The Complete Hulk Hogan | An Interview with Peter Young, Hulk's Agent

0:00 So we are absolutely thrilled here on our complete Hulk Hogan project to be joined by someone who knew him quite well and played a pivotal role in many pivotal moments for Hulk, not the least of which was Rocky III. It's his agent, Peter Young. Peter, thank you so much for joining us.

0:15 Oh, thank you for having me.

0:17 It really is a thrill. And so many things that we have seen in our research about how Hulk Hogan landed in Rocky III. And I'm really looking forward to getting your recollections of how it all went down. In fact, in Hulk's two books, it's like did Sly see him on WWF television first? Did you see him on?

0:36 Believe it or not, it was actually me. I, uh, grew up back East and was one of those young kid wrestling fans, even like 12, 13, 14 years old, which I used to, you know, take the trolley into the Boston garden and watch Bruno San Martino fight every, uh, every month. I think these come to Boston and I used to, uh, I remember I would bring some friends of mine. I'd say, you gotta come with me. And everyone had a great time, but they all outgrew it after two or three times, except for me. So, uh, I, I was always, always a wrestling fan. And then, uh, as I got older and finished college, I moved to California.

1:19 I had an older sister who I have an older sister, but she was a casting director out here and helped get me started. And she was always good friends with, uh, Sylvester Stallone and so she was casting Rocky 3 and she said Peter Sly wants a big wrestler to play this scene in Thunder I don't even know if it was called Thunder Lips but anyway to play this big wrestler in the scene that he did in Rocky 3 and I said geez you know this is before I guess he was territorial hot in Minnesota that's right but he wasn't you know, like he was after he won the belt from the Sheik. He was hot, but whatever.

2:05 And I said, you know, I don't know him personally, but there's a guy who's, I think, on a making. He's really big. I think exactly who you should, you know, get. And she told Stallone about it, and hence, they flew him out. I never met him during Rocky III, but he ended up doing the movie, cut, print, I don't know, a year later, maybe, give or take, uh, some months, uh, you know, I represented, I represent Mr. T, I represent Mr.

2:37 T and he was on the A team. And at that particular time, he was like as hot as Elvis. I mean, everyone was screaming for T. So I went to a, uh, wrestling match out here in California to watch, uh, in me and T, we went and watched some, some match. And then at, During that time, there was a, in the middle of the match, we were sitting like ringside, maybe first, second row. There was a wrestler named Dr. D.

3:05 David Schultz.

3:06 Yes.

3:06 Who was a bad guy wrestler. And so he, you know, played up to, you know, he was a celebrity. And all wrestlers at that time, they wanted to be celebrities or actors, not how it is now, where everyone's a movie star. But he started pointing at T and T got up and the whole 20,000 people just started chanting T, T, T.

3:31 So anyway, about a week or so later, I'm home and I get a call from, hello, this is Vince McMahon. Do you know who I am? And I said, yeah, I know you. So he was thinking about some big, idea. This is before, I mean, it turned out to be WrestleMania 1. I don't think it was even named. And at that time, it didn't have a number after it because who knew if it was going to be successful. So, he and I flew to Connecticut and had dinner at Vince's house with Hulk, Cyndi Lauper, Cyndi's then-boyfriend or husband, Vince and Linda and at that time Shane and.

4:21 What's his daughter Stephanie and Linda were little kids running around go play with your toys.

4:31 So we made this deal and I said to Vince you know I'll make this deal with you but the only thing I really want is aside from making a good deal for T is I want to be able to represent health And he was a shrewd guy, Vince. Oh, yes, anything, Peter, you can represent. So for the first two years, for WrestleMania I, Vince was very cordial to me because I helped put it together. And then, I don't know if you remember, but Mr. T was in WrestleMania II. And as soon as that was over, he.

5:12 Vince called me up and said, using every swear word in the world, and said, if you were the last agent in the whole world, you would never represent Hulk. On and on and on, and a tirade. And then he said, you're not going to... I said, well, why don't you have Hulk tell me that? So, coincidentally, at that time, I think, give or take a few days, Hulk was flying to California to do something like a Pointer Sister or Patti LaBelle ABC special. He was making an appearance. So, but at that time, wrestlers, you know, they traveled around, you know, they would do a house show every day, you know, basically six days a week.

