Category: Written Features

I thought long and hard about how to properly convey the words in regards to what kind of impact the late great Howard Finkel left on my life… and I end up drawing a blank. It’s almost embarrassing that it took me two weeks since his passing to come up with a worthy tribute… but ultimately, nothing I can do could be considered as such.

Because there are no words that could do the man justice.

Howard Finkel is the first thing that comes to mind when I think pro wrestling ring announcers. For over two decades, he was the voice of Wrestlemania. Appropriate when you consider that he was the one who coined the name. His distinct vocal inflections and way of making things seem grandeur and important brought a level of class and distinct to a sport that was often lacking in such things… and did a far better job of it than anyone that came before or since.

Howard Finkel was also the smartest man in WWE, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the business that became the inspiration for a short-lived contest called Out-think The Fink, where fans would try to stump the Fink. And when he needed to be, he played a perfect lackey or foil to the delight of the audience.

It is safe to say that there will never be another Howard Finkel. He was truly one of a kind and he shall be forever missed.

Thanks for the memories, Howard.

Robert Axelrod passed away this past weekend.

Best known for his vocal talents as the villainous Lord Zedd in several seasons worth of Power Rangers, Mr. Axelrod has voiced numerous characters over the course of his career, from Digimon to Robotech and other anime dubs of note. He had also been a guitarist in the 1970s.

Words cannot properly the profound sense of loss that is being felt and I can only offer my thoughts and condolences to his family and friends on this trying time.

Godspeed, Mr. Axelrod. And thanks for the memories.

So around the same time that news of Mean Gene’s passing broke, there was also news that Bob Einstein, old Super Dave Osbourne himself, has also passed away due to his battle with cancer and that’s a childhood passed away. Back when I was a kid and even a teen growing up, I’d be watching the family-friendly iterations of the Super Dave show where they bleep out all the swearing with funny duck quacks and things of that nature, which actually made it funny, but watching this alleged stuntman with this seemingly endless Super Dave Compound showing off all these gimmicks going wrong and performing all these stunts that turned out badly… man, you couldn’t help but feel for the poor guy, but first let me laugh at the compressor turning him into a little head with two feet.

I recently found a Youtube channel that had most of the old Super Dave clips uploaded, all uncensored with all the colorful metaphors intact and just the fact that I remember most of these like they happened yesterday just shows how much of an impact and an affect that Super Dave had on my cumulative years. And those clips still hold up. When I got news of his passing, I loaded that page and binged on all those clips. And it was all due to SD, his deadpan, straight-faced reaction to all the stupid going on around him.

Bob Einstein did other stuff; he did Officer Judy in the old Smothers Brothers show, he was a recurring character on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and a few other things… but to me, he’ll always be Super Dave. And his being gone makes the world a less appealing place.

Godspeed, Super Dave Osbourne. May your stay in the ol’ Super Dave Compound in the sky be free of accident… or anything made from genuine Saskatchewan Seal Skin Bindings.

Only a day or two in and we’ve already have our first deaths… legendary wrestling announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Mean Gene Okerlund passed away on January 2nd.

Mean Gene… everyone has said their words on the influence and the aura that this man projected with his segments better than I could properly put into words. Mean Gene, in his best days, whether it’d be in the seventies where his best stuff resided, or during his WWF and WCW stints, would conduct the best interviews because regardless of whether he was interviewing Hulk Hogan or any of the big stars, or if he was interviewing some lower tier guy, he was able to make those interviews seem important and made you pay attention. Hell, if you weren’t sold on a show, those Mean Gene segments would sell you those shows.

Gene Okerlund brought an air of legitimacy to his segments… not quite legitimacy, but rather importance. His presence, his quick wit, his tone, his timing, his deep voice, his professionalism made those interview segments that would be skippable fare if they were done by anyone else seem important and worth watching. Whether it was cutting interviews, hosting television segments such as WWE Confidential or the various retrospective specials… or whether it was being a character on something like the short-lived Legends House, Mean Gene brought the goods and that’s what made him great.

There will never be another Mean Gene Okerlund.

Godspeed, Mr. Okerlund. And thanks for the memories. You’ll be sorely missed.