This award is only given to a select few. To quote C.S. Ivan Judo Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 August 9, 2022) was an American martial artist, stunt performer, actor, and professional wrestler. He judged UFC 74 (Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga) plus he had a highly popular website visited by martial arts and film fans all over the globe. So well deserved!! Being 63 years old, LeBell declined to compete or to send a representative, instead suggesting a match against Royce's 82-year-old father, the renowned Hlio Gracie. From TV shows like Mission: Impossible, Batman, and Reno 911! to movies including, The Towering Inferno, RoboCop, Total Recall and Independence Day, LeBell was a go-to stunt coordinator for decades. The simplest version of the tale has Seagal boasting that he couldnt be choked out, and LeBell, then in his 50s and significantly smaller than the 6-foot-4 actor, going behind the star, then taking him to the ground and choking him out. To prevent a full-blown riot, hometown hero and rated professional boxer Jay Fullmer (brother of boxers Gene and Don Fullmer) entered the ring to congratulate LeBell. Hollywood stuntman and martial artist Gene LeBell has died. His talent in his field was known worldwide and those that got to know him knew he had a heart that matched that talent, the groups statement added. Proud to know you, much love Brent Fletcher, Very proud to have been your student for so many years There is no one prettier than you Sensai You are truly a legend and I can not think of anyone more deserving for this award!!! He began training catch wrestling at age 7 with Ed "The Strangler" Lewis. [26], The pink colored judo gi became a trademark of LeBell and was a result of a laundry mixup while preparing for a competition in Japan. Gene LeBell in 2010 and with Lindsay Wagner on 'The Bionic Woman' in 1976 GI. He was a Nevada and California Athletic Commission judge. It was Beck's contention that a boxer would be able to defeat any martial artist in a fight and he put up $1000 to anyone who defeat the boxer in this challenge match. According to Lambert, Seagal explained to LeBell that he did not believe his choke hold was effective, and that he could escape from it. Lance Gilbert, Gene , you are surely deserving of this achievement even though your humility wont allow you to agree with us. Bruce and I had a bond with the martial arts, and we would get together frequently. Those were great times !! Gene LeBell Did It All 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. We worked out about 10 to 12 times at his place in Los Angeles Chinatown and at my place.. I have grown up idolizing many of the SU members over the yearsGenes massive career and list of credits is insane. Im proud to be a friend of yours for over 50 years. Andy Gill, Congratulations Gene !!! 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. "Judo" Gene LeBell the "Godfather of Grappling" was both a renowned ex-world champion in both wrestling/judo, and one of Hollywood's busiest stuntmen. At 12 LeBell took up judo. I wont say rest easy because we just dont see that happening with Gene. By the time he transitioned to judo in the early 1950s, LeBell had already spent untold hours in submission holds and on the receiving end of punches from boxers like the great Sugar Ray Robinson at L.A.s famous Main Street Gym. Gene LeBell (also called "Judo Gene" and "the Godfather of Grappling") went on to perform stunts in hundreds of movies, train martial artists like Chuck . Congratulations my brother!!! If you saw Quentin Tarantino's . He was highly respected by many martial artists all over the world, and has been considered a ground breaker in many aspects of the art of grappling. LeBell helped Seagal up. In February 2005, the USJJF made him 9th dan in judo. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Former UFC Champion and WWE star Ronda Rousey talks with Midge LeBell wife of Judo Gene LeBell during a celebration of his life on what would have been Genes 90th birthday at Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood Sunday, October 9, 2022. 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. I love you. 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. Plus, does starting Tyrese Maxey versus DeAnthony Melton make a difference on the defensive end? The loss by the hometown boxer nearly caused a riot to breakout and despite the promotions attempt to calm the violence, Gene LeBell was nearly stabbed on the way out of the venue. One day in. He has trained with or taught grappling skills to many well-known wrestlers and martial artists, such as Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, Ed Parker, Gokor Chivichyan, Karo Parisyan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Mando Guerrero, Manny Gamburyan. [7] Despite his pedigree, he did not get over immediately with audiences but gradually became known for his martial arts background. Gene LeBell would ultimately choke his opponent unconscious after a tentative start to the match. Roddy Piper. LeBell was 89 years old. A long overdue, but well deserved award. People called him the Toughest Man Alive. "My name is Gene LeBell. While working at the stunt coordinator for Seagal's film Out for Justice, the two of them met to test Seagal's statement. He is highly respected by many martial artists all over the world, and has . Gene was an actor and stuntman in Hollywood productions for over fifty years with more than 150 acting credits and 250 stunt credits. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG). So to be a martial artist of his degree in the art of Judo is incredible; to be a pro wrestler of that level, incredible; but then to go into stunts and the motorcycle riding and the acting and everything else. David would look at me glassy eyed and say No you dont! LeBell has worked on over 1000 TV Show and Film projects. After an illustrious judo career, Gene tried his hand at professional wrestling, and actually won the heavyweight title in Amarillo, Texas. Is Golden State a sleeping giant? 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. After getting his black belt, he went to Japan to train in judo at the Kodokan. Lou Thesz. Roberts, Nobody in the world more respected!! Ill never forget that moment, congratulations brother. [7][8], Following his combat sports career, LeBell, along with his brother Mike, ran the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 to 1982. He was also a Nevada and California Athletic Commission judge, including judging UFC 74 (Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga) and his website judogene.com is visited by martial arts and film fans all over the globe. Tanner Gill, Congrats Uncle Gene!! I am so glad I was there Live to see it ! A video shown at the memorial featured many of his accomplishments from the stunt and martial arts world, evoking smiles, laughter and tears that had many in the crowd wiping their eyes. Despite this, a man tried to stab LeBell on the way out and the latter had to be protected by the judokas and professional wrestlers who accompanied him. . [10] Also, according to LeBell and other sources, Savage's gloves contained brass knuckles[9][10] and he had greased up his gi with vaseline to make gripping it more difficult. His mother, Aileen Eaton, was a promoter at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, where she promoted boxing and wrestling events and raised Gene and his brother Mike all by her lonesome. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. [citation needed], While serving as stunt coordinator for the film Out for Justice, starring Steven Seagal, Seagal stated that due to his aikido training he was 'immune' to being choked unconscious. He judged UFC 74 (Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga) plus he had a highly popular website visited by martial arts and film fans all over the globe. After his competitive career, Gene LeBell would go on to become a martial arts instructor, a professional wrestler, stunt performer and actor in Los Angeles. [5], LeBell has been reported as the inspiration for the character of Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. On the day of the match, Savage appeared wearing a karategi instead, much tighter and harder to grab. Ian Avabe, You Rock a Master of all well deserved Si PJ Hooper Kelly, Congratulations Gene. Well deserved my hat is off to you sir!!! And in February, 2005 Gene LeBell was promoted to 9th degree black belt in judo by USJJF. Gene's funeral will be private for immediate family only. Challenge coins, decorated with an image of LeBell, were sold for donations, which raised more than $2,000. [20], LeBell is associated with Gokor Chivichyan's Hayastan MMA Academy where he taught grappling classes. Theres way too much to say to even begin to scratch the surface of the career and life Gene lived, wrote the Stuntmans Association of Motion Pictures in a statement to Variety. The Savage camp claimed they did not know the difference. judo. Gene LeBell Record, Net Worth, Weight, Age & More. LeBell later mentored world-class athletes and silver screen legends. His very first match was against John Osako, one of the highest ranked judokas at the national level. An incredible life being rightfully recognized. In the stunt world, I get a pretty doggone good retirement from SAG and AFTRAand I can still work.. God bless. Beck engaged in abundant trash-talk, but revealed a very limited knowledge of martial arts, seemingly mistaking judo for karate. His death was announced by Kellie Cunningham, his trustee and business manager, who did not. To round out his education in the martial arts, he also began frequenting the Main Street Gym in Los Angeles, where the West Coast's best boxers gathered. The only thing that is different is that judo has strangleholds, which arent done in pro wrestling., Although LeBell considered full-time careers as a boxer and a judoka, the lure of better money in pro wrestling and Hollywood stunt productionsas well as connections to both industriesled him into those fields. 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. The boxer's camp even went as far to argue for the stipulation that Savage could use any type of punch, but the judoka could not kick or use takedowns under the waist. Previously, he was married to Eleanor Martindale between 1975 and 1976, Eileen Murillo (1960), Olga Allen between 1957 until 1959, and Midge LeBell before that. Two hundred of his friends, students, and family gathered at Hayastan MMA Academy in North. Cheers! LeBell, preferring to let others do the talking for him, told MMA journalist Ariel Helwani in 2012 that if thirty people are watching, let them talk about it.. With only one uniform in his luggage, he wore the pink gi in Japan, and beat the competition. LeBell is said to have placed his arms around Seagal's neck, and once Seagal said "go", proceeded to choke him unconscious, with Seagal losing control of his bowels. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. He also had 8 grandchildren. Craig Hosking, Congratulations Gene you are a legend! 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.. Osu J.J. Perry, Gene, Ill never forget the time on set, when you let me try and choke you out. 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. It has been alleged that at some point LeBell heard about the claim and gave Seagal the opportunity to prove it. Congratulations very well deserved! Gene LeBell heard about the proclamation and decided to take Seagal up on the challenge. Neil Melanson Heavyweight and Overall Judo Championships in 1954, and again in 1955 - long before Judo became an Olympic sport and was broadly appreciated in the western world. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG), Martial artist Bas Rutten poses for a photo with Midge LeBell, wife of Judo Gene LeBell, during a celebration of his life on what would have been Genes 90th birthday at Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood Sunday, October 9, 2022. Sugar Ray Robinson. Influential combat sports icon "Judo" Gene LeBell has died at 89. Don't miss a beat. It goes to a great man of strength, integrity and honor. Gene LeBell was born on October 9, 1932. Seagal himself denies the entire situation, calling LeBell a sick, pathological scumbag liar, though even Seagals former bodyguard Steven Lambert tells a version of the story that has Seagal attempting to resist LeBells application of the hold before winding up on the ground, though remaining conscious throughout. [14], LeBell has opened two martial art schools in cooperation with others and has touted his 1963 match with Milo Savage as the first televised MMA fight in America.[15][16]. The Alabama passer is one of the smallest QB prospects to be pegged as a first-round pick. LeBell is back in the limelight on the 50th anniversary of what's considered the first notable mixed martial arts fight in the United States, even though the term wasn't used: His Dec. 2, 1963 . After spending time training Judo overseas in Japan at the Kodokan, in 1954 the 22 year old Gene Lebell would capture both the heavyweight and the overall Judo Championships. The seeds that Gene LeBell helped plant have grown into the modern landscape of mixed martial arts that we know today. 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. 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. Michael Hughes, Thank you for being such an influence and inspiration to MANY! 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. [8] Gene also wrestled under a black mask as The Hangman, teaming up with Roy Staggs. [8], In 1963, LeBell became involved with a challenge by boxer and writer Jim Beck to the practitioners of Japanese martial arts. As wellback in the day..i drove out to ride motos with Gene & some friends at his area in Frazier Park. The boxer blocked the move, which aggravated an old shoulder injury of LeBell. He was acquitted and continued performing stunts for the big and small screen, alike. I was always jealous that you could ride a wheelie so much better than me. The damage inflicted definitely favored Inoki, who battered Alis legs sufficiently that the Greatest struggled with his mobility in a fight against Ken Norton later that year, but LeBellwho had Inoki slightly ahead on his own scorecard, per the account in journalist Josh Grosss book Ali vs. Inoki: The Forgotten Fight That Inspired Mixed Martial Arts and Launched Sports Entertainmentchose to deduct points for an illegal groin strike, thus affording Ali a split-decision draw that showcased how dull MMA could get without the appropriate rules in place. Gene LeBell talks about Bruce Lee. Blessed if you know him, crazy fun guy. The promoters were looking for karate and judo bumsvery distinct striking and grappling specialties, though LeBell knew the basics of karateto fight a boxer, whom LeBell assumed would be Jim Beck, a highly regarded amateur who had called out the practitioners of those sports. A professional stuntman and actor, LeBell appeared in over 1,000 films and TV shows, and authored 12 books. Bruce Lee. Instructed through brutal tutorials by professional wrestlers and old-school masters, he developed adult skills by 13. He sparred with James Cagney while shooting "Blood on the Sun" in 1945, allowing the famous actor to dominate the 20-minute skirmish which . [7][8] In return, Savage offered to wear a judogi. I tried to get your son some work but hes always at the beach. Nicknamed "The Godfather of Grappling", he popularized grappling in professional fighting circles, serving as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts. Congratulations, Connie P Conrad Palmisano, Congratulations Uncle Gene for receiving the lifetime award. LeBell has made himself the nicknames "Judo" Gene LeBell, "The Godfather of Grappling" and also "The Toughest Man Alive" for his . Love ya, Buddy Joe Hooker, My dear friend Gene.
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