5:56 So when I got there, it was during rehearsals. It wasn't tape time for the special. It was, so I was on an empty soundstage watching it. There was Vince. Hulk hadn't got there yet. And then, uh, made his way up to my seat and, and he's a big guy and I'm not a big guy, but he was standing over me with his fist. You motherfucker. I'm going to, you know, you'll never represent Hulk. I figured, okay, well, I won't. And just as he was screaming, Hulk walks in not knowing anything's going on.

6:32 Yeah.

6:34 And Vince says to him, uh, come on, big guy. I got to talk to you backstage. thinking, okay, well, I don't know Hulk that well, and Vince is his boss, so, you know, at least I made a good, I tried, and anyway, so Hulk did his little shtick on the set, and Vince tried to rush him out the door, come on, your limo's waiting, you gotta make the plane, you're like flying into the world, wherever he was going for his next wrestling gig. So he turned to Vince and said, Vince, I think my age is going to drive me to the airport. Come on, Peter, let's go. So that said so much. I mean, that really said a lot to me.

7:14 And he was that kind of guy the whole time up until, you know, until his passing. We were very close. And he was, you know, just a giving, giving guy. And I couldn't say after 50 years an agent. And I think he's been my favorite client in all.

7:36 Oh, wow.

7:37 He was a good guy and a giving guy. People might know this. I don't know if they've read his book or not. But he was a great dad. If he was wrestling somewhere in Chicago one day, and the next day he was going to wrestle in Las Vegas, he would fly home to Tampa. kids wake up so he could give them a kiss and say hi and then fly cross-country again. He did that all the time.

8:13 That's a great start. I wanted to circle back to that apocryphal moment when you see him on television. So it's great to have that context that you were a big fan watching television often and so you're able to see Hulk on TV and he came right to mind. Hulk talked a lot about how There was a match where he did a triple bear hug. He put three jobbers in a bear hug at once. And that was one that made a big impression on somebody. Is that the match you remember?

8:38 No. And he said that I don't remember that. So you were.

8:43 Just aware that he was on TV with Fred Blassie and stuff?

8:46 I was aware, yeah. I was aware because, you know, I was really just trying to help my sister. It wasn't like I was trying to sign Hulk.

8:52 Right, right.

8:52 I was just helping her out and say, well... You know, there was an old-time wrestler who was big and mean-looking named Ox Baker.

8:59 I don't know if anyone knows him. Oh, sure, yeah.

9:02 I said, well, Ox is scary-looking, but, you know, Hulk is hot right now, and you should get him. I never spoke to him. I never met him, actually. I don't even know. I'm sure I saw him on TV once, but I wasn't that close, or I just knew that he was huge and happening, you know?

9:19 Yes.

9:21 And neither at that time, so I didn't know about him. My sister certainly didn't know. So I said, you should do it. So they did their due diligence, and he got that part.

9:32 Sure did.

9:33 Yeah. And a lot changed for him after that.

9:37 Oh, my goodness. Yeah, and that's why we're so grateful that you took the time.

9:40 I think at that time, Vince's dad was booking wrestling back east.

9:46 Yes, yeah. Vince Jr. took over in June 82.

9:49 Yeah, and if I remember correctly, I don't know. That Vince's dad said, if you go out and do that movie, you're fired.

9:57 Yeah.

9:58 And he went out and did the movie. And anyway, you know, he got fired from WWE and went to Vern Gagne in Minnesota.

10:06 Absolutely.

10:07 And, and that time there until it was, you know, they came back to WWE.

10:14 So there was a story, Peter, um, Other folks have said Terry Funk, the great wrestler who had a relationship with Sly Stallone and was in his film Paradise Alley and knew him well, has a story in his book about how they went to Terry Funk first looking for somebody to play Thunder Lips. And he recommended either Hogan or Gorilla Monsoon or one or two other people. Bill Apter, the public, not the publisher, but a photographer and writer.

10:39 You know Bill, sure. He has a story about how the production company behind Rocky III reached out to him. and had him ask, can you send us photos of big, hulking, blonde wrestlers? Not necessarily Hulk Hogan, and he sent them a picture of Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan, and to him that might suggest that they went to him first.

