Douglas Lima is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. He currently fights for Bellator Fighting Championships. He is the former MFC Welterweight champion.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Early career[link]

Lima was born in Brazil and moved to the United States later in life, where he began training with American Top Team Atlanta.^[2] He trains with Roan Carneiro.^[3] Lima began his professional mixed martial arts career with decent success, soon compiling a record of 5–0.^[2]

In February 2007, Lima faced the future Ultimate Fighter competitor Matt Brown. Brown dealt Lima his first professional loss^[4] by defeating him via TKO due to punches in the second round.^[2]

American Fight League[link]

In May 2008, Lima had his first defense of the title against Brent Weedman. Weedman was reportedly brought in to the fight to showcase Lima's skills, as Weedman was expected to be an easy fight.^[5] Weedman threatened early on with a triangle choke which was unsuccessful. Late in the second round, Weedman again caught Lima in a triangle choke, but transitioned to an armbar, which forced Lima to submit, giving Weedman the title.^[5] Weedman would later go on to say "They brought me in because Douglas Lima would make a great champ for them. Now, it's my turn to step up. I feel good about the fact that I did a one-fight deal with them. We're going to talk a multi-fight contract now."^[5] Following the loss, Lima never appeared for the AFL promotion again.^[2]

World Extreme Cagefighting[link]

Following another win via TKO, Lima joined World Extreme Cagefighting. His debut fight was scheduled to take place at WEC 39 against Justin Haskins.^[6] However, Lima was forced to withdraw from the card while waiting on papers to arrive from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.^[1] Lima's WEC debut never transpired, as instead, he joined King of the Cage, where he faced another future Ultimate Fighter competitor in Charles Blanchard, losing by unanimous decision.^[2]

Maximum Fighting Championship[link]

In September 2010, Douglas Lima joined the Maximum Fighting Championship, facing off against Ryan Ford. In front of Ford's hometown fans, Lima was able to defeat Ford via armbar, early in the second round.^[7]

With the win, Lima was given an MFC Welterweight title shot against Jesse Juarez at MFC 27.^[8] Lima went on to defeat Juarez via armbar, midway through the final round.^[9]

Lima then defended the title against Terry Martin at MFC 29, winning the fight via first round TKO.

Bellator Fighting Championships[link]

In May 2011, it was announced that Lima had signed to fight for Bellator Fighting Championships.^[10]

Lima entered into the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament. He fought Steve Carl in the opening round held at Bellator 49 and won the fight via unanimous decision. Lima fought Chris Lozano in the semifinals at Bellator 53 and won via KO in the second round. In the finals, he faced Ben Saunders and won via KO in the second round.

Lima got his title shot against welterweight champion Ben Askren at Bellator 64 on April 6, 2012.^[11] He lost via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Bellator Fighting Championships
  • Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Winner

• Maximum Fighting Championship
  • MFC Welterweight Championship (One time)
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (Two times)

• Sin City Fight Club/SportFight X
  • 2010 REDLINE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	21–5	Ben Askren	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 64	02012-04-06April 6, 2012	5	5:00	Windsor, Ontario, Canada	For Bellator Welterweight Championship.
Win	21–4	Ben Saunders	KO (punches)	Bellator 57	02011-11-12November 12, 2011	2	1:21	Rama, Ontario, Canada	Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final.
Win	20–4	Chris Lozano	KO (punch)	Bellator 53	02011-10-08October 8, 2011	2	3:14	Miami, Oklahoma, United States	Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semifinal.
Win	19–4	Steve Carl	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 49	02011-09-10September 10, 2011	3	5:00	Atlantic City, New Jersey United States	Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win	18–4	Terry Martin	TKO (punches)	MFC 29	02011-04-08April 8, 2011	1	1:14	Windsor, Ontario, Canada	Defended MFC Welterweight Championship; Knockout of the Night.
Win	17–4	Jesse Juarez	Submission (triangle armbar)	MFC 27	02010-11-12November 12, 2010	3	2:37	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Won vacant MFC Welterweight Championship; Submission of the Night.
Win	16–4	Ryan Ford	Submission (armbar)	MFC 26	02010-09-10September 10, 2010	2	0:48	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Submission of the Night.
Win	15–4	Cortez Coleman	Decision (split)	SportFight X-1: Beatdown	02010-03-26March 26, 2010	3	5:00	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	2010 REDLINE Middleweight Grand Prix Final.
Win	14–4	Clint Hester	Decision (unanimous)	Sin City Fight Club: Redline Grand Prix Round 2	02009-11-13November 13, 2009	3	5:00	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	2010 REDLINE Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinal.
Win	13–4	Eddie Hernandez	Submission (triangle choke)	Sin City Fight Club: Redline Grand Prix Opening Round	02009-10-10October 10, 2009	1	2:34	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	2010 REDLINE Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal.
Loss	12–4	Eric Dahlberg	Decision (unanimous)	Best of the Best	02009-06-12June 12, 2009	3	5:00	Columbus, Georgia, United States
Loss	12–3	Charles Blanchard	Decision (unanimous)	KOTC: Invincible	02009-03-27March 27, 2009	3	5:00	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win	12–2	Joseph Baize	TKO	Southern Kentucky: Combat League	02008-08-23August 23, 2008	1	2:30	Owensboro, Kentucky, United States
Loss	11–2	Brent Weedman	Submission (armbar)	AFL: Bulletproof	02008-05-30May 30, 2008	2	4:39	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	For vacant AFL Welterweight Championship.
Win	11–1	Cody Senseney	TKO (punches)	AFL: Eruption	02008-03-07March 7, 2008	1	2:45	Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Win	10–1	Eric Davila	Submission (armbar)	ROF 31: Undisputed	02007-12-01December 1, 2007	2	3:52	Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Win	9–1	Daniel Douglas	Submission (rear-naked choke)	RMBB & PCF 1: HellRazor	02007-10-16October 16, 2007	1	0:28	Denver, Colorado, United States
Win	8–1	Kyle Baker	Submission (triangle armbar)	Reign in the Cage	02007-08-11August 11, 2007	1	4:45	Alabama, United States
Win	7–1	Ed Nuno	Submission (injury)	XFS 6: Bad Blood	02007-07-14July 14, 2007	1	0:28	Boise, Idaho, United States
Win	6–1	Joshua Hancock	TKO	Evolution: Mayhem in Albany	02007-03-10March 10, 2007	1	N/A	Albany, Georgia, United States
Loss	5–1	Matt Brown	TKO (punches)	ISCF: Invasion	02007-02-09February 9, 2007	2	2:50	Kennesaw, Georgia, United States
Win	5–0	Ray Perales	Submission (punches)	Xtreme Fight Series 3	02006-12-15December 15, 2006	1	3:07	Boise, Idaho, United States
Win	4–0	John Nellermoe	Submission (triangle choke)	ISCF: Southside Slugfest	02006-10-21October 21, 2006	1	1:07	Peachtree City, Oklahoma, United States
Win	3–0	Nathan Osterkamp	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Border Warz	02006-10-14October 14, 2006	1	1:57	Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Win	2–0	Steve Linton	Submission (verbal)	ISCF: Fever Fight Night	02006-09-22September 22, 2006	1	N/A	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win	1–0	Carlos Julio Molestina	KO	Wild Bill's: Fight Night 3	02006-07-14July 14, 2006	1	1:08	Duluth, Georgia, United States

