Latest news with #SuburbanCommando
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Nick Hogan emotional at WWE tribute to dad Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan's son broke down in tears as he joined a WWE tribute to his late father on Monday (28.07.25). The wrestling legend passed away last Thursday (24.07.25) after suffering a cardiac arrest aged 71 and during this week's episode of WWE's flagship show Raw, Nick Hogan, his wife Tana Lea and a number of superstars from the organisation gathered at the beginning of the programme for a 10-bell salute in honour of the Suburban Commando star. As CM Punk, Gunther, Jey Uso, Iyo Sky and Dominik Mysterio gathered sombrely for the memorial, Nick could be seen wiping away tears as the episode, WWE's chief content officer, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, also paid tribute to Hogan during the segment. He told the audience: "He [Hogan] captivated millions of people and inspired them around the globe. "We would not be standing here right now – all of us together – if it was not for him." On Friday's (25.07.25), WWE's episode of SmackDown also featured a 10-bell salute to the former world champion, as well as a video highlights package of Hogan's lengthy career in the ring. Over the weekend, Nick, 35, paid a heartfelt tribute to his dad and remembered him as his "hero". He wrote on Instagram: "My dad was the most incredible person I've ever known and will always be my hero. He was the most kind, loving and amazing father anybody could ask for. I feel so blessed to have had the greatest dad in the world. He was not only the best dad but also my mentor and my best friend. He always has been my best friend and I love him and miss him more than I could ever explain. "I thanked him for everything he has ever done for me and told him how much I loved him and hugged him every chance I got. I spent a lot of time with him the past few years after moving back to Florida to be closer to him and I am so grateful for those memories. They are the best moments in my life." Nick admitted that he'll miss his dad "forever". He said: "I will always remember the lessons and advice he gave me and carry on in a way that I know would make him proud. Thank you for being the best dad in the world and thank you for being my best friend. I love you so much Big Dog and I will miss you forever. (sic)"
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hulk Hogan's roles as movie star, media crusader and MAGA hypeman had a major impact outside of the ring
Hulk Hogan, who died Thursday at the age of 71, will be remembered as a true icon of professional wrestling. His extraordinary star power helped turn the wrestling industry into a global phenomenon that rivals traditional sports in reach, income and cultural impact. As important as his wrestling legacy is, though, the man born Terry Gene Bollea also made a mark in other ways. These are some of the most memorable roles he played outside of the ring. TV and movie star Hulk Hogan and Madeline Zima in Mr. Nanny from 1993. (New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock) Hogan's larger-than-life tough guy persona seemed a perfect fit for the hyper-macho aura that defined action movies of the 1980s and '90s. His first acting performance was arguably his most successful, when he played a wrestler known as Thunderlips in 1982's Rocky III. He got his first starring role seven years later, again playing a character inspired by his wrestling persona, in No Holds Barred. The film was a commercial failure and was absolutely panned by critics. His next two movies, Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny, received similar receptions. Hogan didn't have much luck on TV either. His show Thunder in Paradise, which debuted in 1994, was canceled after one season. Advertisement Though his attempts to become a leading man failed, Hogan had a long list of memorable guest spots and cameos in a wide variety of projects over the decades, including Suddenly Susan, Muppets in Space and The Goldbergs. Reality star Terry (Hulk) Hogan sits surrounded by his now ex-wife Linda, daughter Brooke and son Nick for the second season of their VH1 reality hit, Hogan Knows Best, which aired in the mid-2000s. (Michael Albans/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) Hogan had much more success on the screen when he wasn't playing a character at all. In 2005, VH1 aired the first episode of Hogan Knows Best, which chronicled his everyday life with his wife and two children, Brooke and Nick. The show was a big hit, bringing in the network's largest audience ever for a premiere episode at the time. The show lasted for four seasons before being abruptly canceled amid a series of scandals within the family, including a car crash involving Nick Hogan that left his friend seriously injured. Hogan Knows Best helped Brooke achieve modest success as a recording artist and as the star of her own reality show, Brooke Knows Best. Media crusader Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, takes the oath in court during his trial against Gawker Media at the Pinellas County Courthouse in March, 2016 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (John Pendygraft/Getty) Hogan was at the center of one of the most important media legal battles in recent history. In 2012, the popular gossip and news site Gawker published portions of a video showing Hogan having sex with a friend's estranged wife. With the financial backing of right-wing tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Hogan sued on the grounds that Gawker had violated his privacy and caused him emotional harm. A jury ruled in his favor, awarding him $140 million in total damages. Advertisement The case drove Gawker Media, one of the defining media brands of its era, into bankruptcy. Its flagship site was shut down in 2016. Some of its other properties — including Deadspin, Gizmodo and Jezebel — remained in operation under new ownership but have never come close to achieving the heights they reached while they were under the Gawker umbrella. MAGA hypeman Hulk Hogan speaks during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee, former President Trump at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. () Hogan's wrestling persona was emphatically pro-American, but politics wasn't a major part of his personal brand until the 2024 presidential race. Last year, he became one of President Trump's most vocal celebrity supporters. He touted 'Trumpamania' during what Trump called an 'absolutely electric speech' at the Republican National Convention last July, in which Hogan revived his signature move of tearing his shirt to shreds. He put on a similar show during a Trump rally in New York a few weeks before Election Day. 