, viewers branded him overbearing and controlling. He monitored her phone calls, interrogated her boyfriends and, in one shocking scene, attached a tracker to her car. He seemed far more of a hinderance to Brooke's singing career than a help. The blundering blonde was often an embarrassment to his daughter as he tried to secure her a record deal. In one amusing scene, he even hired an airplane banner to send a message to American producer Scott Storch. 'YO STORCH, SIGN MY DAUGHTER ALREADY, SHE'S THE BOMB!', it read. The series garnered a huge wave of attention, but it ultimately came crashing down as quickly as it rose to prominence. Hogan Knows Best was cancelled after four seasons in 2007 amid the breakdown of Hulk and his wife Lisa's 26-year marriage over the bombshell accusation that he had cheated with his daughter's best friend, Christiane Plante. A 'furious' Linda filed for divorce after learning of her husband's adultery, which came after rumours of various flings circulated. The pair's relationship had reportedly been on the rocks for years, with Linda admitting 'sometimes they hated each other' during the filming of Hogan Knows Best. Hogan however denied allegations of cheating in his 2009 My Life Outside The Ring autobiography, despite Christiane confirming she and the sporting icon had enjoyed a brief romance. 'My relationship with Hulk began at a time when he and Linda privately knew their marriage was ending,' she said in an interview with the National Enquirer. 'She had left him already, although no official papers had been filed. He is a good man, good father, and good friend, and he and I grew close at a time when he was going through a very difficult period. It seemed right then, but I know it was wrong.' The scandalous affair marked the beginning of Hogan and his daughter's long-lasting feud, with Brooke taking to MySpace accusing her father of 'betrayal'. Linda claimed the wrestler had enjoyed a romance with Brooke's best friend (pictured with Brooke in 2006) Linda filed for divorce just days after learning of Hulk's affair, which the wrestler denied (pictured together in 2006) 'When your best friend and one of your closest family members that you have loved unconditionally since your first day on this earth, betray you together, you could MAYBE find it in yourself to forgive today,' she posted. 'But you will NEVER forget the hurt they caused you and how it hurt the people who mean the most to you.' Linda and Hulk's divorce was finalised two years later in 2009. As part of the settlement, she took a huge portion of her former lover's riches. Linda seized 70 per cent of their liquid assets, 40 per cent ownership of Hulk's various business and the couple's £2.23million Florida home. But the confirmation of their divorce was far from the end of Hulk - who moved on just a year later with his second wife Jennifer McDaniel - and Linda's troubles in court. Hulk accused his ex-wife of being an abusive alcoholic who threatened to beat their son with a wine bottle in his 2009 memoir. By this time, news of 48-year-old Linda's new 'toyboy' Charley Hill, just 19, had been made public. Her new lover also sparked a fiery response from Brooke, who accused her mother of 'smoking all her cares away and having a play-date' in her 2009 song Dear Mom... Two years later however and it was time for Linda to have her say in her own autobiography, aptly titled Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes. The reality star claimed she lived in fear of Hogan killing her in one of his drug-fueld rages during their marriage. She wrote: 'He tore my shirt, held me down on the bed with his hands around my throat. I was afraid he would kill me in one his rages.' Linda said she chose not to speak about the alleged abuse prior to the memoir as she didn't want to end her husband's glittering career at the forefront of WWE. In a bombshell allegation, she also accused Hogan of engaging in a sexual relationship with his fellow WWE star Brutus Beefcake - something the two wrestlers vehemently denied. The accusations of abuse prompted a lawsuit from Hogan, who sued for defamation claiming the abuse 'exposed him to distrust, hatred, contempt and ridicule.' The lawsuit was however dismissed in 2012 - the same year Hulk's biggest controversy surfaced. It came when gossip blog Gawker posted a sex tape of Hulk and Heather Clem, the wife of his then-best friend Bubba the Love Sponge, which had been taken in 2006 without the star's knowledge. Hulk, who said he'd been given the blessing of his pal ahead of the sexual encounter, claimed the video was taken at a 'low point' during his and Linda's crumbling marriage. But what was most damning about the leaked video was that it captured a racist rant from Hogan about his daughter dating a black man. In 2015, several publications reported transcripts from court documents in which the blonde hunk could be heard saying: 'I mean, I'd rather if she was going to f*** some n*****, I'd rather her marry an eight-foot-tall n***** worthy a hundred million dollars! 