^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional MMA record for Douglas Lima from Sherdog

Ozzy Osbourne
Osbourne in 2010.
Background information
Birth name	John Michael Osbourne
Born	(1948-12-03) 3 December 1948 (age 63) Aston, Birmingham, England
Genres	Heavy metal, blues rock, hard rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	vocals, harmonica, synthesizer
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Epic, CBS, Jet
Associated acts	Black Sabbath, Kelly Osbourne, Black Label Society, Alice Cooper, Iommi, Rob Zombie, Slash, Firewind
Website	ozzy.com

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English band Black Sabbath, whose dark and hard sound helped spawn the heavy metal genre. Due to Sabbath's dark style, Osbourne became known as the "Prince of Darkness".^[1] Osbourne is also known as the "Godfather of Heavy Metal".^[2]

In the early 2000s, Osbourne's career expanded when he became a star in his own reality show The Osbournes, alongside wife/manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack. A documentary about his life and career, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, premiered in April 2011 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released on DVD in November 2011.^[3] Osbourne has achieved multi-platinum status as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath and has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.^[4][5]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born in Aston, Birmingham, England, on 3 December 1948. His father Jack worked shifts as a toolmaker at GEC. His mother Lillian worked for the car components firm Lucas.^[6][7] John was the fourth of six children. Ozzy had two brothers (Paul and Tony) and three sisters (Jean, Iris and Gillian); they lived in a small two bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston. The nickname "Ozzy" was first used when he was in primary school. Although called "John" by his first wife Thelma, Osbourne states that it has been a long time since he's recognised himself when called by his formal name.^[8]

Osbourne grew up dealing with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.^[9][10] General abuse from teachers at Prince Albert Road Junior School, and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School in Perry Barr made his childhood difficult for him. Drawn to the stage, Osbourne took part in school plays such as The Pirates of Penzance. Upon hearing their first hit single at age 14, he became a great fan of The Beatles.^[6][7] He left school at 15 and was then employed as a construction site labourer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner and slaughterhouse worker.^[6] He spent six weeks in Winson Green Prison when he was unable to pay a fine after being found guilty of burglary of a clothes shop.^[6]

In late 1967, Geezer Butler formed his first band "Rare Breed" with Osbourne. The band played two shows then broke up. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in Polka Tulk Blues along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed themselves Earth, but after being booked in error instead of a small-time English circuit band with the same name, they decided to change their name again. They finally chose the name Black Sabbath in early 1969 based on a film directed by Mario Bava, starring Boris Karloff.^[11] The band had noticed how people enjoyed being frightened, and, inspired, Iommi and his partners decided to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics.^[11] While recording their first album in a castle, Geezer read an occult book and had a dream of a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about the dream and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", one of their first songs in a darker vein.^[12]

Black Sabbath[link]

Black Sabbath: Osbourne (right) with Tony Iommi in 1973

Despite only a modest investment from their US record label Warner Bros. Records, Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early records such as their debut album Black Sabbath and Paranoid sold huge numbers, as well as getting considerable airplay. Osbourne recalls a band lament, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women."^[8]

Just five months after the release of Paranoid the band released Master of Reality. The album reached the top ten in both the US and UK, and was certified gold in less than two months.^[13] In the 1980s it received platinum certification^[13] and went Double Platinum in the early 21st century.^[13] Reviews of the album were unfavorable. Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissed Master of Reality as "naïve, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel", although the very same magazine would later place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003.^[14] Black Sabbath's Volume 4 was released in September 1972. Critics were again dismissive of the album, yet it achieved gold status in less than a month. It was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell a million copies in the US.^[15][16]

In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success".^[17] AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia call the album a "masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection," while also claiming the band displayed "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity".^[18] The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the US.^[19] Sabotage was released in July 1975. Again there were favourable reviews. Rolling Stone stated, "Sabotage is not only Black Sabbath's best record since Paranoid, it might be their best ever."^[20] Allmusic was not so favourable. They noted that "the magical chemistry that made such albums as Paranoid and Volume 4 so special was beginning to disintegrate".^[21] Technical Ecstasy, released on 25 September 1976, was also met with mixed reviews. AllMusic gave the album two stars, and noted that the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".^[22]

Departure[link]

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue interest in a solo project he called Blizzard of Ozz.^[23][24] Three members of the band Necromandus, who had supported Black Sabbath in Birmingham when they were called Earth, did backup for Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath.^[25] The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto, Canada, writing and recording what would become Never Say Die! "It took quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody's playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day."^[26]

Touring in support of Never Say Die! began in May 1978 with openers Van Halen. Reviewers called Black Sabbath's performance "tired and uninspired", in stark contrast to the "youthful" performance of Van Halen, who were touring the world for the first time.^[27] The band filmed a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in June 1978, which was later released on DVD as Never Say Die. The final show of the tour, and Osbourne's last appearance with the band (until later reunions) was in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 11 December.

