Gene LeBell

Gene LeBell was an American judoka, stuntman, actor and professional wrestler who helped popularize grappling in professional fighting and worked on over 1,000 films and television shows. Born in Los Angeles, he trained in catch wrestling and boxing from early childhood, guided by his mother, a promoter who owned the Olympic Auditorium, and later took up judo, winning the heavyweight and overall AAU national judo championships in 1954 and 1955. He then moved into professional wrestling, where he was known for his martial arts background, and with his brother Mike ran the NWA's Los Angeles territory from 1968 to 1982. He defeated boxer Milo Savage in a 1963 judo versus boxing match and refereed the 1976 bout between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki. On screen he played a brawler in three Elvis Presley movies, guest starred on The Munsters in 1964, and was stunt coordinator on Out for Justice. He wrote twelve books on grappling and self-defense.