Kevin Sullivan, a professional wrestler who rose to fame as a twisted villain who locked heads with some of the biggest names in the business, including Hulk Hogan, died on Friday in Concord, Mass., where he lived. He was 75.
His death was confirmed by his daughter Nicole Sullivan, who said he had complications stemming from a blood clot in his leg.
Known early in his career as “The Boston Battler,” Sullivan was inspired by the heavy metal acts of the 1970s and ’80s like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to become the “Prince of Darkness,” a demonic rival of some of the stars of that era, including Dusty Rhodes, the Road Warriors and Hogan, according to W.W.E.
Among the crews he led in the ring were the Army of Darkness; The Varsity Club, a group of college bullies in letterman jackets; and Dungeon of Doom. Also known as “The Taskmaster,” he painted black X’s and lightning bolts on his forehead, wore leather body armor and chains and stuck out his tongue like Gene Simmons of Kiss.
“During their heyday, Sullivan’s cult came to the ring with either Jeff Beck’s ‘Gets Us All in the End’ or Deep Purple’s ‘Nobody’s Home’ blaring behind them and a series of black-cloaked and corpse-painted minions who usually brought with them boa constrictors of varying colors and sizes,” according to a 2015 editorial about Sullivan on the website Metal Injection. “Add in a half-naked Fallen Angel, then you’ve got a good idea of just how much of a spectacle Sullivan’s Army of Darkness was.”
Kevin Francis Sullivan was born on Oct. 26, 1948, in Cambridge, Mass., to Charles Sullivan, a police officer, and Mary Sullivan, a teacher. Sullivan started wrestling at an early age, inspired by Walter (Killer) Kowalski, one of professional wrestling’s biggest stars and most hated villains.
Over six decades in the ring, he wrestled in matches across the United States and Canada.
“The money is better than in anything else I could do,” Sullivan told The New York Times in 1989. “I’ll tell you what I like the most about it. I get to live in a beach house in Daytona Beach, Florida, that’s completely paid for. Now, that’s nice.”
He developed his signature occult-inspired look at a time of “satanic panic” about the influence of heavy metal and roll-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons on young people.
“I took a lot from pop culture, and I knew, in essence, any story passed down is always the ultimate good against the ultimate evil,” he said in an interview published last year on the website Pro Wrestling Stories. “Good has to triumph, but it has to go through trials and tribulations along the way to be victorious.”
In addition to his daughter Nicole, he is survived by his wife, Linda Sullivan, and their other daughter Bianca Sullivan; by his children Shannon Sullivan and Ben Sullivan; and by his brothers, John and Charles.
In 2007, Sullivan’s former wife, Nancy E. Benoit, 43, was killed by her husband, Chris Benoit, a professional wrestler known as the Canadian Crippler who had wrestled with Sullivan. Benoit also killed their 7-year-old son before he killed himself.
Although many fans assumed the nefarious characters that Sullivan created worshiped the devil, he said last month on a podcast about his life that he “never used the word ‘devil’” in interviews, but implied it.
It was a convincing act to his many fans.
“He portrayed that he was this maniacal, diabolical taskmaster that was almost satanic, but you believed it because of the way he would look at you, the way he would maul his opponents, the way he would kick,” said John Pozarowski, 41, a host of the podcast about Sullivan’s life who grew up watching him in the ring.
“He had this charisma that would make you think, ‘OK, he’s going to beat this guy,’” Mr. Pozarowski said. “‘He’s going to take down Hulk Hogan.’”
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