In 1979, back in the studio, tensions and conflict between band members were present continually. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals over and over, and tracks being manipulated endlessly by Iommi.^[28] This was a point of contention between Osbourne and Iommi. At Iommi's insistence, and with the support of Butler and Ward, Osbourne was again fired from Black Sabbath. The reasons provided to him were that he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues as compared to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time were no better nor worse than that of the other band members.^[29]

Conflict of a sort had existed between Iommi and Osbourne from the beginning. When responding to a flyer reading "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA"^[30] posted in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed to speak with Ozzy Zig. When Osbourne answered the door, Iommi left upon discovering it was him. He knew of and disliked Osbourne from back in their school days.^[8] The band replaced him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio.^[12]

Solo career[link]

In 1980, under the management of Osbourne's then girlfriend (later wife), Sharon Arden, the Ozzy Osbourne Band formed again as The Blizzard of Ozz. The first line-up of the band featured drummer Lee Kerslake (of Uriah Heep), bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley (of Rainbow and later Uriah Heep), keyboardist Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of Quiet Riot). The record company would eventually title the record Blizzard of Ozz credited simply under Osbourne's name. Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, the album brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. The album sold very well with hard rock/heavy metal fans.^[11] Though it is generally accepted that Osbourne and Rhoads started the band, bassist Daisley later claimed that he and Osbourne formed the band before Rhoads joined.^[31]

Osbourne performing in Cardiff, 1981

Blizzard of Ozz is one of the very few albums amongst the 100 best selling albums of the 1980s to have achieved multi-platinum status without the benefit of a Top 40 single. As of August 1997, it achieved Quadruple Platinum status according to RIAA. The album is known for the globally recognised singles "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley", and fan favourites "Goodbye to Romance" and "Revelation (Mother Earth)". Although Kerslake and Daisley are credited as the studio musicians for The Blizzard of Ozz, the touring band in support of the album consisted of Osbourne, Rhoads, Rudy Sarzo (Bass) and Tommy Aldridge (Drums).

Osbourne's second album, Diary of a Madman, featured more songs co-written with Bob Daisley. For his work on this album and Blizzard of Ozz, Randy Rhoads^[11] was ranked the 85th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003.^[32] This album is known for the singles "Over the Mountain" and "Flying High Again"; additionally, Osbourne explains in his autobiography that Diary is his own personal favourite album.^[8]

On 19 March 1982 while Rhoads was in Florida for the follow-up Diary of a Madman tour, and a week away from playing Madison Square Garden in New York City, a light aircraft piloted by Andrew Aycock (the band's tour bus driver) carrying guitarist Randy Rhoads crashed while performing low passes over the band's tour bus. In a prank turned deadly, the left wing of the aircraft clipped the bus, grazed a tree, and crashed into the attached garage of a nearby mansion killing Rhoads, Aycock, and the band's hairdresser, Rachel Youngblood. On autopsy, cocaine was found to be present in Aycock's urine.^{[citation needed]} The crash was officially ruled the result of "poor judgement by the pilot in buzzing the bus and misjudging clearance of obstacles".^[33] Experiencing firsthand the horrific death of his close friend and band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression.

Ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme was the first guitarist to replace Randy once the tour resumed. Torme's tenure with the band would last less than one month. During an audition for guitarists in a hotel room, Osbourne selected Brad Gillis (who went on to be one of two guitarists in Night Ranger) to finish the tour. The tour culminated in the release of the 1982 live album, Speak of the Devil recorded at the Ritz in New York City. A live tribute album for Rhoads was also later released.

Despite the difficulties, Osbourne moved on after Rhoads' death. Speak of the Devil, known in the United Kingdom as Talk of the Devil, was originally planned to consist of live recordings from 1981, primarily from Osbourne's solo work. Under contract to produce a live album, it ended up consisting entirely of Black Sabbath covers recorded with Brad Gillis, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. Osbourne later commented (inside the cover of "Tribute") "I don't give a fuck about that album. It was just a bunch of bullshit Sabbath covers."

In 1982, Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist on the Was (Not Was) pop dance track "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)." Madonna performed backing vocals. Osbourne's cut was remixed and re-released in the early 1990s for a Was (Not Was) greatest hits album in Europe, and it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked that her vocal not be restored for the hits package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger were added to complement Osbourne's lead.

In 1983 a new guitarist was recruited to play with Osbourne. Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record Bark at the Moon. The album, co-written with Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. The album contains the fan favourite "Bark at the Moon". The music video for "Bark at the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway Sanitorium outside of London, England. Within weeks the album became certified gold. To date it has sold three million copies in the U.S.^[34]

1986's The Ultimate Sin followed (with bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo), and touring behind both albums with ex-Uriah Heep keyboardist John Sinclair joining prior to the Ultimate Sin tour. A rich, bold album, it features "Shot in the Dark" and fan favourites "Killer of Giants", "Lightning Strikes", and "Secret Loser". At the time of its release, The Ultimate Sin was Osbourne's highest charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994.^[35]

Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987. Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical dependency. That year he commemorated the fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with Tribute, live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased for years. In 1988, Osbourne appeared in The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years and told the director, Penelope Spheeris, that "sobriety fucking sucks." Meanwhile, Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, who was the most enduring replacement for Rhoads to date. Together they recorded No Rest for the Wicked with Castillo on drums, Sinclair on keyboards, and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing bass. The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited with erstwhile Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler on bass. A live EP (entitled Just Say Ozzy) featuring Geezer was released two years later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne for the subsequent four tours, and was a major stage presence throughout. In 1989, Ozzy Osbourne performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

While very successful as a heavy metal act through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's No More Tears. The album enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure. It also initiated a practice of bringing in outside composers to help pen Osbourne's solo material instead of relying solely upon his recording ensemble to write and arrange the music. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener. Osbourne was awarded his only solo Grammy for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from live album Live and Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.^[36]

Wagener also mixed the live album Live and Loud released in 28 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album. The album went platinum four times over,^[37] and ranked at number 10 on that year's Billboard rock charts. At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was called "No More Tours", a pun on his No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Mike Inez took over on bass and Kevin Jones on keyboards as Sinclair was touring with The Cult. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue was remastered and reissued in 1995.

In 1995, Osbourne released Ozzmosis and returned to touring, dubbing his concert performances "The Retirement Sucks Tour". The album reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album gold and platinum in that same year, and double platinum in April 1999.^[38] The album features the hard rocking fan favourites "Perry Mason", "Ghost Behind My Eyes", "Thunder Underground", and the power ballad "See You on the Other Side".

