| Gene LeBell | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born: | Ivan Gene LeBell October 9, 1932 Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Died: | August 9, 2022 Sherman Oaks, California, USA |
| Role: | Elderly worker |
Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022; age 89) played an elderly worker in Season 8 of 24. LeBell, seventy-seven years old at the time of his appearance in "Day 8: 8:00am-9:00am," is the third oldest known actor to appear in 24, behind Eric Mason and Chuck Hicks.
Biography and career[]
Gene LeBell was born in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish family; his full name was Ivan Gene LeBell. In his youth, he became interested in wrestling, boxing, and martial arts. After training in judo, he won several national championships before moving to wrestling.
After his sports career, LeBell ran the National Wrestling Alliance in Los Angeles, along with his brother. He also served as referee to the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki. LeBell has also helped to open two martial arts school, in collaboration with others. In 1994, he opened Hayastan MMA Academy in Hollywood, California, along with Gokor Chivichyan. He was also a close friend of Bruce Lee, who he met on the set of the television series The Green Hornet. He also trained many famed fighters, including AnnMaria De Mars, the first woman to ever win gold at the World Judo Championships, and her daughter, renowned MMA fighter Rhonda Rousey; LeBell also secured the latter's nickname of Rowdy from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, with whom he was also acquainted. LeBell also refereed fights between others, including the bout between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki,
LeBell eventually turned into an actor and prolific stuntsman, appearing in over a thousand shows, movies and commercials. His vast portfolio of film work included Men In Black II, Rush Hour (with Tzi Ma and Larry Sullivan), Spider-Man 2, Total Recall, The Naked Gun, Rocky, King Kong, Army of Darkness and Planet of the Apes. He also appeared in RoboCop (with Peter Weller, Paul McCrane and Ray Wise), Independence Day and Darkman (with Said Faraj). LeBell worked with many famous actors across his career, reputed to have taken a punch from John Wayne and a kick from Elvis Presley, among others. Rousey recalled that he said, "‘I’ve won every R-E-A-L fight and never made a penny and lost every R-E-E-L fight and I am comfortably retired. Think about that, kid.'" The stories from his later career helped inspire Brad Pitt's character, Cliff Booth, in the Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. LeBell wrote over a dozen books on martial arts and continued to train and teach fellow martial artists and others through his later years.
LeBell died on August 9, 2022; he passed in his sleep following several months of declining health. LeBell was survived by his wife, Midge, and children Monica and David, stepchildren Danny and Stacy and grandchildren Daniel, Tyler and Nicholas. He was 89 years old.
24 credits[]
Selected filmography[]
- A Thousand Words (2012)
- Beerfest (2006)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Men in Black II (2002)
- End of Days (1999)
- Rush Hour (1998)
- RoboCop (1987)
Television appearances
- Married with Children (1987-1997)
- Taxi (1979, 1982)
- The Six Million Dollar Man (1975, 1977)
- The Beverly Hillbillies (1968)
- Mission: Impossible (1966)
