Ventura was born James George Janos in Minneapolis, the son of Bernice Martha (née Lenz) and George William Janos. His father's parents were from what is today Slovakia, and his mother had German ancestry.[1] Ventura has described himself as Slovak.[2] Ventura (then still using his legal name of Janos) attended the now-closed Cooper Elementary School, and graduated from Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School in 1969.
From September 11, 1969 to September 10, 1975, during the Vietnam War era, he served in the United States Navy. While on active duty, Ventura was a Navy SEAL and part of Underwater Demolition Team 12.[3] He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal but was not in combat to qualify for the Combat Action Ribbon. In his autobiography, Ventura described SEAL training as the toughest experience of his life. Ventura always mentioned how much he respected his SEAL instructor Master Chief Petty Officer Terry "Mother" Moy. He asked Moy to stand by his side when he was sworn in as governor of Minnesota. He ended his inaugural address with the SEAL war cry "HOOYAH!"
In 1973, Ventura was a full-patch member of the San Diego chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club for nine months, and rose to the rank of Sergeant-at-Arms. His nick name by Mongol members was "Superman". Ventura has said on The Howard Stern Show in 2009 that once you're a Mongol, you're always a Mongol.[4][5]
He returned to Minnesota and attended North Hennepin Community College in the mid-1970s at the same time he began weightlifting and wrestling. It was around this time that he briefly served as a bodyguard for The Rolling Stones.
[edit] Professional wrestling career
He created the stage name Jesse "The Body" Ventura to go with the persona of a bully-ish beach body builder, picking the name "Ventura" from a map as part of his "bleach blond from California" gimmick. As a wrestler, Ventura performed as a villain and often used the motto "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" Much of his flamboyant persona was copied from "Superstar" Billy Graham, a charismatic and popular performer during the 1970s and '80s.[6] Years later, as a broadcaster, Ventura made a running joke out of claiming that Graham stole all of his ring attire ideas from him.
In 1975, Ventura made his debut in the Central States territory, before moving to the Pacific Northwest, where he wrestled for promoter Don Owen as Jesse "The Great" Ventura.[6] During his stay in Portland, Oregon, he had notable feuds with Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka and won the Pacific Northwest Wrestling title twice (once from each wrestler), and the tag team title six times (twice each with Bull Ramos and "Playboy" Buddy Rose, and once each with Steve Strong and Jerry Oates). He later moved to his hometown promotion, the American Wrestling Association in Minnesota, teaming with Adrian Adonis as the "East-West Connection" in 1979.[6] The duo won the AWA World Tag Team Championship on July 20, 1980 on a forfeit when Verne Gagne, one-half of the tag team champions along with Mad Dog Vachon, failed to show up for a title defense in Denver, Colorado. The duo held the belts for nearly a year, losing to "The High Flyers" (Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell).
Shortly after losing the belts, the duo moved on to the World Wrestling Federation, where they were managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Although the duo was unable to capture the WWF Tag Team Championship, both Adonis and Ventura became title contenders, each earning several title shots at champion Bob Backlund.
"The Body" continued to wrestle until September 1984 when blood clots in his lungs ended his in-ring career; it forced him to miss a title match against WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. Ventura claimed the blood clots were a result of his exposure to Agent Orange during his time in Vietnam.[3] After a failed comeback bid, he began to do color commentary on television for "All-Star Wrestling" (replacing Angelo Mosca) and later "Superstars of Wrestling" (initially alongside Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino, and with McMahon after Sammartino's departure from the WWF in 1988), hosted his own talk segment on the WWF's "Superstars of Wrestling" called "The Body Shop", and did color commentary on radio for a few National Football League teams (among them, the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Ventura most notably co-hosted Saturday Night's Main Event with Vince McMahon and the first six WrestleManias (1985-1990) and most of the WWF's pay-per-views at the time with Gorilla Monsoon (the lone exception for Ventura being the first SummerSlam, in which Ventura served as the guest referee during the main event). Ventura did return to the ring to participate in a six man tag team match in December 1985. Ventura, Roddy Piper, and "Cowboy" Bob Orton defeated Hillbilly Jim, Uncle Elmer, and Cousin Luke, in a fight which was broadcast on Saturday Night's Main Event. Following a dispute with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon over him using his image for the video game company Sega, McMahon—who had a contract with rival company Nintendo at the time—released Ventura from the company in August 1990.[7]
He also did commentary for World Championship Wrestling from 1992–94. His professional wrestling commentary style was an extension of his wrestling persona, as he was partial to the villains, which was something new and different at the time, but would still occasionally give credit where it was due, praising the athleticism of Dynamite Kid and Randy Savage (who was championed by Ventura for years, even when he was a face). The lone exception to this rule was the WrestleMania VI match between Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. Since they were both crowd favorites, Ventura took a neutral position in his commentary; even praising Hogan's display of sportsmanship at the end of the match when he handed over the WWF Championship to the Warrior after he lost the title. The praise of Hogan's action was unusual for Ventura because he regularly rooted against Hogan during his matches. Hogan and Ventura were, at one point, close friends.[8] Ventura, however, abruptly ended the friendship after he discovered, during his lawsuit against Vince McMahon, that Hogan was the one who had told Vince about Ventura's attempt to form a labor union in 1984.[8]
Ventura actually appeared on WWF television during his term as Governor of Minnesota in 1999, acting as the special guest referee for main event of SummerSlam held in Minneapolis.