10:57 Do you have any recollection of the involvement of Terry Funk or Bill Apter in getting Hulk in front of Sly?

11:05 No, but, I mean, anything's possible. I happen to know, because it was inside, you know, uh, I, my sister cast the movie. If you see Rocky three, of course.

11:17 Yeah.

11:19 And I think even, even, I think maybe in one of the Hulk's books, it mentioned how Rhonda was one of the ones who found him. And, you know, we all have gotten together, family, me and Rhonda and Hulk. And he always knows that it was her. Yeah. You know, it could have been behind the scenes. I have no idea if there was a phone call between Terry and fly, uh, you know, you should hire Hulk. But I don't, you know, that part of it, I don't know.

11:47 Yeah, that's perfectly fine. Yeah, so it's helpful to know, too, which I didn't know until you had explained it, that you weren't exactly Hulk's agent until well after Rocky III.

11:55 No, I never spoke to him until that dinner at Vince McMahon's house.

12:03 As we're watching and reading and learning about Hulk getting a lot of press exposure, of course, around the time of the release of the movie, some of the things he starts to say in interviews, this is when he starts talking about the Lou Ferrigno story, about how, you know, he got the name Hulk because he was on a TV or radio show. That story took many different forms over the years, but it just strikes me as like, there came a point, and I'm sure you were involved with Hulk to some degree around this issue, where Marvel was kind of like, hey, this guy's becoming a pretty big deal using the name Hulk, and we know that there was.

12:33 Yeah, there was... I wasn't involved in the negotiation because it was a lawyer, a general lawyer named Henry Holmes, that trademarked so he could use Hulk Hogan. So that was a big, it was a big deal. But I think at the time in the early eighties, when he was sizzling, he was, these were before the Marvel movies and whatever. And the TV show Hulk, the incredible Hulk had been off the air for a dozen years. That Hulk was bigger than the comic book Hulk, you know, his exposure. So they were able to negotiate some kind of deal, and I don't know the details, where he owned the name Hulk Hogan.

13:22 Yeah, he was able to license it.

13:24 He licensed it, yes.

13:25 Yeah, the full text of the deal became public record in a future court proceeding, so we have a pretty good idea of what it looked like. But as far as the spark, you know, when Marvel first started to take issue, that's what I was wondering if we could get more color on, like how far out from WrestleMania one, for instance, did Marvel start to say like, this is our IP.

13:46 Uh, I would say, I don't, you know, cause it was 40 something years ago. I don't really remember, but it was after WrestleMania one, uh, that I became aware of the, you know, the trademarking issue. Um, And then he also negotiated, I think, because, you know, in wrestling, if Vince decides to give you a name, like The Undertaker or whatever name he gives you, it was also a big negotiation where Hulk was able to keep his name, whether it was with Vince or not.

14:26 That was a deal point. Yeah. And obviously you took it to WCW. No problem. So that was key. Now, on the Mr. T side, I've seen the doc, of course, and I've read a lot about T. Was it your sister that saw him on NBC as well?

14:42 Yeah. Amazing. Yeah, same movie, same thing. At that time, I remember Stallone went through a major time casting that clubber role. And he went through every big black actor in the city and professional boxers or any shavers, I think, hit him in the ring as they were rehearsing, knocked him out. You know, he went through a bunch and no one did it. And I think that my sister and Sly were watching TV and said they were watching a show called The Toughest Bouncer. I think it was in a show called That's Incredible or something.

15:23 Yeah, it was called Games People Play and it was like World's Toughest Bouncer.

15:27 That's the Brian Gumbel, yeah. And he was the toughest bouncer. And I think they both said, if that guy can act, he's our club. So my sister tracked him down to Chicago. At that time, he was a bouncer at this club called Ding Bath.

15:41 That's right.

15:42 And sent the script and flew him out. And the rest was history.

15:49 If I heard you right, Peter, you started representing Tee during 3 or after Rocky 3 came out?

15:54 Yeah, before. I actually made the deal for him in Rocky 3.

15:57 Ah, okay.

15:59 And then the A-team, yeah.