'Like a basketball player. I guess we're all a little racist. f*****g n*****!' Hogan sued Gawker, the publication who released the sex tape, and eventually agreed to a $31million (£23.4m) settlement (pictured with his lawyers in 2012) The tirade seriously tainted the WWE legend's legacy, with him chucked out of the franchise and admitting he was left 'at an all-time low'. 'Please forgive me,' the 12-time world champ pleaded - both to America as a whole and to his daughter Brooke, whose boyfriend was the focus of the then 62-year-old's racist tirade. 'If anybody should have disowned me it should have been her,' said Hogan. 'I was upset about something that happened between her and her boyfriend.' Just days after the video sent shockwaves through the world of Showbiz, Hogan filed a lawsuit against Gawker claiming emotional distress and invasion of privacy. He was secretly being backed by billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who is thought to have paid for the lawsuit in the first place. Theil allegedly involved himself with the aim of destroying Gawker, a publication which outed him as homosexual in 2007. And Hogan managed to do just that, with a Florida jury awarding him $115million in compensatory damages and $25m in punitive damages. Both parties however later agreed to a $31m settlement, which left Gawker bankrupt. While dealing with the tainting of his public image, Hulk was too contending with the the breakdown of his relationship with his daughter in the years before his death. Following his scandalous affair with her best-friend and a number of 'separate reasons', Brooke ultimately became estranged from her father in 2023. She had supported Hulk through 'almost 25 surgeries' as his health declined in his latter years, but the wrestling icon apparently 'didn't want' her by his side anymore. 'All of a sudden he didn't want me at surgeries... everything started getting covered in a thick veil,' she wrote in a tribute to her father following his death. 'We never had a "big fight". My father and I never "fought". It was a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know, or understand.' Brooke and Hulk had their final conversation over the phone a couple of weeks before he married his third wife Sky Daily in 2023. On that call, Brooke expressed her love and concern for him - telling Hogan that he shouldn't be working so hard due to his declining health. Despite her pleas for him to enjoy more of his life, those requests fell on deaf ears. The pair didn't speak again. Despite multiple attempts from her husband, Steven Oleksy, to fix their relationship, including when Brooke almost died in childbirth in January of this year, Hulk 'responded coldly and never made an effort to meet Brooke's kids,' per TMZ. The final public rift in the Hogan family came just a couple months before Hulk's death when his ex-wife Linda accused him of being a 'complete liar' and 'sex addict'. She too claimed that the family was in 'the worst mess'. Brooke later retaliated, hitting back at her mother by alleging that her father was not the only reason behind the shocking family divide, claiming she was 'verbally and mentally abused' during her childhood. Hulk's daughter Brooke (centre) is thought to have removed herself from his will in 2023 (pictured with Linda and Hulk in 2004) After Brooke's stunning response, Linda then took a dramatic U-turn by defending Hogan and branding her daughter a 'narcissist.' The family didn't get the chance to reconcile before Hogan passed away earlier this month. A source told the Daily Mail in April that he was 'heartbroken' over the deterioration of his and Brooke's relationship. Both Brooke and Linda paid tribute to their father following his passing, with his daughter hailing their 'deeper than words connection' and his former wife of 26 years admitting 'I loved Hulkster more than he loved me!' His son Nick, who took a neutral stance on the fallout and spent time with his father in his final years, also paid tribute. He wrote: 'Thank you for being the best dad in the world and thank you for being my best friend. I love you so much Big Dog and will miss you forever.' The question that now persists is, who will inherit Hulk's fortune? He's estimated to have left behind an estate worth around $25million, which includes high-value assets such as his $11.5m Clearwater mansion and a number of business ventures including his Hogan's Hangout restaurant and the recently launched Real American Beer. Under Florida's spousal elective share statute, Hogan's third third wife Sky is entitled to 30 per cent of his assets despite the couple only being married two years. It remains unclear where the rest of the fortune will land but, according to TMZ, Brooke won't inherit a penny. The 37-year-old mother-of-two reportedly asked to be removed from Hogan's will in 2023 over fears she would be caught in a bitter financial battle in the wake of her father's death. Brooke, who apparently did not trust anyone in the wrestler's inner circle, said she's never been motivated by her father's fortune.