Eugene Arthur Okerlund was born on December 19, 1942, in Brookings, South Dakota to Arthur and Helen Okerlund.[2] He grew up in Sisseton and was raised on an Indian reservation.[4] He graduated from Sisseton High School in 1960.[2] He was an all-around athlete, participating in basketball, baseball, football and track.[2] After studying broadcast journalism at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln),[4] Okerlund landed a job as a disc jockey at KOIL, a popular radio station in Omaha, Nebraska.[2] Okerlund later moved to Minneapolis where he worked for WDGY as a radio host under the alias of Gene Leader. He later left that position to become Program Director at KDWB. Okerlund also worked in Minneapolis for a local television station in the front office.[2]
Okerlund played with the Harold Johnson Orchestra and fronted the band Gene Carroll and the Shades.[2] The band released "Is It Ever Gonna Happen" on the album In This Corner, on Norton Records in 1962.[2][5]
American Wrestling Association (1970–1984)
Okerlund left the radio industry for a position at the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1970, where he occasionally filled in for ailing ring announcer and interviewer Marty O'Neill, eventually becoming O'Neill's permanent replacement by the end of the decade.[1][6] While there, Jesse "The Body" Ventura gave him the moniker "Mean Gene".[1][7] According to Ventura, "In an interview, I laughingly called him 'the Mean Gene Hot Air Machine,' and the 'Mean Gene' stuck, I'm proud that I gave him a nickname that will stick with him forever."[8] His first interview was with Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan, acting terrified when both were jumped from behind.[8]
World Wrestling Federation (1984–1993)
He stayed with the AWA until the end of 1983, when he was one of many AWA personnel to join the expanding World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1][6]
He stayed with the WWF for nine years as their top interviewer and was a host of such WWF shows as All-American Wrestling.[1][4] He sang the national anthem at the inaugural WrestleMania[9][7] and Tutti Frutti on The Wrestling Album.[8] Okerlund's interviews were memorable, most notably those involving Hulk Hogan, who began his interviews with "Well, you know, Mean Gene …".[6] He also notably teamed up with Hulk Hogan to face the duo of George Steele and Mr. Fuji in a winning effort.[9] At SummerSlam 1989, during an interview with Intercontinental Champion Rick Rude, a sign in the background suddenly fell down, causing an outburst by Okerlund.[10] At Survivor Series 1990, Okerlund hosted the hatching of the Gobbledy Gooker (played by Héctor Guerrero). As fans in attendance started to boo, a rock and roll rendition of "Turkey in the Straw" began to play and Okerlund and the Gooker danced in the ring.[10]
World Championship Wrestling (1993–2001)
Okerlund appeared at SummerSlam 1993 and made his final WWF appearance of the 1990s on the September 18, 1993, edition of Superstars. He then left the WWF entirely when his contract expired.[1][6] He stated in an RF shoot interview, that although he probably could have re-negotiated a new contract, he was never actually offered one, thus opting to become an interviewer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW).[1] He claimed at the time of his hiring with WCW that he had not been on speaking terms with McMahon for the past few years he was working in the WWF.
He debuted on the November 6, 1993, edition of WCW Saturday Night.[7] He was mostly used in a mentor role mostly plugging the WCW Hotline in which he would talk about wrestling news from WCW, WWF and independent organizations from all over the world.[6] After Fall Brawl '96: War Games, Okerlund's contract expired and decided to take a leave of absence from television, although it was rumored that he was going back to the WWF or left in protest over Hulk Hogan's heel turn and joining the NWO. While he was away, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Lee Marshall replaced him by doing the interviews and plugging the WCW Hotline. In early November 1996, Okerlund signed a new deal with WCW after fans were requesting him to come back and returned on the Veterans Day edition of WCW Monday Nitro after Schiavone welcomed him back. Okerlund wrestled twice in WCW; the first was in mid-2000 when he and Buff Bagwell faced Chris Kanyon and fellow announcer Mark Madden, with Bagwell and Okerlund winning. However, Madden wanted Okerlund back in the ring the next week in a one on one match-up. The two did wrestle again and Okerlund won the match with the assistance of Pamela Paulshock. After that, he was with WCW until March 2001 when the company was purchased by the WWF.[1]
Okerlund conducted the interviews on the three-hour "Old School" episode of Raw on November 15, 2010, where he interviewed John Cena, Randy Orton, members of The Nexus and Mae Young in similar fashion as to how interviews were done in the 1980s.[12] In November 2016, Okerlund became the narrator for the WWE Network original animated series WWE Story Time, keeping that spot until his death with Jerry Lawler taking over the voiceover work for the show.[13]
He made an appearance at the WrestleCade 2018 weekend event that took place November 23–25, 2018 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[4]
Personal life
While in high school in Sisseton, South Dakota, he formed a band, "Gene Carroll & The Shades," recording a single in 1959, "Red Devil / Do You Remember" (M&L 1001).[2][5] As "Gene Carroll," he had a second single in 1962, "Is It Ever Gonna Happen / Holly" (Wausau C-1100).[5][16] The band played parties throughout the Midwest and the Dakotas, and in 2009 were inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame.[16]
In contrast to his nickname "Mean Gene", Okerlund throughout the years was considered the friendliest person in the game by many wrestlers and promotion staff.[1] Okerlund was close friends with Hulk Hogan, The Iron Sheik and Bobby Heenan.[1][4]
In 2004, Okerlund had a kidney transplant.[6] In his later years, Okerlund suffered from polycystic kidney disease.[2] He also enjoyed boating,[2] golfing,[6] and spending time at his cabin in Big Sandy Lake during the summer.[8]
Death
Okerlund died on the morning of January 2, 2019, at the age of 76 in a Sarasota, Florida hospital.[17][18] It was revealed by his son, Todd Okerlund, that he had received three kidney transplants and had suffered a fall which caused his health to deteriorate in the weeks leading up to his death.[18] Later that day, condolences were sent by some fellow WWE superstars and wrestling alumni on various social media sites, including: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Iron Sheik, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, among many others.[18][19]
