Hulk Hogan, one of America’s best-known wrestling stars, has died at the age of 71.
The star, born Terry Gene Bollea and known for his flowing blond hair and iconic handlebar moustache, died at his home in Florida on Thursday.
Hogan began his professional wrestling career in 1977, but shot to fame after signing for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), as it was known before it became World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), in 1983.
He was one of the most prominent characters as the popularity of wrestling exploded, and later became well-known for his reality show, Hogan Knows Best, which aired on VH1 from 2005 to 2007.
Hogan’s manager Chris Volo said the wrestler suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, and died surrounded by his family.
More recently, Hogan had been a vocal a supporter of US president Donald Trump.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social, Trump wrote that he had “lost a great friend today”, the “Hulkster”.
“Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart. He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week,” Trump wrote in the post, referencing his slogan, Make America Great Again.
The WWE star had neck surgery in May and heart surgery in June.
In a post on Instagram, his family wrote that they had “lost a legend”.
“May we all take solace in the wonderful memories he left behind for the millions of fans worldwide whose lives he touched for more than four decades,” they wrote. “He will be missed, but never forgotten.”
Police officials said on Thursday that emergency services responded to a medical call at 10:00 EST (15:00 BST), where they found Hogan experiencing a serious medical issue.
He was taken to a hospital where he died at 11:17. There will be an investigation, they said, but there is no suspicious activity surrounding his death.
Read more via CNN