The line-up on Ozzmosis was Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler (who had just quit Black Sabbath again) and ex-Bad English, Steve Vai and Hardline drummer Deen Castronovo, now in Journey. Keyboards were played by Yes's Rick Wakeman and producer Michael Beinhorn. The tour maintained Butler and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but a major line-up change was the introduction of ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes. Wylde was considering an offer to join Guns N' Roses. Unable to wait for a decision on Wylde's departure decision, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996, Butler and Castronovo left. Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) and Randy Castillo (Lita Ford, Mötley Crüe) filled in. Ultimately, Faith No More's Mike Bordin and ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest hits package, The Ozzman Cometh was issued in 1997.

Ozzfest[link]

Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, spiralling many up-and-coming groups who were featured there to broad exposure and commercial success. Some acts shared the bill with a reformed Black Sabbath during the 1997 Ozzfest tour, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida. Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the integrity and public familiarity with the band name Black Sabbath.

Since its beginning, five million people have attended Ozzfest, which has grossed over US$100 million. The festival helped promote many new hard rock and heavy metal acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ozzfest helped Osbourne to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales. In 2005, Osbourne and his wife Sharon starred in an MTV competition reality show entitled "Battle for Ozzfest". A number of yet unsigned bands send one member to compete in a challenge to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible recording contract. Shortly after Ozzfest 2005, Osbourne announced that he will no longer headline Ozzfest. Although he announced his retirement from Ozzfest, Osbourne came back headlining the tour. In 2006 Ozzy closed the event for just over half the concerts, leaving the others to be closed by System of a Down. He also played the closing act for the second stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on 1 July as well as Randall's Island, NY on 29 July. After the concert in Bristol, Virginia, Osbourne announced he would return for another year of Ozzfest in 2007.

Tickets for the 2007 tour were offered to fans free of charge, which led to some controversy. In 2008, Ozzfest was reduced to a one-day event in Dallas, Texas, where Osbourne played, along with Metallica and King Diamond. In 2010, Ozzy appeared as the headliner closing the show after opening acts Halford and Mötley Crüe. The tour, though small (only six U.S. venues and 1 U.K. venue were played), generated raves from fans and reviewers: "Ozzy Osbourne is one of the greatest entertainers in history—regardless of genre or medium." --Artist Direct, 16 August 2010^[39] "...we the eager maniacs of metal give OZZY the horns up for yet another blistering day of metal on two stages. " --Hard Rock Haven, 9 September 2010^[40][41] “Ozzfest rises up again, exceeding expectations...” --ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 16 August 2010^[42]

2000s[link]

Osbourne on tour in Japan

Down to Earth, Osbourne's first album of new studio material in seven years, was released on 16 October 2001. A live version filmed in Japan, Live at Budokan followed. Down to Earth went gold in 2001, and platinum in 2003. The album features the fan favourite "Dreamer," a song which peaked at number 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks.^[43] In June 2002, Osbourne performed the Black Sabbath anthem "Paranoid" at the Party at the Palace concert in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, an event in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.^[44] In 2003, Osbourne recruited former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted after he left the band in 2000 (and Trujillo replaced him on Metallica's line-up). Both Newsted and Osbourne were enthusiastic about recording an album together.

On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England when he had an accident with his all-terrain vehicle on his estate in Jordans, Buckinghamshire. Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. An operation was performed to lift the collarbone, which was believed to be resting on a major artery and interrupting blood flow to the arm. Sharon later revealed that Osbourne had stopped breathing following the crash and was resuscitated by Osbourne's then personal bodyguard, Sam Ruston. While in hospital, Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad, "Changes" with daughter Kelly. In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an artist's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident, aside from some short-term memory problems, he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, in the reunited Black Sabbath.

In 2005, Osbourne released a box set called Prince of Darkness. The first and second discs are collections of live performances, B-sides, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy. The fourth disc is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and others.

In March 2006, he said that he hoped to release a new studio album soon with long time on-off guitarist, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society. In October 2006, it was announced that Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and Geezer Butler would be touring together again, though not as Black Sabbath, but under the moniker Heaven and Hell (the title of Dio's first Black Sabbath album). The response to the news on Osbourne's website was that Osbourne wished Tony and Ronnie well and that there is only one Sabbath. Osbourne's album, titled Black Rain, was released on 22 May 2007. Osbourne's first new studio album in almost six years, it featured a more serious tone than previous albums. "I thought I'd never write again without any stimulation...But you know what? Instead of picking up the bottle I just got honest and said, 'I don't want life to go (to pieces)'", Osbourne stated in a Billboard interview.^[45]

Osbourne at Blizzcon, 2009.

Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Black Label Society and fancied a change.^[46] In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon with a new guitarist in his line-up Gus G.^[47] Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game Brütal Legend character The Guardian of Metal.^[48] In November, Slash featured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify The Dead",^[49] and Osbourne with wife Sharon were guest hosts on WWE Monday Night Raw.^[50] In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album titled Soul Sucka with Gus G, Tommy Clufetos on drums, and Blasko on bass.^[51] Negative fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention regarding the album title. In respect of fan opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his album would be renamed Scream.^[52]

2010s[link]

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for Scream would be 15 June 2010.^[53] The release date was later changed to 22 June. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of CSI: NY. The song spent 8 weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Osbourne held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham, followed later that day by an intimate show in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier in the day were given wrist bands, enabling free access to the show.

