INFOGRAPHIC: Pro-wrestling deaths compared

Last week, WWE wrestler “Macho Man” Randy Savage died in a car crash in Florida. He was 58.

When Savage’s death was announced on Friday, there was speculation that he might have suffered a heart attack before crashing his car. As of now, there’s been no confirmation of that speculation. But if Macho Man did die of heart-related conditions, he would not be alone when compared to his fellow wrestlers who have also died before turning 65.

I conducted a brief, non-exhaustive survey of the wrestling stars to die in the last 20 years before reaching their 65th birthdays. This includes both men and women who were in WWF/WWE or WCW. I culled my list from a larger list, and then looked up individual wrestlers. I left off Terry Garvin because there’s speculation on his birth year. (He does have a really cool surname, though).

Of that group, a good number of these deaths were heart- or drug-related, if not both. Additionally, there were two suicides.

Some things to point out:

  • Andre the Giant was a huge guy, so it’s understandable that he’d have heart issues.
  • Yokozuna and Earthquake were also huge guys, so it’s understandable that they’d have general health issues.
  • Dino Bravo was rumored to have been murdered because of mob connections.
  • Owen Hart died during a WWE performance.

If looking purely at this list, it would seem that “Macho Man” Randy Savage is one of the older wrestling stars to die. In this list, he’s second only to Gorilla Monsoon.

Again, this list does not include every wrestler, and is not meant to imply that Gorilla Monsoon and Randy Savage were the oldest former wrestlers at the times of their deaths. It does succeed in showing, though, that in dying at 58, Savage outlived some of his colleagues by at least 10 years. In the grand scheme of things, 58 would be considered a young age. But in pro-wrestling, where these guys put their bodies through all sorts of physical activity, Savage was almost elderly.

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Celebrities reaching out to LGBT youth

By now you’ve heard about 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, but just in case you haven’t, he was outed as gay on the Internet and subsequently jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” project. That was triggered by Billy Lucas’ suicide, which was one of a few in the last few weeks. Just this past week, even after the news of Clementi’s death, another gay youth’s suicide was reported.

Ellen DeGeneres felt moved enough to record a video about these events:

Her last line echoes the sentiments of Savage’s “It Gets Better” project:

“Things will get easier, people’s minds will change, and you should be alive to see it.”

Savage created “It Gets Better” for LGBT adults to create videos to let the youth know that no matter how shitty it might be now, “it gets better.” When I posted about it a few weeks ago, Dan and his husband Terry were the only ones to have posted a video. Now there are several videos. Take a look, as they are quite encouraging and representative of the richly diverse possibilities you can have as an LGBT adult. But, you need to be alive to see it.

Elsewhere on the Internet, I found this ad from the “Give A Damn” campaign:

The “Give A Damn” project has an impressive roster of celebrities — gay and straight — who are lending their name and time to this cause. From the website:

The Give a Damn Campaign is for everybody who cares about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

But, it’s especially for all you straight people out there! Whether you’re already an active supporter, want to show your support for the first time, or hadn’t given equality a lot of thought before and now want to learn more, we are here to help you get informed about the issues and get involved, at a pace that works for you.

You’ll find a lot of useful information throughout this site—information that’ll engage you, surprise you and move you. You will also find a bunch of ways to get involved and show your support and encourage your straight peers to show theirs as well.

For all you gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks—we need and want you here, too! Because this site is also for you. Not only will you learn new things that might surprise and interest you, you’ll also find a lot of useful tools and resources that will help you encourage the straight people in your life to give a damn.

And then, through my friend Greg, I found this PSA on behalf of the Trevor Project:

If you’re in Jacksonville, Fla., the Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network can be reached at (904) 389-0089. Nationally, the Trevor Lifeline can be reached at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386), where youth can speak with a trained volunteer counselor.

I know firsthand how it can suck to be an LGBT youth, but it gets better, and we need you around to see it.

“It Gets Better”: Being A Gay Teenager

Sex columnist and gay icon Dan Savage has created a project to let LGBT teenagers know that while life may be difficult now, “it gets better.”

Savage started the “It Gets Better” project after 15-year-old Indiana teenager Billy Lucas hanged himself in his family’s barn after enduring bullying from his classmates. In the weeks since Billy’s death, Savage has written about the incident in his Slog, inspiring multiple comments.

One comment struck a chord with Savage: the commenter expressed regret at not being able to tell Billy that things get better for gays and lesbians after high school. Savage explained on his podcast how this inspired him and his husband to create a video. They wanted to share their stories of how they were able to experience happiness as openly gay adults, despite the bullying they received as kids. Their hope is that other gay and lesbian adults will upload similar videos so that LGBT youth can know that despite how tough things might be now, it gets better.

I hope more LGBT adults will post videos to the “It Gets Better” channel. I’ve always said that it’s incredibly helpful for people to be open and accepting so that others will feel less isolated. Dan and Terry endured some difficult things in high school, but they got through it, found each other and have great lives. Hell, even I was inspired by their stories, and I had a good high school experience and come from a very accepting family. I can only imagine how helpful this could be for someone whose high school experience and family sucked.

Side note: If you’re a longtime Dan Savage devotee and groupie (like me), then you’ll relish the opportunity to finally see Terry. I’ve read almost every Dan Savage book, so I feel like I know Terry, D.J., Judy and the rest of Dan’s family. Terry looks nothing like how I pictured him to look.

Anywho, check it out. It’s an interesting use of the Internet and a hopeful event in an otherwise sad story.