Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, was found dead in his Florida home on Thursday morning.

In Clearwater, authorities responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Clearwater Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.

His manager, Chris Volo, confirmed to NBC Los Angeles that Hogan died surrounded by family.

“WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s,” WWE said on X.

0:34 Hulk Hogan dead: Wrestling legend passes away at 71

It gave no cause of death.

In recent months, there had been reports that Hogan was ill, but those close to him said he was recovering from neck surgery he had in May.

Hogan was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years in its signature event, facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon.

He won six WWF/WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 by Sylvester Stallone.

He was able to transcend his “Hulkamania” fan base to become a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, Hogan Knows Best.

In 2024, he appeared at the Republican National Convention to endorse the presidential bid of Donald Trump, who in the 1980s had played host to Hulk-headlined WrestleManias. Hogan said he made the decision to support the Republican candidate after seeing his combative, fist-pumping reaction to an attempted assassination on the campaign trail.

View image in full screen

“Let Trumpamania run wild, brother!” Hogan bellowed to a cheering crowd, ripping off his shirt to reveal a Trump tank top. “Let Trumpamania rule again!”

Becoming ‘Hulk’

Born in Augusta, Ga., on Aug. 11, 1953, the future Hulk and his family soon moved to the Tampa, Fla., area. After high school, he played bass guitar for area rock bands, but felt a pull to the Florida wrestling scene in the 1970s.

Many of the details of his career were show business exaggerations, representative of the blurred lines between fact and fiction in wrestling.

His first trainer reportedly broke Hogan’s leg to dissuade him from entering the business, but he kept at wrestling, weight training and – he later admitted – anabolic steroids. He gained notoriety as his biceps turned into what he dubbed the “24-inch pythons.”

The “Hulk” moniker came from comparisons to the comic-book hero portrayed on TV at the time. He would end up paying royalties to Marvel Comics for years. “Hogan” was the invention of promoter Vincent J. McMahon, the owner of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), who wanted Irish representation among his stable of stars.

His appearance as wrestler Thunderlips in Rocky III, where he dwarfed leading man Stallone, rocketed Hogan to the mainstream. Upon a return to the WWF, now controlled by McMahon’s son Vincent K., he defeated the Iron Sheik in 1984 to claim the world championship, a belt he would hold for four years.

Hogan became a household name, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine and performing alongside pop culture stars like Mr. T. The WWF came to dominate wrestling, anchored by its annual WrestleMania pay-per-view events.

Facing The Rock

Later, Hogan joined competitor World Championship Wrestling, swapping his trademark yellow tights for black and taking on a persona as the villainous “Hollywood” Hogan, the head of a gang of rulebreakers known as the New World Order. The gimmick reinvigorated his career.

Hogan eventually returned to the WWF, now known as WWE, and faced Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania in 2002.

“I’m in better shape than him,” Hogan told Reuters at the time, five months shy of his 50th birthday. “I’ll stand next to The Rock and pose down with him if he wants to.”

The Rock ultimately won the match.

Hogan was inducted twice into the WWE Hall of Fame, and referred to himself as the “Babe Ruth” of wrestling, after the New York Yankees’ famed baseball player.

But Hogan’s support of Trump in 2024 did not go down well with all wrestling fans, and he also faced other controversies. Gossip website Gawker was shuttered after it posted parts of a sex tape between him and a friend’s wife and Hogan sued on privacy grounds, winning a US$140-million judgment.

In 2015, he was suspended by the WWE after another surreptitious recording revealed that Hogan had used a racial slur. He was reinstated in 2018.

Hogan is survived by his ex-wife Linda Bollea and their two children, Brooke Hogan, 37, and Nick Hogan, 34.

0:53 ‘I feel great’: Hulk Hogan reacts to being awarded $25M more in punitive damages

— with files from Reuters

Jimmy Kimmel fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump after he declared Kimmel is the “next to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes,” following the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

On Tuesday, Trump took to Truth Social to criticize Kimmel, claiming he has “absolutely NO TALENT” and warned that his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!,  is next on the chopping block.

“The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes, and shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to other late-night host, Jimmy Fallon.