On 9 August, Ozzy announced that the second single from the album would be "Life Won't Wait" and the video for the song would be directed by his son Jack. When asked of his opinions on Scream in an interview, Osbourne announced that he is "already thinking about the next album". Osbourne's current drummer, Tommy Clufetos, has reflected this sentiment, saying that ""We are already coming up with new ideas backstage, in the hotel rooms and at soundcheck and have a bunch of ideas recorded"^[54]

Black Sabbath reunion[link]

It was announced on 11 November 2011 during a news conference at the Sunset Strip club Whisky a Go Go that the original Black Sabbath line up of Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward would reunite for a world tour and new album, which will be produced by Rick Rubin.^[55]

Other work[link]

Ozzy Osbourne band in 2011

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status via his own brand of reality television. The Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly, occasional appearances from his son Louis, but eldest daughter Aimee did not participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005. To this day Osbourne refuses to watch any episodes, claiming he was stoned during the entire filming.^[56]

The success of The Osbournes led Osbourne and the rest of his family to host the 30th Annual American Music Awards in January 2003.^[57][58] The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.^[59] On 20 February 2008, Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne hosted the 2008 BRIT Awards held at Earls Court, London.^[60][61] Ozzy Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game World of Warcraft.^[62] Osbourne is a supporter of English football club Aston Villa, growing up in the Aston area close to Villa Park.^[63]

Osbourne published an autobiography in October 2009, titled I Am Ozzy.^[29] Osbourne says ghost writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has enough material for a second book. A movie adaptation of I Am Ozzy is also in the works, and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy from England" will get the role over an established actor. His son Jack worked on and released a documentary about Osbourne's life and career called God Bless Ozzy.^[64] Osbourne made an appearance at the 30 October 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington D.C.

Awards[link]

Birmingham Walk of Stars.

Ozzy Osbourne has been awarded several times for his contributions to the music community. In 1994, he was awarded a Grammy Award for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from Live & Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.^[36] At the 2004 NME Awards in London, Ozzy received the award for Godlike Genius.^[65] In 2005, Ozzy was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame both as a solo artist and as a member of Black Sabbath.^[66] In 2006, he was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath band mates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler.^[67]

In 2007, Osbourne was honoured at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, along with Genesis, Heart, and ZZ Top. In addition, that year a bronze star honouring Osbourne was placed on Broad Street in Birmingham, England while Osbourne watched.^[68] On 18 May Osbourne had received notice that he would be the first inductee into The Birmingham Walk of Stars. He was presented the award by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. "I am really honoured," he said, "All my family is here and I thank everyone for this reception – I'm absolutely knocked out".^[68]

In 2008, Osbourne was crowned with the prestigious Living Legend award in the Classic Rock Roll of Honor. Past recipients include Alice Cooper, Lemmy, Jimmy Page. Slash, the former Guns N' Roses guitarist, presented the award.^[69] In 2010, Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honour for his memoir, I Am Ozzy, at the Guys Choice Awards at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. Osbourne was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley. The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover non-fiction best-seller list.^[70] Osbourne was also a judge for the 6th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[71]

Personal life[link]

Osbourne has been married twice and is the father of six children (five biological, and one adopted). He was first married to Thelma Riley (now a teacher in Leicestershire) and adopted her son, Elliot Kingsley (1966); together they had Jessica Starshine Osbourne Hobbs (20 January 1972) and Louis John Osbourne (1975).^{[citation needed]}

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

He later married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in family friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has five grandchildren, granddaughter Isabelle and grandson Harry from Jessica, granddaughter Mia and grandson Elijah from Louis and granddaughter Pearl from Jack^[72]. He wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a B-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire.^{[citation needed]}

It was reported by the New York Times in 1992 that Osbourne was a member of the Church of England and prayed before each show.^[73] In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Osbourne's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."^[74]

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows. Osbourne has over 15 tattoos, the most famous of which are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles of his left hand. This was his first tattoo, created by himself as a teenager with a sewing needle and pencil lead.^[6]

Drug and alcohol abuse[link]

Osbourne has abused drugs and alcohol for most of his life.^[75] Although clean and sober now,^[76] Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, puzzled at how he has survived 40 years of abuse.^[77] Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol all day, every day.^[78] He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon Osbourne (née Arden) had not offered to manage him as a solo artist.^[79]

In 1982 while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress because she had hidden his clothes, Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a cenotaph erected in honour of those who died at the Alamo in Texas, across the street from the actual building.^[80] A police officer arrested him,^[81] and Osbourne was subsequently banned from the city of San Antonio for a decade.^[82] He was later arrested May 1984 in Memphis, Tennessee, again for public intoxication.^[83] In 1984, Osbourne toured with Mötley Crüe. The tour is known as one of the "craziest drug and alcohol-fuelled tours in the history of rock and roll".^[78] It is rumoured that while heavily intoxicated, Osbourne snorted a line of ants, in competition with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, who had set fire to himself the night before.^[84]

Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition.^[85] Osbourne has also shown symptoms of mild hearing loss, as depicted in the television show, The Osbournes, where he often asks his family to repeat what they say. At the TEDMED Conference in October 2010, scientists from Knome joined Osbourne on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne’s whole genome, which shed light on how the famously hard-living rocker has survived decades of drug abuse.^[86]

Controversy[link]

Osbourne, flanked by Philadelphia police officers, leaves Borders in Center City after signing copies of his new autobiography, I Am Ozzy on 27 January 2010.

Early in his career, Christian groups accused Osbourne of being a negative influence for teenagers, and that rock music was used to glorify Satanism. Scholar Christopher M. Moreman compared the controversy to those levelled against the occultist Aleister Crowley. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song "Mr. Crowley". Both Osbourne and Crowley enjoyed the infamy of being labelled Satanists, though Osbourne firmly denies the charge and has said that he is a member of the Church of England.^[87][88]

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with some record-company executives in Los Angeles.^[89] Apparently he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out,^[89][90] with blood still dripping from his lips. Despite its controversy, the head-biting act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Ozzy Osbourne famous.^[81]

On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat^[91] he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 ranked this incident number two on its list of "Rock's Wildest Myths."^[92] While the Rolling Stone article stated the bat was alive, the teen who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead.^[89] According to Osbourne in the booklet to the 2002 edition of Diary of a Madman, the bat was not only alive but managed to bite him, resulting in Osbourne being treated for rabies.

In 1985, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution." The song deals with the dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollum's suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. Despite knowing McCollum suffered clinical depression, his parents sued Ozzy Osbourne (McCollum v. CBS^[93]) for their son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer suggested that Osbourne should be criminally charged for encouraging a young person to commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued for the same reason in 1991 (Waller v. Osbourne), by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour again.^[94] One critic claims that Osbourne sings "Get the gun, get the gun, shoot, shoot, shoot," a charge firmly denied by Osbourne.