16:01 So that's always fascinating to us as wrestling fans, because Hulk talked about you in his books and stuff, like you said. So wrestling fans knew that you were his agent, but then to connect it with the fact that you were Mr. T's agent first, and just how symbiotic the relationship was between Hogan and T, getting WWF to the point it was in 85, and 84, of course, at MTV, where he did the angle, where T did the angle to set it all up. Yeah, could you just talk about what it was like kind of managing both careers on a parallel track. I mean, they're both in the same movie, the same wrestling arena, uh, but they're different people, but at the same time, they're both kind of tied to the same destiny having not known each other at all.

16:40 It was, you know, it was an amazing time in the, you know, early mid eighties that, uh, I mean, both, uh, both of them were white, you know, lightning hot, you know, they, they were, uh, certainly they were icons and being able to represent both of them was, you know, I think one of the highlights at least of my agency career during that time because it was, yeah, it was something else.

17:11 You couldn't go, you couldn't go anywhere without crowds. You know, you, you know, almost had a, I remember one time with T, we had a book signing in Toronto and normally they think you know, thousand people might show up if it's a good book signing. And then I think at that time they had 40,000 people show up. They almost, you know, ruined the show. We had to, police had to come.

17:38 We had to duck down just to get us away because otherwise it was, you know, riots, but they were, yeah, they were, uh, they were as hot as you can get. And, um, you know, uh, And I do remember, sometimes I remember during New Year's, when they kind of, ABC News or the news, they look back at, you know, 1985, where, you know, they cured a disease, there was a war here, this and that, and they showed, you know, that that was a highlight, you know, newsworthy of them to have those two, you know, being part of that year.

18:16 Yeah, that was the pop culture resonance they reached was, Really remarkable. One of the things that happened, of course, because of Rocky III is Johnny Carson has Hulk Hogan on set, and that was some of the best exposure you could buy. Now, appreciating that you weren't in a position to be representing Hogan at the time, you were representing T, and it strikes us, looking back on a lot of this, that, you know, Stallone was on Carson before Hulk was, and Carson just can't stop asking Sly about this big wrestler in the movie. You can tell that it's Carson who really wants to meet Hulk Hogan and have him on the show. Not to say Stallone himself would have any objection to Hulk going out and promoting the movie. Yeah. But do you remember that? Do

18:49 you remember it sort of being surprising, the degree to which there was media interest in Hulk, considering, you know, he wasn't in the primo spot that Clever Lang was?

18:58 Right. I mean, there was, I mean, Stallion had a broader reach, but it was Hulk and T's fame, because, you know, wrestling in the 80s, like, Cyndi Lauper had a lot to do with, you know, the rock and wrestling connection, and Key being from the 18th Central Hot Show on Hulk. Everything came together at the right time at the right place for how it ended up.

19:30 Did you get the sense that Hulk got more media attention than Stallone was expecting?

19:37 No, I never really thought about it. Yeah. You know, I know that T became, I think, at the very beginning, even though Hulk had a wrestling audience, T had the national because the A-team came out and it was a huge hit. It aired right after the Super Bowl and never looked back until like four or five years later when it ran its course. But at that time, it was a phenomenon, you know? Yeah.

20:08 So, Do you remember Hulk getting a lot of interest from Hollywood after Rocky III? Because we've seen articles shortly after the movie comes out where he's suggesting that he's kind of turning down roles, that stuff doesn't seem necessarily always legit to him, and he's making a ton of money in wrestling, so he actually has an income source to balance these offers against. Do you remember him kind of being selective in those early days or not so much about movie opportunities in particular?

20:36 No, he... He was selective, although it was always hard to get Hulk to, not because of him, but if you remember, a lot of the money in wrestling during that time was with house shows. And if Hulk is on the marquee, they'd sell out, you know, 18,000 tickets. If he's not on the marquee, you know, they'd sell 6,000 tickets. So, and that's all cash when it's live. And Vince knows, uh, you know, six days a week, he's making so much.

21:16 So he, it was always a battle for, uh, to get him the time off to, you know, eight weeks off to do a movie when it's eight weeks away from wrestling.

21:28 Right.

21:28 So it was, it was never easy and it was never with, you know, Vince's blessing, but he, he did it. And, uh, You know, I wish it was the time now. I think we were a little before our time, but now every wrestler's a movie star. You know, Cena and Batista and all those guys. And we were a little ahead of our time to do, you know, to venture from wrestling into movies.