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Real reason why Hulk Hogan was estranged from daughter Brooke revealed by her husband
Brooke Hogan stopped speaking to her father, late WWE legend Hulk Hogan, because of the way he treated her - not because of his new wife, Sky Daily. That is according to Brooke's husband, former NHL star Steven Oleksy, who has lifted the lid on the estrangement in the years before Hogan's death last month. The wrestling icon suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away at the age of 71. By then, Hogan had gone nearly a decade without speaking to Brooke, 36. The family rift spilled into the open earlier this year but now Oleksy has opened up on why Brooke turned away from her dad. He told PEOPLE that it was 'not the case at all' that Brooke cut communications because she disapproved of his new marriage to Daily and accused Hogan of pushing that false narrative. 'My wife will say it — it had nothing to do with his new wife. It had to do with the way he treated (Brooke),' Oleksy said. 'It was a situation where she loved her dad very, very much.' But Oleksy claimed that Brooke paid a heavy price for standing by her father, who found himself at the center of several scandals - including when he used racial slurs in reference to Brooke's ex-boyfriend. That support had 'really taken a toll on her,' her husband said. Oleksy and Brooke tied the knot in June 2022 without Hogan. Oleksy claims that the wrestling legend told him he 'doesn't do weddings or funerals anymore.' And the final straw, according to Oleksy, was a 'series of phone calls' between father and daughter when 'there were some things said, and a lot of mistruths.'
The Herald Scotland
7 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Country music singer Jeannie Seely dies aged 85
Known as Miss Country Soul for her unique vocal style, Seely was a trailblazer for women in country music, celebrated for her spirited nonconformity and for a string of undeniable hits in the 1960s and 1970s. Her second husband, Gene Ward, died in December. In May, Seely revealed that she was in recovery after undergoing multiple back surgeries, two emergency procedures and spending 11 days in the ICU. She also suffered a bout of pneumonia. 'Rehab is pretty tough, but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine,' she said in a statement at the time. 'The unsinkable Seely is working her way back.' Dolly Parton was one of several country music luminaries paying her tribute on Friday, saying she met Seely when they were both young and starting out in Nashville. 'She was one of my dearest friends,' Parton said on her social media accounts. Jeannie Seely performs at the 2018 medallion ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville (Photo by Al Wagner/Invision/AP) 'I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humour. We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed.' Seely was born in July 1940, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, about two hours north of Pittsburgh and raised in nearby Townville. Her love of country music was instant; her mother sang, and her father played the banjo. When she was a child, she sang on local radio shows and performed on local television. She had a number of country hits in the '60s and '70s, including three Top 10 hits on what is now known as Billboard's hot country songs chart: Don't Touch Me; 1967's I'll Love You More (Than You Need); and 1973's Can I Sleep In Your Arms?, adapted from the folk song, Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister? In the years since, Seely continued to release albums, perform, and host, regularly appearing on country music programming. Her songs are considered classics, and have been recorded by everyone from Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Connie Smith to Ernest Tubb, Grandpa Jones, and Little Jimmy Dickens. She appeared nearly 5,400 times at the Grand Ole Opry, which she had been a member of since 1967. Grubbs said Saturday's Grand Ole Opry show would be dedicated to Seely.