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them royalties and had denied them due credit on albums they played on.^[95][96] In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the United States District Court in Los Angeles of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians, who were let go in 1981.^[97] To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. The albums were then reissued.^[98]

In July 2010, Osbourne and Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath trademark. As reported to Blabbermouth, "Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."^[99]

Band members[link]

Current members (as of 2010)

• Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass (2003, 2006–present)
• Adam Wakeman – keyboards, rhythm guitar (2004–present)
• Gus G. – lead guitar (2009–present)
• Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2009–present)

Recording timeline

Discography[link]

Solo albums

• Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
• Diary of a Madman (1981)
• Speak of the Devil (1982)
• Bark at the Moon (1983)
• The Ultimate Sin (1986)
• No Rest for the Wicked (1988)
• No More Tears (1991)
• Ozzmosis (1995)
• Down to Earth (2001)
• Black Rain (2007)
• Scream (2010)

	Book: Black Sabbath
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ozzy Osbourne

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ozzy Osbourne

• Ozzy Osbourne at the Internet Movie Database
• The Official Ozzy Osbourne Website
• Ozzfest Information
• Ozzy Osbourne Live Photo Gallery

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta
Santo's mask
Ring name(s)	Santo (Saint) El Santo (The Saint) Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata (Saint, the Silver Masked Man) Rudy Guzmán El Hombre Rojo (The Red Man) El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) El Murcielago II (The Bat II)
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Born	01917-09-23September 23, 1917 Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico
Died	February 5, 1984(1984-02-05) (aged 66)
Debut	1934 or 1935
Retired	01982-09-12September 12, 1982

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (September 23, 1917 – February 5, 1984), more widely known as El Santo (the Saint), was a Mexican Luchador enmascarado (Spanish for masked professional wrestler), film actor, and folk icon. El Santo, along with Blue Demon and Mil Máscaras, is one of the most famous and iconic of all Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of "the greatest legends in Mexican sports"^[1][2][3] His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies. He is said to have popularized professional wrestling in Mexico just as Rikidozan did in Japan.^[3] Guzmán's son followed him into wrestling as El Hijo del Santo, or 'Son of Santo'.

Biography[link]

Born in Tulancingo in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, to Jesús Guzmán Campuzano and Josefina Huerta (Márquez) de Guzmán as the fifth of seven children, Rodolfo came to Mexico City in the 1920s, where his family settled in the Tepito neighbourhood.^[2][3] He practiced baseball and American football, and then became interested in wrestling. He first learned Ju-Jitsu, then classical wrestling.^[4]

Pro wrestling career[link]

Accounts vary as to exactly when and where he first wrestled competitively, either in Arena Peralvillo Cozumel on 28 June 1934, or Deportivo Islas in the Guerrero colony of Mexico City in 1935, but by the second half of the 1930s, he was established as a wrestler, using the names Rudy Guzmán, El Hombre Rojo (the Red Man), El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) and El Murcielago II (The Bat II). The last name was a rip-off of the name of a famous wrestler Jesus Velazquez named "El Murcielago" (The Bat), and after an appeal by the Bat to the Mexican boxing and wrestling commission, the regulatory body ruled that Guzmán could not use the name.^[3]

El Santo[link]

In the early 1940s, Guzmán married María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Montaño (Maruca), a union that would produce 10 children; their names were Alejandro, María de los Ángeles, Héctor Rodolfo, Blanca Lilia, Víctor Manuel, Miguel Ángel, Silvia Yolanda, María de Lourdes, Mercedes, and the youngest child Jorge, who also became a famous wrestler in his own right, El Hijo del Santo (Son of Santo).^[3] In 1942, Rodolfo's manager, Don Jesús Lomelí, was putting together a new team of wrestlers, all dressed in silver, and wanted Rodolfo to be a part of it. He suggested three names, El Santo (The Saint), El Diablo (The Devil), or El Angel (The Angel), and Rodolfo chose the first one. On 26 June, aged 24, he wrestled at the Arena Mexico for the first time as El Santo, although he later was known simply as "Santo". Under this new name he quickly found his style.^[2][3]

One of Santo's greatest matches was in 1952, when he fought a tag-team known as Los Hermanos Shadow (which consisted of famed luchadors Blue Demon and the Black Shadow). Santo beat and unmasked Black Shadow in the ring, which triggered Blue Demon's decision to become a técnico, as well as a legendary feud between Blue Demon and Santo that culminated in Santo's defeat in a well-publicized series of matches in 1952 and again in 1953. Although they appeared together in a number of action/adventure films, their rivalry never really ended in later years since Santo always remembered his defeat at Blue Demon's hands.^[2][3]

Retirement[link]

By the early 1980s El Santo slowed down his in ring activities leading up to his inevitable retirement. His farewell tour was announced for August and September 1982. the first of three events took place on August 22, 1982 at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. On that night El Santo teamed up with El Solitario to take on Villano III and Rokambole in a match that naturally saw the legends win. After the match Villano and Rokamble lifted El Santo up on their shoulders as he received the adulation of the sold out arena. The following Sunday El Santo appeared at Arena México where he teamed up with Gran Hamada to defeat Villano I and Scorpio, Jr.^[5] Santo's last match took place on September 12, 1982, a week before his 65th birthday.^[3] In his last match ever El Santo teamed up with Gory Guerrero who came out of retirement to reform "La Pareja Atómica" as they teamed up with Huracán Ramirez and El Solitario. Their opponents included one of El Santo's biggest rivals in Perro Aguayo as well as El Signo, Negro Navarro and El Texano. True to the legend of El Santo he won his last match and retired as the hero he always portrayed in the ring and on the screen. His retirement tour was also used to introduce Santo's son Jorge as the next generation El Santo as he was ringside at each show wearing the silver mask and being introduced as El Hijo del Santo.^[5]

Death[link]

Just over a year after his retirement (in late January 1984), El Santo was a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face, in effect bidding his fans goodbye.^[3] It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public.^[2] Santo died from a heart attack (during a stage show he was putting on) on February 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m., a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask. His funeral is considered one of the biggest in Mexican history as fans and friends flocked to see "el Enmascarado de Plata" (The Silver-Masked One) one last time. After his death, a statue of El Santo was erected in his home town of Tulancingo and other statues have been created since then.^[3]

Legacy[link]