21:52 To your point, WWE enjoys this, you know, guaranteed cash flow from the Netflixes and Foxes of the world or whatever, NBC. So they don't have to sweat so much if someone isn't on, you know, a week's worth of house shows from a revenue standpoint. How about Hulk's position now? in terms of being like a SAG actor after this, because one of the things that the wrestlers who break through in Hollywood really covet is SAG health insurance and benefits, the kind of things that pro wrestlers don't get. By virtue of doing this role and through your time representing him, was Hulk able to rely on health insurance from SAG?

22:24 Was that a big deal to him or not?

22:27 That's a very good question. It never crossed my mind, that subject. I wish I could tell you, but it wasn't... I don't know how he got his health insurance or not, but he was certainly well enough to buy his own if needed.

22:46 That's absolutely true, right.

22:48 Yeah, and I'm sure SAG health insurance, because you brought it up, is one of the best insurance plans around. So you have to make, if you're a SAG actor, you have to make so much money a year in order for them.

23:02 To allow you to do your plan.

23:03 That's a good point. And at that time, It was practically nothing. It was two, three, four, five, you know, in that now you got to make 30, $ 40, 000 or whatever it is. Yeah.

23:14 He said in his book a couple of times, he had two books. So that, you know, Stallone offered him like what, 10, 12 to do the role. And he said, what about 14 or something like that? Did a little negotiation for himself. Do you remember him talking about that, about.

23:27 No, that was before I really knew him. I knew of him, but he made his own deal for Rocky. And then, like I said, I met him, however, many months later at Vince's house.

23:43 Also, there's a funny story Hulk does about him. Well, it's not funny in the moment, I'm sure. Before WrestleMania I, in the weeks leading up, there's a ton of publicity appearances, and there comes a point where he's having trouble kind of corralling T to make appearances, and T is getting kind of frustrated or getting a little difficult to deal with in terms of showing up at places, and Hulk puts himself in the position of being someone that's trying to keep things together, because T will still kind of listen to him as far as where to be and when and how to conduct himself. Of course, the Richard Belzer thing, where he chokes out Richard Belzer, that was T. Yeah, it was there.

24:15 And the thing was, I remember, because at that time, It wasn't pay-per-view. It was closed circuit for most of the country.

24:23 That's right.

24:24 I think cable was a very fledgling thing, and Belser had a very ragtag cable show, and very few people had cable. But I know we had driven from New York in a limo to Philadelphia, and everyone was doing press so much that both those guys were exhausted. And the last thing was the Richard Belcher show. And we said, you know, we just kind of can't. We can't. I see.

24:57 We're too dead. We're tired. We're whatever. And then they called back as we were coming to talk. They said, there are 50 kids with wheelchairs, handicapped kids that are all, you know, dying to see you guys. And if you don't come, they'll be very disappointed. So when we got there, there wasn't any. There were no kids there. No, nothing.

25:17 And T.N. Hulk were one kind of overtired from doing so much press and aggravated at Belser because, uh, you know, he, they, he lied. So, um, so it is when people see it, it is, he had a, you know, if I remember correctly, uh, he, Belser says, put me in a wrestling hole or something. Yeah, show me, yeah, show me something. And Hulk touches him and he does it like a Jerry Lewis pratfall. And he's over, then he put him in a, Kind of a chokehold, and he was holding him. And he goes, you know, get him, Chad. And then, you know, he dropped him and, boom, hit his head. And that was, he won a big lawsuit, Richard.

25:59 Sure did, yeah. He wasn't bashful about proclaiming that in the press. What was it like working with Hulk through that whole controversy?

26:07 It wasn't, you know, really, after that, it never really came up again. You know, the lawyers handled it.

26:15 I see.

26:17 He got sued, Hulk got sued, and I don't remember. I know that they ended up paying money. I just don't remember the particulars.

26:28 Well, he was obviously a heel at the time that you first became aware of him, and I guess we could place it around 1980 or so, probably, right? Would that be fair? Yeah. Yeah, because you would have seen him on WWF television, of course, being in the Northeast. and he came in in November 79 and started doing a lot of television squashes in Allentown and Hamburg PA tapings.

