On The MMA Hour, Seagal vehemently denied the Gene LeBell dookie pants story. "Judo" Gene LeBell, one of the true legends of the martial arts world, has passed away at the age of 89. He was a good person, so I am sure he is doing well where he is at now. Congratulations & we all love you. Extant fight footage shows a stocky LeBell, probably 60 to 70 pounds heavier than he was when he debuted in judo, cautiously circling and then struggling to throw the much smaller man, who exhibited sound wrestling defense. He won the Amateur Athletic Union National Judo Championships in 1954 We cant have blood! Gaffer tape stanched the bleeding, and LeBell managed six more takes. Ivan Gene LeBell was born on Oct. 9, 1932, in Los Angeles. His work as a stuntman began in earnest in the 1960s and continued on TV series like Route 66, I Spy, The Incredible Hulk and The Fall Guy, in which Lee Majors starred as a film stuntman. Joseph Davis, Gene is truly a genuine Good person and a great friend. During one of the bouts, he said, he heard his mothers voice above the din of the crowd shouting: Gene! Midge and Gene were married twice. His death was announced by Kellie Cunningham, his trustee and business manager, who did not specify the cause. the Rock, in 1999. The athletic youngster tested himself with such self-imposed challenges as scaling 60-foot-high lighting stanchions to replace spent bulbs. Roberts, Nobody in the world more respected!! On the set of The Green Hornet, LeBell struck up a friendship with martial arts icon Bruce Lee, and they began cross-training, with LeBell showing Lee his pain-inflicting holds, locks and throws, and Lee demonstrating his lightning-quick kicks and strikes. Congratulations my brother!!! (James C. Udel, Variety, 2018), Gene started training in judo at a young age, and at the age of 20 in 1954, he won National AAU Heavyweight Judo Championship and the USA Overall Judo Championship title. Freddie Blassie, who starred for Aileen Eaton and Mike LeBell for decades, wrote in his autobiography Legends of Wrestling: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks that LeBells believability in the ring wasnt what mattered to Mike and Aileenit was his credibility: When the family needed an enforcer to step into the ring with a wrestler who didnt want to go along with the program, all they had to do was open Genes bedroom door and tell him to get into his wrestling gear.. Gene LeBell talks about Bruce Lee. You truly are a one-off, a living legend. Kyler a Trade Chip? Gene was an actor and stuntman in Hollywood productions for over fifty years with more than 150 acting credits and 250 stunt credits. A fight scene on the sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet earned LeBell his SAG card. LeBell turned 80-years-old on October 9, 2012. It was LeBells first movieland lesson: Always let the star win. Ivan Gene LeBell, a legendary figure across multiple industries, died at the age of 89 with the news breaking on Tuesday evening. Mr. Lewis, he recalled, asked him: Do you want to roll? All 259 picks are in. Brandon Recor, Congratulations!!! Over the course of this six-decade career, LeBell had a hand in training many prominent players in the entertainment, wrestling, and MMA worlds. "Judo" Gene LeBell the "Godfather of Grappling" was both a renowned ex-world champion in both wrestling/judo, and one of Hollywood's busiest Brand-Exclusive PLEs Returning? Judo Gene LeBell the Godfather of Grappling was both a renowned ex-world champion in both wrestling/judo, and one of Hollywoods busiest stuntmen. The two became close friends, but the actors untimely death stymied LeBells chance for future speaking parts. Mr. Lee, it seems, was hurting the other stuntmen. Jimmy Roberts, Gene youve always told me Im the best but your THE GREATEST Love ya, Manny Perry, I owe everything to Gene. ; The Apprentice: To Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Karl Gotch and Lou Thesz, among other guys. Bruce Lee. He was 89. Christian Fletcher, Congratulations Gene! He deserves this award. Genes feature film appearances include Blue Hawaii (1965), Planet of the Apes (1968), Raging Bull (1980), Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), Bad Guys (1986), Hard to Kill (1990), Die Hard 2 (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Ed Wood (1994), L.A. His roles went from such television series as Mission: Impossible, I Spy, The Wild Wild West, Baretta, Married with Children, and Baywatch to feature films Raging Bull, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and Ed Wood. One of his last appearances was in Men In Black II in 2002. They also trained together, with Mr. LeBells expertise as a grappler meeting Mr. Lees fist-flashing kung fu brilliance. Freddy Bouceigues, No one deserves this more then you uncle Gene. He often played referees and sometimes a thug, a henchman, a bartender or, as in Raging Bull (1990), a ring announcer. Mary Karcz, Hi Gene, Id just like to Congratulate you on your receiving the Taurus Lifetime Achievement Award. When he entered the 1954 AAU National Judo championship as a lightly regarded 160-pound heavyweight, he pinned 1952 Pan