A Tribute to “Mean” ‘By God!’ Gene Okerlund

One does not have to be a pro wrestling fan to appreciate the loss. If you were alive and kicking in the 1980s, Gene was a pop-culture icon unlike any other.

He was the voice of a generation. He was also 5'9", dwarfed by the wrestlers he interviewed, bald and slightly pudgy, all of which he utilized to great comedic effect in the early days of the world-conquering WWF (today, WWE). In other words, he had an appearance made for radio, and yet he became one of the 1980’s biggest television stars.

According to Wikipedia: After studying broadcast journalism, Okerlund landed a job as a disc jockey at KOIL, a popular radio station in Omaha, Nebraska. Okerlund later moved to Minneapolis to work for a local television station in the front office, leaving the radio industry for a position at the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1970. There, 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. He entered the then-WWF (World Wrestling Federation) in late-1983.

For a more comprehensive look at Gene’s life and career, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Okerlund