26:51 Of course, the MSG shows were available on television as well, and he was wrestling on those. But by the time Rocky III comes out in May of 82, he had already turned babyface for Vern Gagne. That pretty much had already happened by the fall of 1981, almost organically as the crowd, according to those who were in the AWA at the time, just started taking to Hulk. And he suddenly became a hero. But yet when the movie comes out, he's still a preeming, you know, prima donna, preeming heel, reminiscent of the older guys.

27:20 Yeah, that was the part that he was supposed to play, you know, acting as a heel.

27:26 Do you remember the back and forth about Hulk being a face and being a heel and how he thought about that and how it impacted his marketability, how attractive he'd be for roles, how thoughtful he was about that?

27:41 Yeah, I do remember it, but he coveted his position as where he wrestled, and sometimes people, there are wrestlers out there like Bret Hart. Every time he goes on TV, all he does is say what an asshole Hulk was or whatever. But, you know, there are... There were wrestlers who didn't get as big a push, but, you know, Terry was really about what pairing makes money, you know, what draws. And if you didn't draw, even though if you thought you were the best, greatest of all time, it wasn't going to make sense. You know, maybe he'll represent Yokozuna, wrestle Yokozuna instead, because maybe that had a little more heat to it. But he was about business and protecting the business and protecting his brand.

28:41 That's great. Peter, just quickly wrapping up here, when you had talked about that moment where Vince Jr. was really animated and aggravated and everything and saying, you'll never represent Hulk, I have to confess, it kind of went over my head. What was the source of the tension there? Why did Vince have an about face?

28:57 You know what? I don't know.

28:58 Oh, I see.

28:59 I didn't miss it then. All I can think, no, you didn't miss it, but all I think, he was so protective. I don't think, for the same reason, I don't think he wanted Hulk to be in Hollywood or to have an agent, because like I said, five, six days a week, house shows, you know, another few hundred thousand dollars cash in Vince's pocket. He didn't want anyone to interfere with that. And he might just, he might not have just liked me. I have no idea, you know, but, you know, but he had, because he was so hot and I represented him, I think he had to, if it was pretending maybe or whatever, but, I think that, uh, he, cause if you remember, he was in WrestleMania two boxing, Roddy Piper. Uh, and, and, uh, I think cause, um,

29:53 cause he had to, you know, once two was over is when I got the call. So I think he had to, he's a shrewd, believe me, he's a shrewd businessman. I can't, you know, take anything away from him. So he was smart to, you know, be on my good side until he didn't need me anymore. And that's when he thought, you know, well, I don't need him anymore.

30:12 And who knows, you know, Holt listens to me, he won't listen to, you know, Peter. So, you know, he did that and then it just, it just didn't work. But I, I'll tell you the one story that I told you at the very beginning is when Holt says, I'll have my agent take me to the airport. So I was always stuck with, you know, stuck with the whole, you know, the whole time he was on it.

30:33 Yeah.

30:34 Yeah.

30:35 That's, that's really, really interesting. Really great. This is the last one. The heel turn 1996, right? He's on the couch at Kevin Sullivan's house. He's having second thoughts, the apocryphal tale.

30:45 Yeah.

30:46 Take us through that before you go.

30:47 I was, uh, Hulk told me, I guess he was in L.A. because we took a private jet, I think Eric, myself, and T. And we knew we were going and he was going to make the heel turn, but it was very, no one knew. And they wouldn't even, even when I went, they said, Peter, you can't be seen here because if they see you, they'll think you and Hulk, something's going on. Yeah, I think we were in, it's true, I think we stayed at Kevin Sullivan's. you know, house for a night or two, but whatever it was. And then, uh, yeah, he made the decision and boom, your, your fans, I'm sure we'll remember.

31:30 Were you, were you against it, Peter?

31:32 No, I was, uh, I think he had more wrestling sense that I, you know, uh, could ever have. So if he made the decision, you know, I always think, well, will it work? I don't know, but I was never, you know, he, he, he knew that business. more than I would know.

31:51 Sure did.

31:52 Peter Young. And it turned out to be the right decision.

31:56 Oh, yeah. What a magic he was able to create off of that one. Peter Young, thank you so much for joining us.

32:02 Oh, you're very welcome.