Terry Bollea: who's he?
Maybe you know him as "Hulk Hogan." That's the name he began to use about 1980 and now it's one of the most famous names in the world. As stated near the end of this TV episode of Biography, "Hulk Hogan is the most famous wrestler of all time." He's not just a wrestling star, but a worldwide celebrity, can converse intelligently and is man of many talents. He's been a good guy, a villain and now a good guy again. He has been a role model (except for three years when he switched to a villain to save his career) for millions of kids in the last 25 years, preaching to do all the right things.
Born a big baby (10 pounds, 7 ounces) in 1953, Terry has been above-average in size and intelligence his whole life. A straight-A student and band member, he was 6 feet, 5 inches and 240 pounds in high school. As with many little boys, once he saw pro wrestling on TV he thought that was the coolest and he'd like to do that. Unlike most, he actually went ahead and did it.
The road was not easy, as we hear in this show. Bollea suffered for a couple of years, taking a daily beating from those training him, but he'd keep coming back for more. What was really interesting was seeing his first pro match, a local event held in Tampa, Fla., where he grew up.
The show then details how he evolved into "Hulk Hogan" and soon became a mega-star. Some of that was due to Sylvester Stallone, who gave him a part as a pro wrestler in "Rocky III." We learn about Hulk's various falls and rises in the world of pro wrestling; his dealings with the influential McMahon family; his stardom in Japan, his comeback and then his shocking conversion in the 1990s to being a villain. That, too, changed when he went back to being a "good guy" once more.
Hogan has met tons of famous people, is still in tremendous shape, and still plans of being an actor even though he admits "I'm not exactly Brad Pitt or Sean Connery."
I was impressed how well this man spoke, how honest he is and how long he's endured the physical punishment (in addition to the stage antics in the ring, of course) and is still active. I was sorry to hear at the very end with "a bio update" that his marriage went sour a few months ago (late '07)..
This guy certainly has led an amazing life, and with his talent for showmanship, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him.
Maybe you know him as "Hulk Hogan." That's the name he began to use about 1980 and now it's one of the most famous names in the world. As stated near the end of this TV episode of Biography, "Hulk Hogan is the most famous wrestler of all time." He's not just a wrestling star, but a worldwide celebrity, can converse intelligently and is man of many talents. He's been a good guy, a villain and now a good guy again. He has been a role model (except for three years when he switched to a villain to save his career) for millions of kids in the last 25 years, preaching to do all the right things.
Born a big baby (10 pounds, 7 ounces) in 1953, Terry has been above-average in size and intelligence his whole life. A straight-A student and band member, he was 6 feet, 5 inches and 240 pounds in high school. As with many little boys, once he saw pro wrestling on TV he thought that was the coolest and he'd like to do that. Unlike most, he actually went ahead and did it.
The road was not easy, as we hear in this show. Bollea suffered for a couple of years, taking a daily beating from those training him, but he'd keep coming back for more. What was really interesting was seeing his first pro match, a local event held in Tampa, Fla., where he grew up.
The show then details how he evolved into "Hulk Hogan" and soon became a mega-star. Some of that was due to Sylvester Stallone, who gave him a part as a pro wrestler in "Rocky III." We learn about Hulk's various falls and rises in the world of pro wrestling; his dealings with the influential McMahon family; his stardom in Japan, his comeback and then his shocking conversion in the 1990s to being a villain. That, too, changed when he went back to being a "good guy" once more.
Hogan has met tons of famous people, is still in tremendous shape, and still plans of being an actor even though he admits "I'm not exactly Brad Pitt or Sean Connery."
I was impressed how well this man spoke, how honest he is and how long he's endured the physical punishment (in addition to the stage antics in the ring, of course) and is still active. I was sorry to hear at the very end with "a bio update" that his marriage went sour a few months ago (late '07)..
This guy certainly has led an amazing life, and with his talent for showmanship, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him.
