The second time, they said their vows on a motorcycle as Gene performed a wheelie with Midge holding on, followed close behind by the minister on a four-wheeler. Allen Lopa, Congrats to a legend!! I have been with him for so many years. And he was knocked around a few times by James Caan. As per our current Database, Gene LeBell is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). In 1976, Mr. LeBell was the referee in a match between Muhammad Ali, then the heavyweight boxing champion, and the wrestler Antonio Inoki. He not only tried to help me get into fighting, but he also helped me think about life afterward before anybody would even entertain the thought. Gene LeBell remained a towering figure in the history and expansion of mixed martial arts and sports entertainment. Instructed through brutal tutorials by professional wrestlers and old-school masters, he developed adult skills by 13. Freddy Bouceigues, No one deserves this more then you uncle Gene. Gene LeBell, regarded as Americas first martial arts sensation before parlaying his athleticism into a career as a professional wrestler, actor and stuntman, has died at the age of 89, his family confirmed. I am thanking them for both he and I.. 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. That and more from a full weekend of picks. It hurt. I made very good money, and it led me into a career in stunt work.. Gary Davis, So awesome!!! My first match, the official time, and his time differed by two seconds, and I was like (expletive) the official time, Genes time is what matters, so I tattooed his time. Rousey and mother De Mars gifted LeBell a new stopwatch for his 80th birthday in 2012. In 1963 Gene took on Milo Savage in a mixed fight. Ya big goofball!!! Chuck & Charlotte Waters, Special man and amazing human being, so deserving of this recognition. Anyone can read what you share. Was I embarrassed!, His mothers connections to Hollywood brought Mr. LeBell early stunt work with John Wayne and a friendship with George Reeves, the star of the television show Adventures of Superman.. In a recent conversation with Bob Calhoun, the coauthor of LeBells autobiography The Godfather of Grappling, the judoka, then 87 years old, said he was surprised that Lee didnt try to counter me, so I think he was more surprised than anything else. In the years that followed, Lee worked with LeBell to incorporate grappling into his films, defeating Sammo Hung with an arm bar in Enter the Dragon and Chuck Norriswho would become another long-time collaborator of LeBellsvia chokehold in Way of the Dragon. It was a fascinating collection of people mourning too, from the world of pro wrestling, mixed martial arts, acting, and beyond. Into his 80s, LeBell was still working as a Nevada and California Athletic Commission MMA judge, scoring fights ringside with his ever-present bag of candy, which he always shared, tucked inside a larger bag resting at his feet. WebPeople called him the Toughest Man Alive. During one of the bouts, he said, he heard his mothers voice above the din of the crowd shouting: Gene! 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. His countless stunt appearances over more than 1,000 TV episodes and films range from Samuel Z. Arkoff B-movie cheapies to studio tentpoles such as The Killer Elite, Planet of the Apes, RoboCop, Raging Bull and Rocky (during which he warned Sylvester Stallone that the picture would surely flop). Scott Wilder, Thank you Sensei for paving the way for martial artists in this biz! Performance & security by Cloudflare. Norman Howell, Congratulations Gene LeBell an incredible Honor an so well deserved. Blessed if you know him, crazy fun guy. There is no one alive on this planet that deserves this Life Time Achievement Award more than you. Ronda Rousey. Over his career, LeBell was bludgeoned, shot, run over, karate-chopped (he became friends with Bruce Lee) and drowned for $2,000 per week earning more than most lawyers during those days. (Hans Gutknecht/LA Daily News), Gene LeBell. As wellback in the day..i drove out to ride motos with Gene & some friends at his area in Frazier Park. At 20, he was walloped by John Wayne in Big Jim McLain (1952). What are you doing? LeBell remembers the helmer lamenting. if thirty people are watching, let them talk about it. Steph Curry Snuffed Out the Beam. WebIvan Gene LeBell was an American martial artist, actor, stunt performer, and former professional wrestler born on October 9, 1932. All my love and respect Pat Romano, Ya ya Uncle Gene , to one of the Gilberts favorite people . Congratulations my brother!!! He subsequently dominated auditions for the role of Mr. Kryptonite in the Superman TV series, which ran from 1952 to 1958; actor George Reeves, who played the Man of Steel, hired him on the spot after seeing his high-flying judo rolls and flips. His brother, Mike, a wrestling promoter, died in 2009. "Is he still People called him the Toughest Man Alive. Gene, I appreciate the things youve accomplished in life, and acknowledge your generosity to those you have helped to achieve theirs. And will it equate to a Super Bowl contender? Gene choked him like he did me & everyone else. I look at Gene as my second father. Michael Hughes, Thank you for being such an influence and inspiration to MANY! Mr. LeBell died on Aug. 9 at his home in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. His death was announced by Kellie Cunningham, his trustee who lives in Sherman Oaks and says he still takes in about Congratulations, Connie P Conrad Palmisano, Congratulations Uncle Gene for receiving the lifetime award. He is there to help you any time any where. 