Hulk Hogan, who helped turn pro wrestling into billion-dollar spectacle, dies at 71
Hogan parlayed his wrestling fame into a less successful career in Hollywood, starring in films like 'Rocky III' and 'Santa With Muscles'
Hulk Hogan, the American sports and entertainment star who made professional wrestling a global phenomenon and loudly supported Donald Trump for president, has died at the age of 71, World Wrestling Entertainment said today (24 July).
"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 said on X. It gave no cause of death.
The bleach-blond, mahogany-tanned behemoth became the face of professional wrestling in the 1980s, helping transform the mock combat from a seedy spectacle into family-friendly entertainment worth billions of dollars.
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A key moment in that evolution came at the WrestleMania III extravaganza in 1987, when Hogan hoisted fellow wrestler André the Giant before a sold-out Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan for a thunderous body slam of the Frenchman.
Hogan parlayed his wrestling fame into a less successful career in Hollywood, starring in films like "Rocky III" and "Santa With Muscles," but kept returning to the ring as long as his body would allow.
In 2024, he appeared at the Republican National Convention to endorse the presidential bid of Trump, who in the 1980s had played host to Hulk-headlined WrestleManias. Hogan said he made the decision to support the Republican candidate after seeing his combative, fist-pumping reaction to an attempted assassination on the campaign trail.
"Let Trumpamania run wild, brother!" Hogan bellowed to a cheering crowd, ripping off his shirt to reveal a Trump tank top. "Let Trumpamania rule again!"
Becoming 'Hulk'
Born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, on Aug. 11, 1953, the future Hulk and his family soon moved to the Tampa, Florida area. After high school, he played bass guitar for area rock bands, but felt a pull to the red-hot wrestling scene in Florida in the 1970s.
Many of the details of his career were showbusiness exaggerations, representative of the blurred lines between fact and fiction in wrestling.
His first trainer reportedly broke Hogan's leg to dissuade him from entering the business, but he kept at wrestling, weight training, and - he later admitted - anabolic steroids. He gained in notoriety as his biceps turned into what he dubbed the "24-inch pythons."
The "Hulk" moniker came from comparisons to the comic-book hero portrayed on TV at the time. He would end up paying royalties to Marvel Comics for years. "Hogan" was the invention of promoter Vincent J. McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), who wanted Irish representation among his stable of stars.
His appearance as wrestler Thunderlips in "Rocky III," where he dwarfed leading man Sylvester Stallone, rocketed Hogan to the mainstream. Upon a return to the WWF, now controlled by McMahon's son Vincent K., he defeated the Iron Sheik in 1984 to claim the world championship, a belt he would hold for four years.
