A teacher to many of the sports greats, his influence is felt throughout @WWE to this day. In 1976, Mr. LeBell refereed a match in Tokyo between Muhammad Ali, then the heavyweight boxing champion, and the wrestler Antonio Inoki. Will the Ravens Be Contending for the AFC Crown? (Hans Gutknecht/LA Daily News). LeBells students included AnnMaria De Mars, the first American to ever win a gold medal at the World Judo Championships in 1984, and De Mars daughter, Ronda Rousey, who became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo by winning bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before embarking on her illustrious MMA career. Andy Gill, Congratulations Gene !!! We cant have blood! Gaffer tape stanched the bleeding, and LeBell managed six more takes. I am so used to him being there. For LeBell, one martial art naturally flowed into another; they were already mixing together in his curious mind. His first marriage ended with his wifes death; he also married and divorced two other women. Even more appreciated by those of us choked out by you !!! The more you get hit in the nose, the richer you are. All my love and respect Pat Romano, Ya ya Uncle Gene , to one of the Gilberts favorite people . Gene LeBell One of the most colorful figures in the history of combat sports, who served as a bridge between Ed Strangler Lewis and Ronda Rousey, has died. Read full article. The couple wore matching red, white, and blue wedding attire and Midge wore flowers in her helmet. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer), Gene LeBell teaches grappling to students Roman Mitichyan and Dana Charvet at the Hayastan MMA Academy. 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. Ian Avabe, You Rock a Master of all well deserved Si PJ Hooper Kelly, Congratulations Gene. LeBells Rolodex is not just one hall of fame roster, but multiple, as hes played integral roles in the worlds of boxing, judo, wrestling, and Hollywood stunt-work. Mr. LeBell died on Aug. 9 at his home in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. Blessed if you know him, crazy fun guy. You always got the cool moves to Choke em Out .. stay healthy my friend .. Love, Troy Gilbert, Unreal. Over a legendary career as a judoka, pro wrestler, and Hollywood stuntman, LeBell was a pioneer in mixed martial arts and choreographed violenceand one of the toughest guys in the business. With love and affection, Sandy Gimpel, Congrats on your big nite!! Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. You can hit em, eye-gouge em.. We couldnt prouder. 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. Im honored to know you! Ross Clay, Gene is the most unselfish and most giving person I know. 160 MulciberTenebras 4 mo. (Gene LeBell Biography). Heffay Cadiente, Big congrats Uncle Gene! 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. Browne put a patch featuring Rousey and Lebell in his gym bag, and there it remained for five years before he met, fell in love with and married Rousey. The athletic youngster tested himself with such self-imposed challenges as scaling 60-foot-high lighting stanchions to replace spent bulbs. Howard Beck on How Much Longer the Warriors Can Keep Winning, LeBron James Vs. Stephen Curry, and the 76ers Without Joel Embiid. Congratulations Gene Eric Norris, Gene LeBell is my hero and always has been. LeBell wore a gi for the fight, and Savage had his body greased to make it difficult for LeBell to grab him. Later that year, Mr. LeBell was arrested and charged with murder, along with a pornographer, Jack Ginsburgs, in the killing of a private detective. The belt was immediately seized from the shocked Gene, which in later years would cause him to comment, Well, at least I was the champ for 12 seconds and I retired as champion. (Gene LeBell Biography), Gene went on to fight numerous opponents over the years including practitioners from other fighting arts that scoffed at Genes prowess, however they learned the hard way that Genes superb grappling skills were the real deal. He successfully defended his title the next year at the Olympic Auditorium, in front of his mother. LeBell was victorious, choking out the boxer in the fourth round, sparking a riot in the auditorium. They all grew up to be great young men, James is a newspaper writer for various companies, David is a Federal Police Officer and Matthew is an accountant and they all, always talk about the days they train under Gene. Fighters practically raised the young LeBell at the Main Street Gym where he started going at 7 years old, Midge LeBell said. Best Hugh Aodh OBrien, All Rights Reserved.Web design by My Life at Speed Digital Services, Stan Barrett, Paul Newman, and Breaking Land Speed Records, Annual Stunts Unlimited Directory Membership Payment, The Stunts Unlimited Directory Membership 20% Off Promotion, actor and stuntman in Hollywood productions, https://stuntsunlimited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Jon-Boucher-One-of-my-personal-favorite-Gene-Lebell-television-appearances-as-Tarzan-McGirk-taking-on-the-mysterious-Masked-Marvel-on-an-episode-of-The-Munsters..mp4, Pitcher Turned Stuntman, Jophery Brown (SU), How Fast & Furious Pull Off INSANE Car Stunts. Tanner Gill, Congrats Uncle Gene!! Oops. Love, Greg & Barbie Barnett, Youve been my hero my entire career. Ill always remember the special times we shared together. LeBells roots in combat sports ran deep. "Judo" Gene LeBell the "Godfather of Grappling" was both a renowned ex-world champion in both wrestling/judo, and one of Hollywood's busiest Gene LeBell - Age, Bio, Faces and Rick Seaman, Well Geno, they said it couldnt be done but youve done it again. Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts! You have given so much to our community and film business! Here are our grades for all 32 squads. Ill be there to shake your hand tomorrow. Interviewed in May while luxuriating in his hot tub at home,LeBell teaches that fear and failure are essential components of his art: Without the possibility of failure, he says, theres no believability to the stunt on-screen., Event Technology Firm Helps U2 Take Spectacle on the Road, Pros Explain Intricacies of Emmy Sound Categories, Malta Makes Push for More Global Production Biz With New Soundstages. One undisputed fact is that they met for the first time on the set of The Green Hornet. Long overdue! I am thanking them for both he and I.. As Lukas Matsson closes in on the acquisition of Waystar, Kendall pitches a revolutionary product: fancy retirement homes? the Rock, in 1999. Jimmy Roberts, Gene youve always told me Im the best but your THE GREATEST Love ya, Manny Perry, I owe everything to Gene. So, congratulation Gene LeBell from the Winburn families for receiving the Taurus Lifetime Achievement Award. He deserves this award. So well deserved!! We cant have blood! Gaffer tape stanched the bleeding, and LeBell managed six more takes. Mr. LeBell died on Aug. 9 at his home in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. People saying youre the toughest guy is great, he told Sports Illustrated in 1995, but it still doesnt add up to one car payment. The fun motorcycle rides we used to go on out at the Pig Farm and at your mountain house. Few will live a life as extraordinary as Gene LeBell has. 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. Kryptonite. James C. Udel. How much can Joel Embiid give the Sixers against the Celtics? Craig Hosking, Congratulations Gene you are a legend! He had earlier been an American Amateur Union judo champion. (James C. Udel, Variety, 2018). Find out who should. Brandon Recor, Congratulations!!! It was the long-running Lassie series that first tested LeBells mettle. 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. God Bless you Gene and your lovely wife and thanks you for all the things you taught me. Aug. 11Gene LeBell, regarded as America's first martial arts sensation before parlaying his athleticism into a career as a professional wrestler, actor and The only thing I have against MMA is they dont have a retirement plan. 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. Birthday: October 9, 1932 How Old - Age: 90 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. Instructed through brutal tutorials by professional wrestlers and old-school masters, he developed adult skills by 13. Michael Hilow, Congratulations to the prettiest man in Hollywood, and the reason the phrase Bad Ass was created.. No one is more deserving than my buddy, and everyones Uncle.. Uncle Gene! Aloha, Brian Keaulana, Congratulations Gene! He totally supported me, he was telling my mom to let me do it, and he was telling me, Ive won every R-E-A-L fight and never made a penny and lost every R-E-E-L fight and I am comfortably retired, think about that kid. He said he would help me out with this MMA stuff, but he was always trying to get me stunt jobs and to meet the right people in the stunt works so I would have somewhere to go after fighting. Congratulations my brother!!! Best to You Gene !! 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. 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. Mr. LeBell said Mr. Inoki would have won the bout had he not been penalized one point for a karate kick to Alis groin. 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. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Gene has trained with numerous other world champion martial artists includingChuck Norris,Bill Wallace, andBenny Urquidez. 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). She has a tattoo of her winning fight times on her right wrist down her forearm. He was a good man. In a story worthy of the detective novels of Raymond Chandler, LeBell, who drove California pornography magnate Jack Ginsburgs to the murder scene, was acquitted on a murder charge but convicted and sentenced to probation as an accessory for his role in transporting Ginsburgs to the murdera conviction later overturned by the California Court of Appeals in a heavily fact-dependent decision based on careful interpretation of state rules of evidence rather than any new proof of LeBells innocence. 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. The newspaper the following day had a story saying the American radish wins. Some have pointed out that LeBell making easy work of Lee on set may have inspired the scene in Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in which Brad Pitt, playing veteran stuntman Cliff Booth, has his way with Bruce Lee (played by actor and martial artist Mike Moh) in an on-set sparring match. As wellback in the day..i drove out to ride motos with Gene & some friends at his area in Frazier Park. I love ya man. LeBell was a pioneer in the sport of MMA before there was MMA. Performance & security by Cloudflare. 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. Gene LeBell, who died on August 9 at age 89, led a life so expansive that any mere retelling of it would come across like a tall tale, the stuff of Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyanif all of it werent true. 