The legend of El Santo lives on to this very day both inside and outside the wrestling ring. Santo's youngest son with his first wife, Jorge carries on the legend of the Silver Mask, wrestling as El Hijo del Santo wearing the silver mask, cape and outfit that is very close to what his father used to wear. While El Hijo del Santo is not as big an icon as his father he is considered a more technically proficient wrestler.^[6][7]

In the early 1960s a female wrestler called La Novia del Santo (Spanish for "the Bride of El Santo") worked the Mexican circuit. Under the silver mask was Irma González, a well-known wrestler who had promised her fiancé that she'd stop wrestling, but went back in the ring under a mask when she could not resist the draw of competition. La Novia got El Santo's blessing to use the name and is the only non-family member ever given the right to use the Santo name. Gonzáles only wrestled as "La Novia del Santo" for 7 months until she got married. Later on, a homosexual wrestler adopted the "La Novia del Santo" name but El Santo took action and put an end to the impostor's use of the name.^[8]

Recently one of El Santo's 25 grandchildren made his professional debut. After gaining some seasoning under different identities "??" began working as "El Nieto del Santo" (Spanish for "the Grandson of Santo"). El Hijo Del Santo took legal actions to prevent this as he owns all "El Santo" rights when it comes to wrestling, presumably because he himself is planning on letting one of his own sons use the "El Nieto del Santo" name. These days, the grandson of El Santo works as "Axxel" and only uses "El Nieto del Santo" as an unofficial nickname to avoid any legal issues. Axxel uses the same trademark mask, cape and trunk design as El Santo but has incorporated black trim and knee pads, presumably not to infringe on the legal rights of El Hijo del Santo.

Movie career[link]

In 1952, the artist and editor José G. Cruz started a Santo comic book, turning Santo into the first and foremost character in Mexican popular literature, his popularity only rivalled by the legendary Kalimán character. The Santo comic book series (four different volumes) ran continuously for 35 years, ending in 1987.

Also in 1952, a superhero motion picture serial was made entitled "The Man in the Silver Mask", which was supposed to star Santo, but he declined to appear in it, because he thought it would fail commercially. The film was made instead with well-known luchador El Médico Asesino in the lead role, wearing a white mask similar to Santo's silver one. A villain named "The Silver-Masked Man" was introduced into the plot at the last minute, thus the title of the film strangely became a reference to the villain, not the hero.

In 1958, Fernando Osés, a wrestler and actor, invited Santo to work in movies, and although Santo was unwilling to give up his wrestling career, he accepted, planning to do both at the same time. Oses was planning on playing the hero in these films, with Santo appearing as his costumed sidekick. Fernando Osés and Enrique Zambrano wrote the scripts for the first two movies, el Cerebro del Mal (The Evil Brain) and Hombres Infernales (The Infernal Men), both released in 1958, and directed by Joselito Rodríguez. Filming was done in Cuba, and ended just the day before Fidel Castro entered Havana and declared the victory of the revolution. Santo played a masked superhero-type sidekick to the main hero (who was called El Incognito) in these two films, and was not the main character (nor was he depicted as a wrestler in these 2 films). The films did poorly at the box office when they were released. Years later however, when Santo's film career took off, the distributors of these two films quietly added Santo's name into the titles. Most people feel Santo's film career really took off in 1961, with his third movie "Santo Vs The Zombies." Santo was given the starring role with this film, and was shown for the first time as a professional wrestler moonlighting as a superhero.

Santo wound up appearing in a total of 52 lucha libre films in all, two of which were just cameo appearances. The style of the movies was essentially the same throughout the series, with Santo as a superhero fighting supernatural creatures, evil scientists, various criminals/ secret agents and so on. The tones were reminiscent of U.S. B-movies and TV shows, perhaps most similar to the old Republic Pictures serials of the 1940s.

His best-known movie outside of Mexico is also considered one of his best, 1962s Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro (Santo vs. the Vampire Women), which was also featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In this movie, the production values were better, and there was an attempt at creating more a mythos and background for Santo, as the last of a long line of fighters against evil. It was an enormous success at the box office, and was one of the 4 Santo films ever to be dubbed in English. Some of these English films were imported to the United States through the efforts of K. Gordon Murray who changed the name of Santo to Samson for some of his releases. Santo's most financially successful film however was "The Mummies of Guanajuato" (1970), which co-starred Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras. Many Mexi-movie fans consider it to be the greatest luchador film ever made.

The Santo film series inspired the production of similar series of movies starring other well-known luchadores such as Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, Superzan and the Wrestling Women, among others. Santo even co-starred with Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras in several of his movies. When Blue Demon invited Santo to co-star with him and Mil Mascaras in the "Champions of Justice" movie trilogy, however, Santo was too busy making other films to participate.

By 1977, the masked wrestler film craze had practically died off, but Santo continued to appear in more films over the next few years. His last film was "FURY OF THE KARATE EXPERTS", shot in Florida in 1982, the same year he retired from the ring. Santo officially retired from wrestling on Sept. 12, 1982 (a week before his 65th birthday). His last match was at the El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos in Mexico. All told, his professional wrestling career spanned a total of 48 years.

Santo appeared as a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face. It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public. Santo died from a heart attack on Feb. 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m. (about a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance). He was 66 years old. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask.

Other media appearances[link]

Santo also became an animated mini-series on Cartoon Network in Latin America. On October 27, 2004, Cartoon Network released the first chapter of 5 shorts. Each chapter is about 2 minutes long, and they were shown weekly on Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM. There is also currently another Santo series in development at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank. The mini series was inspired by Santo's classic movies. Santo fought against an evil scientist, Dr. Clone, who collected the DNA of Santo's previous foes and resurrected them to kill Santo and dominate the world.

El Santo also inspired the animated series Mucha Lucha and El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera. In Mucha Lucha he's called "El Rey", and it's represented as an icon of all positive things. In El Tigre, the character White Pantera shares much of El Santo's ever optimist attitude from the movies, but there's also a character named Silver Sombrero who is an exact copy of Santo, except he wears a large Mexican hat.

Santo is immortalized in the rockabilly band Southern Culture on the Skids' 1996 album Santo Swings!/Viva el Santo. Santo is often resurrected in Southern Culture's live performances when an audience member jumps onstage donning Santo's mask. The Latin ska band King Changó released an album titled The Return of El Santo. A Turkish actor portrayed an unlicensed version of Santo in the infamous bootleg Turkish film 3 dev adam. In addition the 2001 Canadian cult film, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, also features an unlicensed version of El Santo as one of Christ's monster hunting associates.

