The WWE says William Moody, better known to pro wrestling fans as Paul Bearer, the pasty-faced, urn-carrying manager for performers The Undertaker and Kane, has died. He was 58.
A spokesman for the wrestling circuit said Moody’s family contacted the WWE to report the death on Tuesday (local time). No cause was released.
The WWE partly molded Moody’s character off his real-life job in the mortuary business.
After stints in minor-league wrestling promotions, Moody joined the WWE in 1990 and quickly became associated with The Undertaker, a character who claimed he was undead and impervious to pain.
In the WWE plotline, Paul Bearer later managed Undertaker’s on-screen half brother Kane.
He was a fixture on WWE programming for more than a decade. His shrill catchphrase, “Ooohhh yeeesss!” and contorted facial expressions made him one of the sports-entertainment company’s more popular personalities.
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– AP