[edit] Litigation
In 1987, while negotiating his contract as a WWF commentator, Ventura waived his rights to royalties on videotape sales when he was falsely told that only feature performers received such royalties. In 1991, having discovered that other non-feature performers received royalties, Ventura brought an action for fraud, misappropriation of publicity rights, and unjust enrichment in Minnesota state court against Titan Sports. The case was removed to federal court, and Ventura won an $801,333 jury verdict on the last claim. The judgment was affirmed on appeal, and the case,[9] 65 F.3d 725 (8th Cir.1995), is an important result in the law of restitution.
As a result of Ventura's lawsuit, whenever the WWF/WWE uses his commentary for mass marketed VHS/DVD, Ventura gets a percentage of the sales.
[edit] Acting career
Ventura acted in the 1987 movie Predator, whose cast included future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and future Kentucky Gubernatorial candidate Sonny Landham. He appeared in two episodes of Zorro filmed in Madrid, Spain in 1991. He had a starring role in the 1991 sci-fi movie Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, and supporting roles in The Running Man, Demolition Man, Repossessed, Ricochet, The Master of Disguise (in which he steals the Liberty Bell), and Batman & Robin - the first and last of these also starring Schwarzenegger. Ventura also made an cameo appearance in Major League 2, as "White Lightning". He also appeared as a self help guru (voice only) in The Ringer trying to turn Johnny Knoxville into a more confident worker. Ventura also had a cameo in The X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" as a Man in Black alongside fellow 'MiB' Alex Trebek. In 2008, Ventura filmed the independent comedy Woodshop starring as a high school shop teacher, Mr. Madson. The film is scheduled for 2009 release.
[edit] Political career
[edit] Mayor of Brooklyn Park
Following his departure from the WWF, Ventura took advice from a former high school teacher and ran for mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in 1990.[10] Ventura defeated the city's 18-year incumbent mayor and served from 1991 to 1995.[11]
[edit] Governor of Minnesota
See also: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 1998
Ventura ran for Governor of Minnesota in 1998 as the nominee for the Reform Party of Minnesota (he later joined the Independence Party of Minnesota when the Reform Party broke from its association with the Reform Party of the United States of America). His campaign consisted of a combination of aggressive grassroots events and original television spots, designed by quirky adman Bill Hillsman, using the phrase "Don't vote for politics as usual." He spent considerably less than his opponents (about $300,000) and was a pioneer in his using the Internet as a medium of reaching out to voters in a political campaign.[12]
He won the election in November 1998, narrowly (and unexpectedly) defeating the major-party candidates, St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (Republican) and Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (Democratic-Farmer-Labor). After his victory, bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the slogan "My governor can beat up your governor" appeared in Minnesota. The nickname "Jesse 'The Mind'" (from a last-minute Hillsman ad featuring Ventura posing as Rodin's Thinker) began to resurface sarcastically in reference to his frequently controversial remarks. Ventura's old stage name "Jesse 'The Body'" (sometimes adapted to "Jesse 'The Governing Body'") also continued to appear with some regularity.
After the legislature refused to increase spending for security, Ventura attracted criticism when he decided not to live in the governor's mansion during his tenure, choosing instead to shut it down and stay at his home in Maple Grove. Critics pointed to the loss of jobs for several working-class people at the mansion and the extra cost of reopening the mansion later.[13]
During his tenure as Governor, Ventura drew frequent fire from the press in the Twin Cities. He referred to reporters as "media jackals," a term that even appeared on the press passes required to enter the governor's press area.[14] Shortly after Ventura's election as governor, author and humorist Garrison Keillor wrote a satirical book about the event, spoofing Ventura as "Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente," a self-aggrandizing former "Navy W.A.L.R.U.S. (Water Air Land Rising Up Suddenly)" turned professional wrestler turned politician. Initially, Ventura responded angrily to the satire, but later, in a conciliatory vein, said that Keillor "makes Minnesota proud".[15] During his term, Ventura appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, in which he responded controversially to the following question: "So which is the better city of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis or St. Paul?". Ventura responded, "Minneapolis. Those streets in St. Paul must have been designed by drunken Irishmen". He later apologized for the remark, adding that it was not intended to be taken seriously.[16]
After a trade mission to China in 2002, he announced that he would not run for a second term.[17] He accused the media of hounding him and his family for personal behavior and belief while neglecting coverage of important policy issues. Ventura later told a reporter for The Boston Globe that he would have run for a second term if he had been single, citing the media's effect on his family life.[18]
Governor Ventura sparked media criticism when, nearing the end of his term, he suggested that he might resign from office early to allow his lieutenant governor, Mae Schunk, an opportunity to serve as governor. He further stated that he wanted her to be the state's first female governor and have her portrait painted and hung in the Capitol along with the other governors. Ventura quickly retreated from the comments, saying he was just floating an idea.[19]
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