Professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, who took his “Hulkamania” persona to international fame after growing up in South Tampa, has died at age 71.
WWE confirmed Hogan’s death, noting his contributions to help the wrestling company’s “global recognition in the 1980s.”
First responders were called to Hogan’s Clearwater Beach residence at 9:51 a.m. Thursday about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a Morton Plant Hospital, police said.
“There were no signs of foul play or suspicious activity,” Maj. Nate Burnside told reporters at a news conference.
Hogan, who grew up as Terry Bollea, was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and even company chairman Vince McMahon.
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With his golden mane, bulging biceps, booming voice and catchphrases (“Whatcha gonna do, brother, when Hulkamania runs wild on you?”), Hogan won at least six World Wrestling Entertainment championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Hogan was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, “Hogan Knows Best.”
Born in Augusta, Georgia, Hogan’s journey from bass player with the Tampa band Ruckus to global icon was as unlikely as it was unforgettable.
After graduating in 1971 from Tampa’s Robinson High School, he briefly went to the University of South Florida but was soon introduced to local wrestling stars Jack and Gerald Brisco. They were impressed by Hogan’s physique and recommended him to Hiro Matsuda, who ran a well-regarded wrestling school in town.
From there, Hogan’s blend of charisma, toughness, and showmanship helped what was then called the World Wrestling Federation explode nationally through cable TV. By the time he told young fans, “Say your prayers and eat your vitamins,” Hulkamania was a cultural movement.
He headlined the first nine WrestleManias, filling arenas from Madison Square Garden to the Pontiac Silverdome with crowds eager to see the man who could snap his yellow tank top and deliver a thunderous leg drop to any challenger.
Hogan first became champion in in 1984. His popularity helped lead to the creation of the annual WrestleMania event in 1985, when he teamed up with actor Mr. T to beat “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and another Tampa star, Paul Orndorff, in the main event.
He slammed and beat Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III in 1987, and the WWF gained momentum. His feud with the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage – perhaps his greatest ring rival – carried pro wrestling even further. Savage lived in Clearwater when he died in 2011 from a heart attack while driving and crashing near Seminole.
Hogan was a central figure in what is known as the Monday Night Wars. The WWE and World Championship Wrestling were battling for ratings supremacy in 1996. Hogan tilted things in WCW’s favor with the birth of the Hollywood Hogan character and the formation of the New World Order, a villainous stable that put WCW ahead in the ratings.
He returned to the WWE in 2002 and became a champion again. His match with The Rock at WrestleMania X8, a loss during which fans cheered for his “bad guy” character, was seen as a passing of the torch.
Outside the ring, Hogan was everywhere in his prime. He starred as Thunderlips opposite Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky III,” hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and showed up in a Saturday morning cartoon. His face was on everything from T-shirts and lunchboxes to vitamins.
His business ventures extended his reach far beyond wrestling. They included a restaurant and store in Clearwater Beach.
On Thursday, fans gathered at Hogan's Hangout after learning of his death. They left flowers, bought merchandise and shared stories.
Sakina Althahabe was growing up in New York as the daughter of immigrants when she discovered Hogan on T.V.
"Hulk Hogan was somebody who could just bring people together, no matter your race or culture," she said. "And it was one of my first earliest memories growing up where I was like, wow, I really identify as being an American."
Bryan Idol, a professional wrestler with NWA, also came out to Hogan's restaurant to pay tribute to his friend.
He says he first became a fan of Hogan when he was four years old -- which was also the day he decided he would become a wrestler.
"He had a one of a kind look and charisma," Idol said. "You know, there's something about the way he looked and the level of connection that he had with the audiences, and it's tried to be duplicated a million times over, and they can't."
Hogan's business ventures also included a wrestling league that he started with unscripted matches with men and women wrestlers called Real American Freestyle.
“The idea was so exciting that I get a chance to be involved with all these young people and help guide them in any way, especially to make them huge stars and create a future for them,” Hogan said. “People might be surprised, but wrestling is wrestling, brother.”
In recent years, Hogan even waded into politics. At the 2024 Republican National Convention, Hogan merged classic wrestling maneuvers with President Donald Trump’s rhetoric to vociferously endorse his longtime acquaintance.
“Let Trumpamania run wild! Let Trumpamania rule again! Let Trumpamania make America Great Again!” Hogan shouted into the crowd.
He ripped off a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of himself on a motorcycle to reveal a bright red Trump campaign shirt underneath. Then-presidential candidate Trump stood to applaud the move.
But Hogan’s story wasn’t just triumph and cheers. His life included very public struggles: his son Nick’s tragic 2007 car crash in Clearwater, a messy divorce, a scandalous leaked sex tape that led to a landmark legal victory, and damaging racial slurs caught on a private tape in 2015 that temporarily ousted him from WWE’s good graces.
In 2016, a Pinellas County jury awarded Hogan $115 million in the sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media. Hogan sued after Gawker in 2012 posted a video of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. Hogan contended the post violated his privacy.
Hogan owned his mistakes with apologies and eventually found his way back into the wrestling fold, though the controversy left an indelible mark.
Throughout, Hogan remained a Tampa Bay fixture, often spotted at gyms and at his Clearwater business.
Hogan is survived by his wife, Sky Hogan, whom he married in 2023; his daughter, Brooke Oleksky (Steven); and son, Nick, both from a first marriage; three stepchildren; and two grandchildren.
Information from WUSF reporter Clara Rokita Garcia and the Associated Press was used in this report.