'In politics, celebrity endorsements rarely go viral. But by thinking BIG — and retro … Trump's team might have managed just that,' Yahoo's Andrew Romano wrote after Hogan's convention speech.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hulk Hogan's most memorable movie roles, from ‘Rocky III' to ‘Gremlins 2'
Before Dwayne Johnson and John Cena found their way from the WWE ring to the big screen, Terry Bollea aka Hulk Hogan provided a case study in how wrestling stars could become movie stars. Hogan was a ubiquitous presence in movie theaters — and on TV screens — during the height of his fame in the 1980s and 1990s. He died at his home in Clearwater, FL on July 24 at age 71. In his later years, Hogan was better known as a reality TV star, headlining the two-season VH1 series Hogan Knows Best and appearing on its one-and-done follow-up, Brooke Knows Best. He also had cameos on comedy series ranging from The Inbetweeners to The Goldbergs. More from Gold Derby 2025 Emmys: These are the episodes every Best Drama Actor nominee submitted 2025 Emmys: These are the episodes every Best Comedy Actor nominee submitted But Hogan's movie roles remain the best examples of his outsized persona. Here's a recap of his most memorable film appearances. Rocky III (1982) Hogan first climbed into the movie ring with the third — and best — Rocky movie to knock Sylvester Stallone's southpaw boxer around in a boxer vs. wrestler match-up. While his superbly named alter ego is Thunderlips, he's basically playing Hulk Hogan. For moviegoers who weren't already following wrestling, it's a memorable introduction to his attitude... and size. Sadly, Hogan wasn't in supporting actor contention, but Rocky III's immortal title anthem "Eye of the Tiger" was up for Best Original Song. No Holds Barred (1989) Seven years after Rocky III, Hogan officially graduated from supporting actor to leading man in this kooky WWE-supported 'rassling picture. A brilliant bizarre cross between Rocky and Bloodsport, No Holds Barred casts him as Rip Thomas — the reigning champion whose title is threatened by a super-sized contender named Zeus (Tiny Lister). But the real star of the movie is Kurt Fuller as one of the best corporate weasels of the '80s. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Did the Gremlins invent meta humor? The New Batch makes the case with Hogan's hilarious fourth wall-breaking cameo in which the wrestler single-handedly gets the movie back on track when those after midnight-feasting critters take over the projection booth. Fun fact: the VHS release of Gremlins 2 swapped out Hogan for a shootout with John Wayne. While it's a funny switch, we still prefer the Hulkster over the Duke in this particular case. Suburban Commando (1991) In the wake of Kindergarten Cop, other musclebound '80s action stars followed Arnold Schwarzenegger's lead and got into kiddie fare. Hogan made sure he was part of that trend as well, appearing in movies with titles like Mr. Nanny and Santa with Muscles. But Suburban Commando is the most successful of his PG-rated efforts, largely because he's surrounded by skilled comic actors like Christopher Lloyd, Shelley Duvall and Larry Miller who do a lot of the heavy lifting. The Ultimate Weapon (1998) Hogan's action movie swan song taps him as a Special Forces veteran dispatched on a high-stakes, high-body count mission involving rogue IRA operatives. In a sign of the late '90s times, the film skipped a theatrical run for a home video debut — a fate that befell other once-popular '80s stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. The Ultimate Weapon is the last gasp of an entire era of action movies before The Matrix changed the genre's game. Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) Hogan's last credited movie role finds him providing the voice for an unseen television pitchman hawking a terrifying lawnmower that's guaranteed to strike fear into the plaster hearts of any gnome. It's one of the many retro jokes that's typical of this inoffensive animated babysitter, which received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song — a duet between Elton John and Lady Gaga that doesn't feature Hogan's vocals. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Batman 2': Returning cast, script finalized Tom Cruise movies: 17 greatest films ranked worst to best 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') Click here to read the full article. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Hulk Hogan was an era-defining American brand: big, brash and bizarre
