EL
Ernie Ladd
Actor, Writer
Born November 28, 1938Died March 10, 2007 (68 years)
Ernest Ladd, nicknamed "The Big Cat", was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd attended Grambling State University on a basketball scholarship before being drafted in 1961 by the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL). Ladd found success in the AFL as one of the largest players in professional football history at 6′9″ and 290 pounds. He helped the Chargers to four AFL championship games in five years, winning the championship with the team in 1963. He also had stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers. Ladd took up professional wrestling during the AFL offseason, and after a knee injury ended his football career turned to it full-time in 1969. As a professional wrestler, Ladd became one of the top heels in the business. For the majority of his career, he played a villainous character who would arrogantly taunt both opponents and crowds. Ladd feuded with many popular wrestlers of the time, including Wahoo McDaniel, André the Giant, Bobo Brazil, Dusty Rhodes, and Mr. Wrestling, before retiring from the ring in 1986. Ladd was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame in 1981, the Grambling State University Hall of Fame in 1989, and the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. Ladd was diagnosed with colon cancer in the winter of 2003–2004, and died from the disease on March 10, 2007 at the age of 68.
Ernie Ladd Filmography
| 2014 | |
| 1998 | That '70s Show (TV Series) · as Manager |
| 1986 | Villains of the Squared Circle · as "the Big Cat" Ernie Ladd |
| 1986 | WrestleMania 2 · as Ernie Ladd - Guest Commentator: Battle Royal |
| 1981 | Mid-South Wrestling (TV Series) · as "the Big Cat" Ernie Ladd |
| 1980 | WWF Championship Wrestling (TV Series) · as Ernie "the Big Cat" Ladd |
| 1973 | WWF on MSG Network (TV Series) · as Wrestler |
| 1972 | World Class Championship Wrestling (TV Series) · as 'the Big Cat' Ernie Ladd |
| 2021 | The Best of WWE: Best of Andre the Giant · as Ernie Ladd |
| 2019 | Bruno Sammartino · as Self |
| 2013 | The History of WWE: 50 Years of Sports Entertainment · as Ernie Ladd |
| 2013 | Legends of the Mid-South Wrestling · as Himself |
| 2010 | WWE: Bobby 'the Brain' Heenan · as Ernie Ladd |
| 2010 | WWE: Top 50 Superstars of All Time · as Ernie Ladd |
| 2006 | Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon · as Ernie Ladd |
| 2004 | WWE Hall of Fame 2004 · as Self - Presenter |
| 1995 | WWF Hall of Fame · as Self |
| 1994 | WWF Hall of Fame · as Self |
| 1994 | WCW Slamboree 1994 · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1993 | WWE Raw (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1986 | WWF Wrestling Challenge (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1986 | WWF: The Big Event · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1986 | WrestleMania 2 (Duplicated) · as Self - Guest Commentator: Battle Royal |
| 1985 | WWF Prime Time Wrestling (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1985 | Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest! · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1984 | Tuesday Night Titans (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1983 | WCW Arena Shows (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1981 | Wrestling Star Wars (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1981 | WCCW Star Wars (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1973 | WWE Old School (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1973 | Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1972 | WWF All-Star Wrestling (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1972 | WWF Championship Wrestling (TV Series) · as Ernie Ladd |
| 1965 | The NFL on NBC (TV Series) · as Self - Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Tackle |