American Games gold medalist Johnny Osako in his first match, then went on to win both his weight class as well as the overall tournament. Kenpo Master Ed Parker asked LeBell to take on the fighter after a challenge was issued stating that a boxer could easily beat any martial artist. Kryptonite. LeBell gave Browne one of the coveted patches that he always had on hand to make a fan smile. Love ya, Buddy Joe Hooker, My dear friend Gene. Judo is wrestling with handles, he told Black Belt magazine in 1994. Ed Lewis. Congrats to the amazing living legend John Stoneham, Jr. Congratulations Gene, you know I love you, and Im so very very proud of you. Its with immense sadness to hear about the passing of a great man and dear friend, Gene LeBell. After, my arms were trembling with strain, you told me to stop and smiled at me, and said kid, dont quit your day job. Scott Wilder, Thank you Sensei for paving the way for martial artists in this biz! (Hans Gutknecht/LA Daily News), Gene LeBell teaches grappling at Hayastan MMA Academy. It couldnt go to a better man. LeBell wore a gi for the fight, and Savage had his body greased to make it difficult for LeBell to grab him. It always put a smile on my face when you would call the SAMP office. While working with rising martial arts star Bruce Lee on the set of The Green Hornet, LeBell was instructed by the stunt coordinator to subdue the actorwho was said to be terrorizing the stuntman for a particular sceneand did so by quickly grabbing Lee in a firemans carry and running around the set with him. Karl Gotch. Read full article. Choke him!, The announcer observed, I think Gene LeBells mother is prejudiced, Mr. LeBell recalled to The Los Angeles Times. Congrats Rick Avery, Congratulations Uncle Gene! It has been an honor to work with you ,and see how much you have done, over the years. LeBell thought it was because he had red hair before someone told him it was because of his pink attire. Proud to be your friend! This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Humbled to be 1 of many. Stoked I get to make it this year. In his book Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling, long-time MMA journalist Jonathan Snowden described LeBell as a horrible professional wrestler from a technical perspective, a tough guy who looked soft in the ring and remained stuck on the undercard of his brother Mike LeBells wrestling events, wrestling under his own name or beneath a mask as the Hangman. He did claim to have won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1960 from Pat OConnor in a match in Dory Funks Amarillo, Texas, territory, repeating this assertion to both Black Belt and Sports Illustrated, but the victory was almost certainly part of a wrestling story line, with LeBell accidentally striking the Texas wrestling commissioner with the belt and forcing its immediate return to OConnor. Now I get beat up by every wimp in Hollywood and make thousands of dollars. Published 9 months ago on August 10, 2022 By FOX3 Now Staff Combat Sports Pioneer Judo Gene Lebell has passed at 89 Years Old. We are incredibly sad to report that our hero, dear friend and Stunts Unlimited brother passed away yesterday, August 9th, 2022 at the age of 89. He worked on series such as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Big Valley, I Spy, The Munsters, Batman, Mission: Impossible and The Green Hornet, to name just a few. (Gene LeBell Biography), LeBell transitioned from amateur to AAU national judo champ in 1954 and catapulted to national attention but as a pro wrestler, playing Hank the Hangman; he made a living by losing every match. Way to go Uncle Gene!!! Billy Robinson. LeBell established himself as a martial artist long before he moved to Hollywood. For 89 years, few did that work better than Judo Gene LeBell. Confused by William Beaudines direction, LeBell ended up being chomped by a 700-pound bear named Victor. But following an overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday night, the Bruins will be watching the rest of the playoffs from homelike so many previous Presidents Trophy winners. Alan Oliney, Hey Gene, Thanks for being a four-star mentor to so many and thanks for being Gene Lebell. Birthday: October 9, 1932 How Old - Age: 90 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. Instead they came to appreciate their different skill sets, and Mr. LeBell became one of Mr. Lees favorite stuntmen. There is no one alive on this planet that deserves this Life Time Achievement Award more than you. LeBells wrestling fortunes variedhis brother Mike told Sports Illustrated in 1995 that he had fired Gene on several occasions, noting that sometimes even I thought he was crazybut his career continued its upward trajectory as he moved into the Hollywood stunt work that would see him participating in thousands of projects over the years. and who wore nicknames like the toughest man alive with prideit is part of what made him such a legendary and colorful figure in Hollywood history. A teacher to many of the sports greats, his influence is felt throughout @WWE to this day. Despite this long legacy in the worlds of pro wrestling