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. Gene LeBell remained a towering figure in the history and expansion of mixed martial arts and sports entertainment. His brother, Mike, a wrestling promoter, died in 2009. Written by James C. Udel, a member of IATSEs Local 80 Grips since 1993 and author of The Film Crew of Hollywood, these stories will profile retired or semiretired artisans whose work has left an enduring impact on the history of the movies. Born in Los Angeles in 1932, LeBell was shipped off to a military school at age 6 by his full-time working mom after his father died in a surfing accident. Ronnie and Mary Rondell, Congratulations Uncle Gene! Which teams crushed the draft, and which came up short? 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. Colleagues, friends and fans (in most cases they qualify as all three) have contributed their congratulations to the living legend that is Judo Gene LeBell. Please enter a valid email and try again. The War of the Worlds pitted heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, against Japanese professional wrestling star Antonio Inoki on June 26, 1976, in Tokyo, with LeBell working as the referee. Midge and Gene were married twice. It has been an honor to work with you ,and see how much you have done, over the years. Some of his vast television credits includeThe Jack Benny Program (1962), The Man from U.N.C.L.E (1965) The Green Hornet (1965), Mission: Impossible (1966), I Spy (1965), The Wild Wild West (1965), Bonanza (1968), Kung Fu (1972), Beretta (1975), Starsky and Hutch (1975), Fantasy Island (1979), The Greatest American Hero (1981), Married with Children (1987), Baywatch (1989), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992), Walker Texas Ranger (1993), That 70s Show (1998), The X-Files (2000), The Shield (2002), Reno 911 (2003), 24 (2010) and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Its no wonder LeBell flocked to combat sports and martial arts. Brand-Exclusive PLEs Returning? (Hans Gutknecht/LA Daily News), Gene LeBell, Photo courtesy of Midge LeBell, Gene LeBell, Ronda Rousey and Midge LeBell during the Ronda Rousey Health Rocks After After Party at Paladinos in Tarzana Sunday, November 9, 2014.Proceeds from the event went to provide preventative medical treatment to musicians and entertainers with no insurance. Published 9 months ago on August 10, 2022 By FOX3 Now Staff Combat Sports Pioneer Judo Gene Lebell has passed at 89 Years Old. As a stuntman, Gene has worked on more than 1000 film and television projects during a career that has spanned over 50 years. Gene LeBell began his martial arts training at the age of 13 and went on to become the Godfather of Grappling and is considered by many to be the father of MMA. LeBell, who had been in declining health for the past eight months, died in his sleep at home in Sherman Oaks, with his loving wife of years, Midge, by his side on Tuesday, Aug.9, 2022. Bruce Lee. she was the only major female fight promoter in the United States, who was said to be terrorizing the stuntman for a particular scene, background in the Japanese martial art of aikido. (r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); In 2006, LeBell even welcomed an unsuspecting Daily News reporter to the Hayastan Academy for a lesson that went about as you would think when LeBell started it with his common non-serious threat: Alright, you bums! 69.163.152.136 At the time, Bruce Lee worked as Kato who was a main character in the series and LeBell was a stunt and fight coordinator. You have been a legend for over 60 years and Im honored each month that I get to see you!!!! Present-day UFC fans probably best remember him from his time spent wielding a stopwatch in the corner of his protege, Ronda Rousey, while wrestling fans might know his name from when Daniel Bryan used to call his finisher the LeBell Lock. But despite that, the MMA pioneer isnt a household name, which is a shame, because if youre a fan of combat sports, he absolutely should be. Shes gonna mutilate you. It always put a smile on my face when you would call the SAMP office. Just Ask the Bruins. Stunts Unlimited Member Gene LeBell was presented with the Taurus Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday, May 13th, 2017 for his outstanding contribution to the world of action feature films. Mr. LeBell had a long list of acting credits as well, mostly in bit parts. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer), Martial Arts Legend Gene LeBell spends some time feeding his bird friends outside of his Sherman Oaks home in 2006. Mr. Lewis, he recalled, asked him: Do you want to roll? It was in her promotion that a Texas-born grappler named George Wagner first donned an elaborate robe, dyed his hair blond, walked to the ring with a valet, and became the 1950s television sensation Gorgeous George, the toast of the coast.. Congratulations! He was a good person, so I am sure he is doing well where he is at now. Confidential (1997) Batman & Robin (1997), Rush Hour (1998), The Man on the Moon (1999) Men in Black II (2002), Spiderman 2 (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), 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. He was 89. He once sparred with legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson as a teenager. of LeBell's, used to bring martial arts stars Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee to train in karate and judo with LeBell. 