6 of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan's wittiest quotes
Raymond Louis Heenan was born in a bad neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in November of 1944. Due to his father being absent, Heenan dropped out of school at eighth grade to help support his family -- ironic for a man later known for his big brain!
Without a male role model to look up to, Heenan became enthralled of professional wrestlers and the industry they worked in. He broke into the business the hard way, by carrying jackets for the wrestlers and working concession stands. Trading his labor for training, he wrestled his first match in 1965 for the Indiana-based WWA promotion.
Though Heenan was six feet tall, he was still undersized for a wrestler even in those days. He made the transition to managing, while still wrestling upon occasion. Here's a classic match from the old AWA promotion, in which the Brain tries to 'weasel' out of the match by feigning an injury.
Heenan would go on to be one of the most despised wrestlers and managers in history. Just how much did the fans hate Bobby Heenan? Well, an angry fan SHOT at him with a firearm in 1975 after he helped Nick Bockwinkle win unfairly. Heenan wasn't hit, but several fans at ringside were.
The Brain had a long and storied career in the industry, but his profile really hit the stratosphere when he was hired by Vince McMahon's then-WWF promotion.
The WWF Years
Bobby Heenan was a natural fit for the more Hollywood-centric WWF in the 1980s. With his quick wit and still-handsome looks, he had a great presence on camera, so it was no surprise when Heenan was assigned some of the WWF's biggest heel talent.
The members of the WWE Heenan family read like a who's who of legends in wrestling; Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson... the list of hall of famers goes on and on. Though many of these men were perfectly capable of speaking on camera, having Brain always lent just a little something extra.
Heenan would eventually leave the WWE to become a full-time announcer for Ted Turner's WCW promotion, but he didn't leave behind that trademark wit. Here are some of the Brain's best one-liners, put down, and zingers!