He also is referred by Mexican rock band Botellita de Jerez in their song Santo, where they told Santo's victories in the ring and in the movies as well as the big respect he got as a Mexican movie hero, in the song they parody songs like the Batman TV Series's theme along as some religious songs.

Santo filmography (in chronological order)[link]

• Santo contra el cerebro del mal (Santo Vs. The Evil Brain, 1958)^[9][10]
• Santo contra hombres infernales (Santo vs. The Infernal Men, 1958)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los zombies (Santo vs. The Zombies, 1961) aka Invasion of the Zombies (dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el rey del crimen (Santo vs. The King of Crime, 1961)^[9][10]
• Santo en el hotel de la muerte (Santo In The Hotel of Death, 1961)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el cerebro diabolico (Santo vs. the Diabolical Brain, 1962)^[9][10]
• Santo contra las mujeres vampiro (Santo vs. The Vampire Women, 1962) aka Samson vs. the Vampire Women (dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo en el museo de cera (Santo In The Wax Museum, 1963) aka Samson in the Wax Museum (dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el estrangulador (Santo vs. The Strangler, 1963)^[9][10]
• El espectro del estrangulador (Santo vs. The Ghost of the Strangler, 1963)^[9][10]
• Blue Demon contra el poder satánico (Blue Demon vs. Satanic Power, 1964) (cameo appearance)^[9][10]
• Santo en Atacan las brujas (Santo in The Witches Attack, 1964) aka Santo en la casa de las brujas^[9][10]
• El hacha diabólica (Santo in The Diabolical Axe, 1964)^[9][10]
• Santo en los profanadores de tumbas (Santo in The Grave Robbers, 1965)^[9][10]
• Santo en el Barón Brakola (Santo in Baron Brakola, 1965)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la invasión de los marcianos (Santo vs. The Martian Invasion, 1966)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los villanos del ring (Santo vs. The Villains of the Ring, 1966) (Santo's last B&W film)^[9][10]
• Santo en Operación 67 (Santo in Operation 67, 1966) (Santo's first color film)^[9][10]
• Santo en el tesoro de Moctezuma (Santo in The Treasure of Moctezuma, 1967)^[9][10]
• Santo en el tesoro de Drácula (Santo in Dracula's Treasure, 1968) aka The Vampire and Sex (a separate adult-rated version)^[9][10]
• Santo contra Capulina (Santo vs. Capulina, 1968)^[9][10]
• Santo contra Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon contra los monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon en el mundo de los muertos (Santo and Blue Demon in the World of the Dead, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los cazadores de cabezas (Santo vs. The Headhunters, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo frente a la muerte (Santo Faces Death, 1969) aka Santo vs. the Mafia Killers^[9][10]
• Santo contra los jinetes del terror (Santo Vs The Terror Riders, 1970) aka The Lepers and Sex (a separate adult-rated version)^[9][10]
• Santo en la venganza de las mujeres vampiro (Santo in the Revenge of the Vampire Women, 1970)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la mafia del vicio (Santo vs. The Mafia of Vice, 1970) aka Mission Sabotage^[9][10]
• Santo en la venganza de la momia (Santo in the Mummy's Revenge, 1970)^[9][10]
• Santo en Las momias de Guanajuato (Santo in The Mummies of Guanajuato, 1970) (co-starring Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon)^[9][10]
• Santo en el misterio de la perla negra (Santo in the Mystery of the Black Pearl, 1971) aka The Caribbean Connection (this film was released in Spain in 1971, but was only released in Mexico in 1975)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la hija de Frankenstein (Santo vs. Frankenstein's Daughter, 1971)^[9][10]
• Santo en Misión suicida (Santo in Suicide Mission, 1971)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los asesinos de otros mundos (Santo vs. the Killers from Other Worlds, 1971) aka Santo vs. the Living Atom^[9][10]
• Santo y el tigresa en el aguila real (Santo and the Tigress in the Royal Eagle, 1971)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon contra Drácula y el Hombre Lobo (Santo and Blue Demon Vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los secuestradores (Santo Vs. The Kidnappers, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la magia negra (Santo vs. Black Magic, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon en las bestias del terror (Santo and Blue Demon in the Beasts of Terror, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo contra las lobas (Santo vs. The She-Wolves, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo en Anónimo mortal (Santo in Anonymous Death Threat, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon contra el doctor Frankenstein (Santo and Blue Demon Vs Dr. Frankenstein, 1973)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el doctor Muerte (Santo Vs Dr. Death, 1973) aka Santo strikes again, aka The Masked Man Strikes Again" (one of only four Santo films that was dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo en la venganza de la llorona (Santo in the Revenge of the Crying Woman, 1974) (co-starring boxing champ Mantequilla Napoles)^[9][10]
• Santo en Oro negro (Santo in Black Gold, 1975) aka La Noche de San Juan^[9][10]
• Santo en el Misterio en las Bermudas (Santo in The Bermuda Mystery, 1977) (co-starring Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras)^[9][10]
• Santo en la frontera del terror (Santo at the Border of Terror, 1979) aka Santo vs. the White Shadow^[9][10]
• Santo contra el asesino de televisión (Santo vs the TV Killer, 1981)^[9][10]
• Chanoc y el hijo del Santo contra los vampiros asesinos (Chanoc and Son of Santo vs. The Killer Vampires, 1981) (cameo appearance)^[9][10]
• Santo en el puño de la muerte (Santo in Fist of Death, 1982)^[9][10]
• Santo en la furia de los karatekas (Santo in Fury of the Karate Experts, 1982)^[9][10]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• La de a Caballo (Camel clutch)^[3][11]
• Tope de Cristo (Diving headbutt)^[3]

• Signature moves

• Plancha^[3]
• Suicide dive^[3]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Empresa Mundial de Lucha Libre

• Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[12]
• Mexican National Middleweight Championship (4 times)^[13]
• Mexican National Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Rayo de Jalisco^[14]
• Mexican National Welterweight Championship (2 times)^[15]
• NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA World Welterweight Championship (2 time)^[16]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Lucha de Apuesta record[link]

References[link]