“These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”

Kimmel responded by sharing a screenshot of Trump’s post on Instagram with the caption: “I’m hearing you’re next. Or maybe it’s just another wonderful secret” — a reference to a Wall Street Journal report, published July 17, that claimed Trump had written the phrase to Jeffrey Epstein in a letter for his 50th birthday in 2003.

The alleged letter bearing Trump’s name included text framed by the outline of a hand-drawn naked woman and ended with, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the newspaper. The outlet described the contents of the letter but did not publish a photo showing it entirely.

Trump has denied writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory.” He slammed the story in a lengthy social media post last week, saying he spoke to both the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, and its top editor, Emma Tucker, and told them the letter was “fake.”

“These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” he said.

Trump has since sued the publication over the story.

2:16 ‘Trump believes he has immunity’: Colbert cancellation sparks censorship speculation

Comedian Chelsea Handler addressed Trump in Kimmel’s Instagram comment section, adding that it’s “amazing a president doesn’t have more important things to do.”

“You’ve played a major role in every single person to contemplate leaving this country,” Handler wrote. “It’s amazing a president doesn’t have more important things to do like stop wars, make sure the country is safe from foreign enemies, or simply ensure that every family in this country can put food on their table.”

Handler went on to suggest that children’s literature character Pippi Longstocking “would be better suited to the office.”

On Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show, Fallon also brought up the cancellation of Colbert’s show.

“I am your host,” Fallon said. “Well, at least for tonight.”

“I don’t like it. I don’t like what’s going on one bit. These are crazy times,” he told his audience. “Stephen has done years of incredibly smart and hilarious television. He’s won 10 Emmys. Trump heard and was like, ‘Big deal. Last week, I just won a FIFA World Cup trophy.”

Fallon was referring to the recent FIFA Club World Cup final trophy presentation, when Trump stuck around on stage in the centre of the moment as the players received their trophy.

Colbert also shared some choice words for Trump during Monday’s opening monologue on The Late Show.

“Over the weekend it sunk in that they’re killing off our show but they made one mistake: they left me alive,” Colbert said, looking directly into the camera.

“And now for the next 10 months, the gloves are off. I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump, starting right now.”

Colbert said he doesn’t “care for” Trump, adding that he doesn’t think he has “the skill set to be president” and isn’t “a good fit.”

The late-night host went on to read Trump’s post celebrating the decision to cancel the show on Truth Social last Friday, in which he wrote, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”

Colbert said into the “Eloquence Cam”: “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f— yourself.”

— With files from The Associated Press

A doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks leading up to the “Friends” star’s overdose death is expected to plead guilty Wednesday.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia would be the fourth of five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to plead guilty.

Plasencia was to have gone on trial in August until the doctor agreed last month to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, according to the signed document filed in federal court in Los Angeles.

He had previously pleaded not guilty, but in exchange for the guilty pleas prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying records.

Plasencia’s attorneys emphasized in an email after he reached his agreement that he “was not treating Matthew Perry at the time of his death and the ketamine that caused Mr. Perry’s death was not provided by Dr. Plasencia.”

The remaining charges can carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and there is no guarantee he’ll get less, but he’s likely to. Plasencia has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest in August. He will not be sentenced until a future hearing.

The only remaining defendant who has not reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors allege is a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” and sold Perry the lethal dose. Her trial is scheduled to begin next month. She has pleaded not guilty.

According to prosecutors and co-defendants who reached their own deals, Plasencia illegally supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine starting about a month before his death on Oct. 28, 2023.

2:07 People ‘took advantage’ of Matthew Perry before ketamine overdose death: prosecutors

According to a co-defendant, Plasencia in a text message called the actor a “moron” who could be exploited for money.

Perry’s personal assistant, his friend, and another doctor all agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation as the government sought to make their case against larger targets, Plasencia and Sangha. None have been sentenced yet.

Perry was found dead by the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death.

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.

Plasencia admitted in his plea agreement that another patient connected him with Perry, and that starting about a month before Perry’s death, he illegally supplied the actor with 20 vials of ketamine totaling 100 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes.

He admitted to enlisting another doctor, Mark Chavez, to supply the drug for him, according to the court filings.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to Chavez’s plea agreement.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to,” prosecutors said.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.