{"id":2624,"date":"2017-02-17T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T15:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=2624"},"modified":"2017-03-06T23:30:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T04:30:34","slug":"wwe-hall-famer-george-animal-steele-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2017\/02\/17\/wwe-hall-famer-george-animal-steele-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE Hall of Famer George &#8220;The Animal&#8221; Steele Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the WWE&#8217;s most beloved stars of the 1980&#8217;s Rock N&#8217; Wrestling era, WWE Hall of Famer <strong>George &#8220;The Animal&#8221; Steele<\/strong>, passed away this morning after a lengthy illness. He entered hospice last night where he passed away surrounded by family. His passing was first announced by <strong>Hulk Hogan<\/strong> on his Twitter this morning. He was 79 years old<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">George&quot;the Animal&quot;Steel,RIP my brother,only love,only grateful. HH<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HulkHogan\/status\/832600149666959361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The news was later confirmed by the WWE.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer George \u201cThe Animal\u201d Steele has passed away at age of 79. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TTCUVMDtTU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/TTCUVMDtTU<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AeEcohPCRe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/AeEcohPCRe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/832618195169079299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Unlike his wild and savage character, George &#8220;The Animal&#8221; Steele &#8211; real name Jim Myers &#8211; was well educated individual from the Detroit, Michigan area, originally beginning his career as a high school teacher at Madison High in Madison Heights. To supplement his income, he entered the world of professional wrestling in 1967 and never looked back. Originally starting as a prot\u00e9g\u00e9e of\u00a0manager Gary Hart, as the masked man\u00a0known as\u00a0<strong>The Student<\/strong>, Myers soon caught the attention of WWWF World Champion <strong>Bruno Sammartino<\/strong>, who convinced Steele to expand his mad-man gimmick, but to remove his mask. Through Bruno&#8217;s assistance, Steele soon began working the circuit for<strong> Vince McMahon<\/strong> <strong>S<\/strong>nr&#8217;s WWWF.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2628\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2628\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2628\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/student.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/student.jpg 250w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/student-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2628\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steele as &#8220;The Student&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Throughout the 1970&#8217;s, Steele was one of the WWWF&#8217;s top heels, with rivalries against <strong>Chief Jay Strongbow, Eduoard Carpentier, Victor\u00a0Rivera<\/strong> and even against World Champion Sammartino. His outlandish Wildman antics, his shaggy hairy body and his green tongue inspired fear and panic from the audience during a time when kayfabe was very much alive (he acquired his green tongue from eating multitudes of\u00a0green Clorets mouth mints). Unlike his most popular run in the 80&#8217;s,\u00a0George &#8220;The Animal&#8221; Steele\u00a0spoke rather eloquently during the 1970&#8217;s. It wasn&#8217;t until <strong>Vince McMahon Jr<\/strong>., took over the WWWF\u00a0&#8211; now renamed the WWF &#8211; and encouraged\u00a0George to be more guttural and play up his &#8220;Animal&#8221; moniker.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2625\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2625\" style=\"width: 442px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2625\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"442\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/11.jpg 442w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/11-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2625\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He soon became a fan favourite, becoming allies of the<strong> US Express<\/strong> (<strong>Barry Windham &amp; Mike Rotunda<\/strong>) and later <strong>Ricky &#8220;The Dragon&#8221; Steamboat<\/strong>, in his legendary feud with <strong>Randy &#8220;Macho Man&#8221; Savage<\/strong>. His adoration for Savage&#8217;s valet <strong>Miss Elizabeth<\/strong> was a pro wrestling version of Beauty and the Beast.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2630\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2630\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2630\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/George-Steele-Savage-Elizabeth-screengrab_BP-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"320\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/George-Steele-Savage-Elizabeth-screengrab_BP-1.jpg 320w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/George-Steele-Savage-Elizabeth-screengrab_BP-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2630\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After a 21-year career, Steele retired in 1988, although he would briefly come out of retirement in 1998 as part of the<strong> Oddities<\/strong>, during the Attitude Era. Following his retirement, he would work on-and-off with the WWE as a road agent and producer as well as heading to Hollywood, most notably in the 1994 Tim Burton biopic <em><strong>Ed Wood<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2626\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2626\" style=\"width: 658px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2626\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/C44HRS2WYAAjaN-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"658\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/C44HRS2WYAAjaN-.jpg 658w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/C44HRS2WYAAjaN--300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2626\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steele in Ed Wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2005, Steele was inducted into the 2005 Class of the WWE Hall of Fame. His crazy antics &#8211; from eating turnbuckles and filling the air with it&#8217;s fluffy white stuffing (which more often than not got tangles in his body hair) to his stuffed doll &#8220;Mine&#8221; to his climactic Hammerlock finishing move &#8211; George &#8220;The Animal&#8221; Steele will live on in the hearts of wrestling fans worldwide.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2631\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2631\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2631\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/geroge-steele01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/geroge-steele01.jpg 410w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/02\/geroge-steele01-300x256.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2631\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The staff of Last Word on Pro Wrestling wishes to offer condolences to the entire Myers family at this time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">REST IN PEACE GEORGE THE ANIMAL STEELE. YOU WERE ALWAYS THE INTELLIGENT BROTHER I LOVE YOU <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4yQ1YyzyJ2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4yQ1YyzyJ2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/the_ironsheik\/status\/832621581738323968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/courtbauer\/status\/832614236790603776<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sad to hear the passing of old friend &amp; fellow <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWE<\/a> HOFER George &quot;The Animal&quot; Steele at age 79.<br \/>The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michiganstateu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@michiganstateu<\/a> grad was good man.<br \/>RIP \ud83d\ude4f<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JRsBBQ\/status\/832614545197846528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">RIP Jim Myers AKA George The animal Steel.Jim, talked me into my job at WWE and was great friend Traveled world with him was great HS coach<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Gerald BRISCO \ud83e\udd3c\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@Fgbrisco) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Fgbrisco\/status\/832625494268841984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Got the privilege of traveling the world with George &#39;The Animal&#39; Steele and enjoyed every minute of it. RIP my friend. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UnbhTaY9Qt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UnbhTaY9Qt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; John Layfield (@JCLayfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JCLayfield\/status\/832623239423614976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 17, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: WWE.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the WWE&#8217;s most beloved stars of the 1980&#8217;s Rock N&#8217; Wrestling era, WWE Hall of Famer George &#8220;The Animal&#8221; Steele, passed away this morning after a lengthy illness. He entered hospice last night where he passed away surrounded by family. His passing was first announced by Hulk Hogan on his Twitter this morning. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":649,"featured_media":2627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,547,12,25,26,4,3],"tags":[542],"class_list":["post-2624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-in-memorium","category-news","category-raw","category-smackdown","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-george-the-animal-steele"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/649"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}