A legendary stuntman, martial arts expert, he was the direct inspiration for Brad Pitt’s character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Gene LeBelle died in his sleep at the age of 89.
A judo champion, he also made his mark in the world of wrestling and was a seasoned film stuntman. It directly inspired the character Cliff Booth played by Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Ivan Jean Lebel died in his sleep at the age of 89 HollywoodReporter.
Born in Los Angeles in October 1932, Ivan Gene Lebel was immersed in the world of combat sports very early on. His mother, “Red Head” Eileen Eaton, worked in wrestling promotion, but also in boxing. She was also the first woman to join the prestigious International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Going to Japan to study judo, Gene LeBelle won numerous medals upon his return to the United States before becoming a professional wrestler trained by the legends of the time, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, Lou Tess and Carl Gotch.
In December 1963, in Salt Lake City, Lebel would participate in his one and only MMA fight by defeating the boxer. Milo Savage After a challenge organized by boxer and writer Jim Beck. From 1968 to 1983, Ivan and his brother Mike LeBelle managed the Los Angeles branch of the National Wrestling Alliance.
Bruce Lee’s friend
The career of a very high-level athlete, which for fifty years will be compared to the career of a Hollywood stuntman, on the small and big screens. We can list disaster movies like the classic Tower of Hell, Earthquake, Planet of the Apes, Total Recall, Independence Day, Robocop, King Kong… His list of contributions as a stuntman and stunt coordinator is impressive.
Faced with Elvis Presley under the blue sky of Hawaii, he also met Bruce Lee while the latter was filming the TV series Green Hornet, where they collided after a fight. Both will eventually unite in a great friendship; Lee trained for a year at the martial arts school opened by Lebel. Tech learned that Bruce Lee will practice Dragon’s Wrath during his confrontation with Chuck Norris and in Operation Dragon when he meets a Shaolin warrior.
Inspiration model for the character of Cliff Booth Once upon a time in Hollywood…His encounter with the little dragon not only inspired the film’s famous scene, in which the martial arts master saunters onto the set and brags about being able to beat boxer Muhammad Ali before provoking a fight with the stuntman. Cliff Booth laughs at his attitude.
But the inspiration also comes from Booth’s very troubled past, suspected of murdering his wife. LeBelle was indeed accused of murdering a private detective named Robert Duke Hall in 1976 before the charges against him were dropped.
Source: allocine
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