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. Congratulations Uncle Gene! Gene LeBell remained a towering figure in the history and expansion of mixed martial arts and sports entertainment. You have definitely earned it for all your contributions to the industry. The Hollywood stuntman Gene LeBell in the 1950s, when he was a professional wrestler. He won the Amateur Athletic Union National Judo Championships in 1954 GENE LEBELL OBITUARY Gene LeBell was a legendary stuntman and martial artist known for pioneering mixed martial arts who trained Bruce Lee. Very, very few people believed in me at the very beginning of my MMA career, you could literally count them on one hand. He was one of the people trying to convince my mom to let me do it, but he was also privately trying to convince me not to do it. Veteran Stuntman Gene LeBell, a.k.a. Wear this Award well my friend. He was a good man. He went on to win the both the Heavyweight and overall champion title 1955 as well. Still, he continued to get regular stunt work on TV. According to a 2014 interview in Black Belt, LeBell had no idea the fight would be as significant as later developments in the sport of MMA have made it. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Hamstrung by rules barring takedowns, strikes on the ground, and submission holds, the fight devolved into a tedious 15-round affair in which Ali taunted and showboated while Inoki crab-walked along the mat, kicking Alis legs. He has fought, trained and performed with a dizzying array of some of the most prolific athletes and actors in the world. As the story goes, LeBell set the choke up, Seagal said "Go" and Seagal promptly went. You always got the cool moves to Choke em Out .. stay healthy my friend .. Love, Troy Gilbert, Unreal. He was a wonderful man and was so good to so many. Its an honor to be your student and friend. For LeBell, one martial art naturally flowed into another; they were already mixing together in his curious mind. Mr. LeBell, left, with George Reeves, who played the title role on the television series Adventures of Superman, and Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane. Something went wrong. However, no context is provided for the encounterup until the fight, Booths martial arts credentials, unlike LeBells, are completely unknown, and he defeats Lee on the feet rather than with wrestling techniques. But he was old school he wouldnt say wrestling wasnt on the up and up.. May we all continue to learn from you and strive to reach the heights youve reached. Well deserved my friend, and sensei! Congratulations Gene Eric Norris, Gene LeBell is my hero and always has been. Lets get working, or Ill burn your houses down.. Awesome Steve Picerni. Gene was an actor and stuntman in Hollywood productions for over fifty years with more than 150 acting credits and 250 stunt credits. Brandon Recor, Congratulations!!! All my love and respect Matt Taylor, Aloha Uncle Gene, Mahalo for sharing your secret Hawaiian Hug mahalo for all your knowledge & advice that youve given. Judo Gene LeBell smiles as Gokor Chivichyan gives him a hug before blowing out the out candles on his birthday cake at the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood. Gene I have ridden on the back of his bike for one of his marathon wheelies.Pine Mtn Club so much fun. I tried to get your son some work but hes always at the beach. You truly are a one-off, a living legend. What, Exactly, Is the Detroit Lions Plan. I went up to Ed Strangler Lewis and said, I want to be a wrestler, Mr. LeBell was quoted as saying by the Slam Wrestling website in 2005. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer), Martial Arts Legend Gene LeBell spends some time feeding his bird friends outside of his Sherman Oaks home in 2006. LeBell was also a judo and grappling prodigy. 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. Congrats to the amazing living legend John Stoneham, Jr. Congratulations Gene, you know I love you, and Im so very very proud of you. The pictures above are from the TV show Fall Guy and I told Gene I didnt want to hit him on the bike and he said I dont want you to hit me eitheryou may hurt yourself. Congratulations Gene, you earned this award and no one in this world is taking it away from the Toughest man Alive. Jack Gill. Gene taught my three sons how to take every day life in the training under Gene. Mr. LeBell never became a big name in the ring or even a great wrestler, either under his own name or in a mask as the Hangman. But he gained notice in his role as an enforcer, in which he compelled other wrestlers to stick to the script, even when they didnt want to. Instead they came to appreciate their different skill sets, and Mr. LeBell became one of Mr. Lees favorite stuntmen. Hollywood stuntman and martial artist Gene LeBell has died. It was the long-running Lassie series that first tested LeBells mettle.