Ivan "Judo" Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 - August 9, 2022) often credited simply as Gene LeBell, was a martial arts instructor, actor, and stunt performer/coordinator. Besides being a martial arts champion, he has appeared in numerous movies and television shows as both an actor and stunt performer.
On Married... with Children, Gene appeared on the show several times during its run in various roles.
Biography[]
Born in 1932 to Aileen Eaton, a boxing and professional wrestling promoter, he began his martial arts training at the age of 6, learning grappling from many well known fighters who trained at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, where his mother worked.
In 1954, at the age of 20, he won both the National AAU Heavyweight Judo Championship and the USA Overall Judo Championship and won again the following year. After dominating in Judo, he switched over to wrestling, dominating in that sport as well. His brother, Mike, was a wrestling promoter at that time.
In 1963, he took on boxer Milo Savage, in what many considered the first televised mixed martial art match. After 4 rounds, he was able to take down a now exhausted Savage and choke him out. This has earned him the nickname "The Grandfather of MMA".
After his martial arts career, he and his brother operated NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) Hollywood Wrestling from 1968 to 1982. He also operated two martial arts schools.
His trademark fashion style was his use of a pink judo uniform, the result of red shorts accidentally mixed in with his laundry while he was preparing for a Judo competition in Japan.
At the time of his passing, he held a 10th degree red belt in Judo, 9th degree black belt in Jiu-jitsu, and a 10th degree black belt in Kyoukushin Budokai (a martial art that combines Kyokushin Karate with Judo) in addition to being proficient at Catch Wrestling and boxing.
In more recent years, he had been teaching Judo privately, as well as at Hayastan Academy in North Hollywood, California, owned and operated by his student, MMA fighter, Gokor Chivichyan. He also served as a mentor to MMA champion Ronda Rousey as he had known her since she was born and had been friends with Rousey's mother, world Judo champion AnnMaria De Mars. He was also a Nevada and California State Athletic Commission judge, serving for several decades before officially retiring in 2018.[1]
Acting / Stunt Coordinator career[]
Using his martial art skills, he was able to break into films as a stunt performer and/or coordinator and actor. Some of the film and shows that he has been a stunt coordinator include The Green Hornet, Kung Fu, Airplane!, Robocop, Dutch, Rapid Fire, Walker Texas Ranger and Spider-Man 2. He has taught his skills to notable martial arts actors such as Bruce and Brandon Lee, Bob Wall and Chuck Norris.
He has also appeared in numerous movies and television shows as an actor, often as a referee for a wrestling/boxing/martial arts match, on shows and movies like Married... with Children, The Fall Guy, Man on the Moon, That 70's Show and Baywatch. Though he has done other roles such as a taxi cab driver in Rush Hour, an angry man on an electric wheelchair in Reno 911, a bartender in The X-Files, a gunman in Rapid Fire and an archbishop in Sledge Hammer.
Appearances on Married... with Children[]
He has played different roles on MWC, such as Al's friend, Larry. who pays him to look at Tiffany while pretending to do yard work, a referee who judges the match between Al and Big Bad Momma and one of Captain Courage's (a.k.a. Al's) crew members, Black Ben. He also had non-speaking roles, such as the drunk bar patron that Al punches at the Nudie Bar and as Brutus, a member of the Devil's football team that Al has to play against.
Death[]
LeBell, who had been in declining health for the past eight months, died in his sleep on August 9, 2022, at his home in Sherman Oaks, California with his wife by his side.[2] Many in the acting, wrestling and martial arts community offered their condolences to his family and shared their memories of the actor, grappler and stuntman, including actor Chuck Norris, MMA fighters Ronda Rousey and Bas Rutten and professional wrestlers Triple H and The Iron Sheik as well as several organizations including WWE (World Wresting Entertainment), AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures.[3][4]
His family held a private funeral for him, while a "Celebration of Life" ceremony was held on October 9, 2022 (on what would have been his 90th birthday) at the Hayastan Academy in North Hollywood, California.[5]
References[]
- ↑ ‘Judo’ Gene LeBell retires from MMA judging following Liddell vs. Ortiz 3. Eastern Europe BJJ.
- ↑ Gene LeBell, iconic martial arts pioneer, dies at the age of 89. The Mercury News.
- ↑ WRESTLING, MMA, MOVIE WORLDS PAY TRIBUTE TO JUDO GENE LEBELL. Slam Wrestling.
- ↑ Gene LeBell (1932–2022), the “Godfather of Grappling” and legendary stuntman. Legacy.com.
- ↑ Judo Blog: RIP Gene LeBell. Black Belt Magazine.