Bobby Heenan

Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan (November 1, 1943 – September 17, 2017) was an American retired manager, professional wrestler and color commentator. Heenan is best known for his time in American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He was known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Heenan was known for having great skill in drawing heat towards both himself and the wrestlers that he had managed. He was also known for his time as a color commentator along with his co-commentator Gorilla Monsoon.

Heenan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Blackjack Lanza in 2004. During his speech, he paid tribute to his close friend and broadcast partner Gorilla Monsoon. He tearfully said "I wish Monsoon were here." Heenan also inducted "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in 2005, Nick Bockwinkel in 2007 and The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza) in 2006.

In January 2002, He announced that he was battling throat cancer. Since then, he has recovered largely but he lost a lot of weight going from 231 pounds (105 kg) to 190 pounds (86 kg) or even less. His voice also changed to a soft, high-pitched tone, different from his strong, rugged tone during his color commentator days. In December 2007, he had reconstructive surgery on his jaw, when the first surgery was not successful. He was placed in a medically induced coma and was slowly brought out. In February 2009, he was released from the hospital and was relearning how to speak clearly.

In October 2013, Jim Ross said in an interview that Heenan is "hanging in there." but is still having trouble speaking as a result of tongue cancer treatments.

Heenan died of complications from throat and tongue cancer on September 17, 2017 at his home in Largo, Florida at the age of 73.

Awards
Cauliflower Alley Club
Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2004)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Manager of the Year Award (1972, 1976, 1989, 1991)
Stanley Weston Award (2012)
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Class of 2006St. Louis Wrestling Hall of FameClass of 2010World Wrestling EntertainmentWWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards'''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

References

Other websites
WWE profile

Category:1944 births
Category:2017 deaths
Category:American professional wrestlers
Category:Cancer deaths in Florida
Category:Deaths from throat cancer
Category:Deaths from tongue cancer
Category:Professional wrestling announcers
Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets
Category:Sportspeople from Chicago
Category:WWE Hall of Fame
Category:WWE people