and MMA, LeBell, always chasing the smart money, never hung around too long on the mat in either sport: Theres only 1 in 1,000 MMA fighters who make money, he told Black Belt magazine in 2014. She gets in that ring, and she owns it mentally, said LeBell, then 78, who couldnt resist touching upon his pro wrestling background and growling to describe Rousey colorfully. Rouseys husband, Travis Browne, a former top-ranked UFC heavyweight fighter, met LeBell before meeting his future wife. It wasnt exactly an elite-level boxer facing down a grappler, but it did offer a variation on the Ultimate Fighting Championship model that LeBells long-time acquaintances, the Gracie family, would partner with Bob Meyrowitz to launch in 1993right down to the initial audience confusion and cautious feeling-out process between the athletes. One Defining Question for Each Second-Round NBA Playoff Series. 160 MulciberTenebras 4 mo. Mr. LeBell never became as famous as Mr. Lee, who died in 1973, but into his early 80s when he played, among other roles, a corpse falling from a coffin in an episode of the TV series Castle he remained busy as one of Hollywoods most sought-after stuntmen. Mr. LeBell died on Aug. 9 at his home in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. You too? His first marriage ended with his wifes death; he also married and divorced two other women. Realizing that judo was no way to make a living, he shifted to professional wrestling later in 1955. Ronda Rousey. She will hurt you: Ronda Rousey, 24, owns it in MMA ring. Tributes came from around the world following the announcement of his passing, including on Twitter from Chuck Norris, Triple H, Titus Welliver and others. However, he had one last sports achievement on the horizon: an actual mixed martial arts boutsaid by some to be the first of its kind, though there were boxer-versus-wrestler antecedents in prior decadesin 1963 against middleweight boxing gatekeeper Milo Savage, whose lengthy career was winding down. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Norman Howell, Congratulations Gene LeBell an incredible Honor an so well deserved. Few people know the amount of time, energy, dedication, innovation , and pure love you have graced us with in your illustrious career! Mr. LeBell is survived by his wife, Eleanor (Martindale) LeBell, who is known as Midge and whom he married twice and divorced once; his son, David; his daughter, Monica Pandis; his stepson, Danny Martindale; his stepdaughter, Stacey Martindale; and four grandchildren. So happy for you. The athletic youngster tested himself with such self-imposed challenges as scaling 60-foot-high lighting stanchions to replace spent bulbs. Gene choked him like he did me & everyone else. He is loved by so many and admired by countless others. As wellback in the day..i drove out to ride motos with Gene & some friends at his area in Frazier Park. Your IP: Logan Holladay, Congratulations to Uncle Gene for a lifetime of stunts and terrorizing the stunt people; either riding dirt bikes or putting them to sleep. He also trained with wrestlers Lou Thesz, and Karl Gotch while growing up. Gene LeBell remained a towering figure in the history and expansion of mixed martial arts and sports entertainment. Combat Sports Pioneer Judo Gene Lebell has passed at 89 Years Old. Roddy Piper. If I have seen further it has been by standing on the shoulders of giants like you!! It goes to a great man of strength, integrity and honor. Shes gonna mutilate you. Love ya !!! ; Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Mostly averted by the ever goody Gene, but according to You are a true living legend! If you want to do a whizzer throw in wrestling, its the same as an uchimata [inner thigh throw] in judo. Bob Debbie Hennessey, Congrats Gene. Hollywood stuntman and martial artist Gene LeBell has died. The It List: Menudo docuseries makes the case for Menendez brothers' innocence, new doc sheds light on early years of King Charles, Megan Fox goes blonde in 'Johnny & Clyde' and all the best in pop culture the week of May 1, 2023. If I could get my arms around you I would hug you. Instructed through brutal tutorials by professional wrestlers and old-school masters, he developed adult skills by 13. After an illustrious judo career, Gene tried his hand at professional wrestling, and actually won the heavyweight title in Amarillo, Texas. You have given so much to our community and film business! Later that year, Mr. LeBell was arrested and charged with murder, along with a pornographer, Jack Ginsburgs, in the killing of a private detective. To this day you are still teaching and sharing your wealth of knowledge with the next generation! LeBell was also a judo and grappling prodigy. ago Well done sir! It hurt. Eaton was the first woman inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Mr. LeBell also worked over the years with many wrestlers, including Rowdy Roddy Piper and Ronda Rousey, and trained with Chuck Norris, the martial artist and actor. Ian Avabe, You Rock a Master of all well deserved Si PJ Hooper Kelly, Congratulations Gene.

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