Hulk Hogan broke containment. As popular as professional wrestling became during the 1980s, its ins and outs were not as well-publicized as the highlights of more superficially respectable sports such as football, baseball and basketball. Even non-sporty 80s kids could probably name a bunch of teams and a few ultra-famous players such as Michael Jordan, Joe Montana or Darryl Strawberry. Wrestlers, meanwhile, were essentially both the players and the teams, which should have made them easier to differentiate – but, in reality, made the whole thing seem like a TV show that you either watched, or you didn't. Hulk Hogan, who died this week just shy of 72, was different. For better or worse. Hogan, born Terry Bollea, had a wrestling career that synced near-perfectly with wrestling's growing 1980s-era popularity. After bouncing between the World Wrestling Federation (the Vince McMahon-run organization now known as WWE) and the American Wrestling Association in the early 80s, Hogan returned to the WWF in 1983 and presided over an outbreak of what was diagnosed as 'Hulkamania'. Even those who received the proper vaccinations against Hulkamania – namely, not paying attention to wrestling – could see the symptoms manifesting in others, and especially in the Hulkster himself. The red-and-yellow shirt he would tear off, the biker stache, the bandana atop his thinning blond mane became instantly recognizable trademarks even for non-fans. He was so recognizable, in fact, that it's surprising in retrospect that he wasn't able to make the jump to feature films, his inability to establish a movie-world beachhead so vivid that later stars such as Dwayne Johnson and John Cena were considered almost miraculous when they made it happen. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin eventually established a somewhat more robust filmography, using supporting roles to consort with the likes of Sylvester Stallone (whom Hogan also knew, via an early part in Rocky III, where he's ultimately upstaged by Mr T) and Adam Sandler. Hogan, meanwhile, had the one-two punch of a flop wrestling drama (No Holds Barred) and a flop kiddie comedy (Suburban Commando), the latter of which led to a few more movies of that ilk, presumably owed to some kid-driven home-video success. In terms of both quality and box office, the best Hogan could do was feature in a bizarre meta moment midway through Joe Dante's anarchic horror-comedy sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch in 1990. After the movie 'breaks' as a result of mischievous Gremlins invading the projection booth, the film cuts to an usher fielding complaints about the holdup. He then makes his way into an auditorium, where a yellow-and-red-outfitted Hulk Hogan is munching popcorn, waiting for the movie to resume. At the behest of management, he loudly berates and threatens the creatures until they roll the film again. It's his most memorable film moment, and it lasts all of about a minute and a half. Yet that scene did speak to a bizarre, potent iconography. I had never seen a single wrestling match in my young life, but watching Gremlins 2 in a theater, I already knew Hulk Hogan and understood exactly what his deal was. It was a little odd that he was turning up in my Gremlins movie, but not as odd as it should have been. After all, he wasn't Larry Bird or Magic Johnson, who were safely ensconced in the world of athletics and accompanying big-budget commercials. Hogan was more akin to a living action figure, or the Kool-Aid Man. You had to hand it to him. By the dawn of the 1990s, he wasn't just the player and the team; he was the product, too. But Hogan was also a human, and by many accounts not a particularly good one. In the 2010s, he achieved a twofer of infamy. First, a sex tape he made in the 2000s was leaked. That was all consensual private business, but, more pressing, said tape featured an racist rant from Hogan, including the use of a particularly vile slur. When this portion of the tape came out in 2015, he was banned from the WWE ring, his still-existing merchandise was yanked from store shelves and he was removed from the WWE Hall of Fame. Well, for a few years. All of those distinctions were reversed by 2019, seemingly not because Hogan did anything more than clumsily apologize several years earlier. Just because, well, who is anyone else to say when someone's horrible racial slurs are really racist? The more lasting effect of Hogan's sex tape was that the website Gawker posted a portion of it in 2012. Hogan, quietly bankrolled by billionaire Peter Thiel, sued the site's company more or less out of existence. Its assets were sold off and eventually controlled by private-equity firms that did their best to strip them for parts. (Gawker no longer exists, but some of its sibling sites have survived under new ownership.) Hogan was basically hired out as the face of billionaire vengeance. This is all to say that while Hogan often felt like wrestling's enthusiastic mascot to the outside world less steeped in the sport, there's another, less whimsical symbol of capitalism run amok that Hogan also came to resemble. An 80s brand name who went on to feature on several reality TV series, make racist remarks and endorse a variety of questionable products using the power of a billionaire to exact personal vengeance that changed the media landscape? It's no wonder that Hogan appeared at the 2024 Republican convention to endorse Donald Trump for president. Trump had essentially been following the Hulk Hogan handbook, right down to his refusal to go away. Though his peak was past by the mid-90s, Hogan never well and truly quit wrestling for good. His non-wrestling career as a jack-of-all-trades all-purpose Famous Brand Name also wasn't unprecedented. But his particular brand of celebrity did feel like a 1980s novelty that metastasized into American culture as a whole. He was a consummate Famous for Famous figure not because wrestling is fake – plenty of wrestlers have built respectable careers in and out of the ring – but because he brought that fakeness with him, out into the world. There was scarcely a medium he couldn't cheapen with a Mr Nanny (allegedly a movie), a Hulk Rules (allegedly an album) or a Pastamania (a short-lived restaurant that operated out of the Mall of America). Did anyone really want any of this? Maybe some kids or hardcore fans, which would give all of that a more natural fanbase than Trump-endorsed steaks and fake colleges. Hogan may have left us, but spiritually speaking, Hulkamania never died.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hulk Hogan's best movie roles, including 'Rocky III' (Thunderlips is here!)