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. Way to go Uncle Gene!!! So they said I could make good money in professional wrestling, which I did. You too? Gregg Smrz, So well deserved! Actor: Rush Hour. In the stunt world, I get a pretty doggone good retirement from SAG and AFTRAand I can still work.. Days later, they came out with more questions than answers. Very, very few people believed in me at the very beginning of my MMA career, you could literally count them on one hand. Chuck & Charlotte Waters, Special man and amazing human being, so deserving of this recognition. His death was announced by Kellie Cunningham, his trustee Gene is survived by his wife Midge, his children Monica and David; stepchildren Danny and Stacey; and grandchildren Daniel, Tyler and Nicholas. After an illustrious judo career, Gene tried his hand at professional wrestling, and actually won the heavyweight title in Amarillo, Texas. As Rousey rose to prominence in the UFC as the first woman on its roster and its first female champion, LeBell was always in her corner, often seen with a stopwatch to record her first-round finishes. It was declared a draw. You deserve every bit of it! Mike Massa, Congratulations Gene!! The Hollywood Reporter: Gene LeBell, Famed Stuntman and Godfather of Grappling, Dies at 89, Deadline: Gene LeBell Dies: Stuntman, Actor And Wrestling Legend Who Fought Bruce Lee & Chuck Norris Onscreen Was 89, MMA Fighting: Toughest man I know: Pros react to pioneer Judo Gene LeBells death, The Huffington Post: Gene LeBell, Famed Stuntman, Martial Artist And Bruce Lees Teacher Dies At 89. Your IP: Congrats to the amazing living legend John Stoneham, Jr. Congratulations Gene, you know I love you, and Im so very very proud of you. It was LeBells first movieland lesson: Always let the star win. He will always be my Stunt Senei. LeBells top student, Gokor Chivichyan, started training with him at the age of 16 and now runs the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood. Confused by William Beaudines direction, LeBell ended up being chomped by a 700-pound bear named Victor. Professional wrestler Bas Rutten announced LeBells death via Facebook, writing, You Web"The Toughest Tropes Alive": Alternate Company Equivalent: He could be the American version of Jon Bluming, or perhaps Jon Bluming could be the Dutch version of Gene LeBell. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0a9b111dbaef14 Few people know the amount of time, energy, dedication, innovation , and pure love you have graced us with in your illustrious career! With respect, Missy OMalley-Reynolds, Uncle Gene, Thanks for never burning our house down. Something went wrong. 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. In addition to Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, LeBell also tutored the likes of Roddy Piper (who claimed in his autobiography to have received a black belt in judo from LeBell, though this is likely as spurious as the impossible-to-verify Golden Gloves championship he was sometimes reported as having won), Olympic bronze medalist judoka and future UFC and WWE star Ronda Rousey (who always cited him as an important mentor), American judo champion and instructor Gokor Chivichyan, and Chivichyans Armenian American judo student Karo Parisyan, one of the first notable judo practitioners in the UFC. Realizing that judo was no way to make a living, he shifted to professional wrestling later in 1955. People called him the Toughest Man Alive. Instructed through brutal tutorials by professional wrestlers and old-school masters, he developed adult skills by 13. I have always been inspired by this quality in you Uncle Gene and I cherish the memories of the many great experiences we have had together. The news was confirmed by actor and former MMA fighter Bas Rutten on Facebook. For years, he taught martial arts in Southern California. Oliver Lee Bateman is a journalist and sports historian who lives in Pittsburgh. If you want to do a whizzer throw in wrestling, its the same as an uchimata [inner thigh throw] in judo. So happy for you. 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. ago Along the way, he trained scores of future greats in a variety of disciplines, from Rowdy Roddy Piper in wrestling to Rowdy Ronda Rousey in judo (she, too, eventually wound up in the wrestling business), and even managed to extricate himself from being convicted in the 1976 murder of a private detective who had been digging up dirt on a host of California notables. Mr. LeBell was inducted into the National Wrestling Alliances Hall of Fame in 2011. It was a fascinating collection of people mourning too, from the world of pro wrestling, mixed martial arts, acting, and beyond. 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. 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. It goes to a great man of strength, integrity and honor. (James C. Udel, Variety, 2018), A fight scene on the sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet earned LeBell his SAG card. Thank you Gene for your friendship over the decades. Nick Plantico, Congrats Gene!! Stuntman Gene LeBell might not have been around since Hollywoods first fist fight, but his skill has transformed the genre. It hurt. (James C. Udel, Variety, 2018), The remarkable Judo Gene LeBell was still teaching grappling and doing stunts well into his 80s. He started learning judo at 12 (although his mother told The Los Angeles Times in 1955 that he had been inspired a little later, in high school, when he was beaten up by a smaller teenager who knew judo), and by 1954 his proficiency had grown to an elite level: He won both the heavyweight class and the overall title in that years national American Amateur Union championships.

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