Hollywood Hulk Hogan was more than just a nickname that Hulk Hogan embraced during his villainous heel turn days as a professional wrestler. The flamboyant 6-foot-7-inch Hogan (born Terry Gene Bollea) embraced Tinseltown, body-slamming into movies after throwing Sylvester Stallone's Rocky around the ring as giant wrestler Thunderlips in 1982's "Rocky III." Hollywood didn't always hug him back. Hogan, who died on July 24 at 71, the gaudy patriarch of the VH1 reality series "Hogan Knows Best" (2005-07), never achieved the movie-crossover success of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He also leveled critics while setting the wrong kind of box-office records with some of his over-the-top films. But with his flowing blond hair, muscle-bulging physique and larger-than-life persona, Hogan made movie impact – even if it was often a crashing sound. Here are Hogan's most memorable roles. 'Thunderlips is here!' announced Hulk Hogan's 'Rocky III' entrance Hogan's bicep-kissing entrance as Thunderlips in the third "Rocky" movie and his ensuing ring battle are brief but unforgettable. Billing himself as "the ultimate male," Hogan bellowed, "Thunderlips is here!" entering the ring in a charity match against Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Described as "nearly 7 feet tall" by the ring announcer, Thunderlips towered over Rocky before throwing the heavyweight around like a tomato can. Naturally, Rocky impossibly triumphed in the charity mismatch. But what a movie entrance, in a prime Hollywood franchise! 'No Holds Barred' (1989): Cult classic that brought 'Rip 'em!' Hogan's first lead movie role, as wrestler Rip Thomas, was tailor-made for his wrestling persona. Though critically panned, "No Holds Barred" became a cult favorite among wrestling fans due to its over-the-top ring theatrics, villains like Zeus (former NFL star Tom 'Tiny' Lister), and Rip's wrestling ring battle cry of, wait for it, "Rip 'em." It might just be the best bad movie ever. Hogan crash-landed on Earth in 'Suburban Commando' (1991) Hogan starred as intergalactic warrior Shep Ramsey, forced to lie low in American suburbia after a spaceship crash-landed in the action comedy. The pro-wrestler/alien-out-of-water movie was a box-office dud and a critical disaster. Packed with sci-fi gadgets incorporating groan-worthy special effects, slapstick humor, and early roles for Christopher Lloyd and Shelley Duvall (along with a young Elisabeth Moss), "Suburban Commando" found a second life on home video. Hogan later made an interstellar cameo appearance in "Muppets from Space" (1999), portraying himself as a "Man in Black." Hogan guarded kids in 'Mr. Nanny' (1993) On the heels of Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Kindergarten Cop" (1990), Hogan played for kiddie-induced action laughs as former wrestler Sean Armstrong, who's tasked with serving as a bodyguard to two unruly kids. "Mr. Nanny" was another box-office bomb ($4.3 million) and critical dud that found renewed life on home video. Hogan ho ho ho-ed the line in 'Santa with Muscles' (1996) There had to be a Hulk Hogan Santa Claus movie (with biceps). Hogan played Blake Thorn, a conceited millionaire who truly believes he is Santa Claus after escaping from police in a mall Santa outfit. Despite an early film appearance by Mila Kunis and the best '90s Bad Santa line ever ("Fax me, you little brat"), "Santa with Muscles" was critically derided and an extreme box-office lump of coal with a total of $220,000 during two weeks in theaters. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hulk Hogan's best movies roles, from 'Rocky III' to 'Mr. Nanny'
