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William Moody

Biography

William Moody

Overview

  • Born
    April 10, 1954 · Mobile, Alabama, USA
  • Died
    March 5, 2013 · Mobile, Alabama, USA (heart attack)
  • Birth name
    William Alvin Moody
  • Nicknames
    • Paul Bearer
    • Percy Pringle III
    • The Embalmer
  • Height
    5′ 10″ (1.78 m)

Biography

  • William Moody went to Mobile's Catholic School, and later graduated from the McGill Institute. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force and completing basic training, he received his honorable discharge and went straight into a Funeral Director service job.

    Moody was a regular at Gulf Coast Wrestling events in Mobile, Alabama while growing up. He got to know many of the wrestlers, as well as the front office personnel and later became a ringside photographer.

    Though known through most of his career as a manager, Moody started out as a wrestler. In June 1974, he made his wrestling debut, wrestling as "Mr. X" (under a mask) in Greenville, AL. He continued to wrestle later known as "The Embalmer".

    In April 1977, he began his managerial career as Percy Pringle III. Moody married and he and his wife Dianna, welcomed their son Michael in 1979. He left the wrestling business and went back to school and earned his Funeral Director/Embalmer's Certification from San Antonio College.

    In 1984, Moody returned to wrestling again as Percy Pringle and worked for Fritz von Erich's World Class Wrestling Association. During this time he managed the likes of Rick Rude, Blackjack Mulligan, The Great Kabuki, Lex Luger and even Steve Austin.

    On December 22, 1990, he joined the World Wrestling Federation and would be known as "Paul Bearer". His charge this time was the Undertaker. Moody worked for the company for ten years, most of the time managing the Undertaker, but also managing Kane and Mankind (Mick Foley). He also worked as a road agent for the time he was not on television.

    In 2001, William's wife Dianna was striken with breast cancer and he cut his time with the WWE back to care for her. He left the company in late 2002 when his contract came up. After this, he made several appearances with NWA Total Nonstop Action again as Percy Pringle.

    When the Undertaker returned to his old "deadman" gimmick at Wrestlemania 20, Moody returned with him as Paul Bearer once again. However after a few months, the storyline involving Paul Bearer had ran its course and he has left the WWE again, at least as far as television is concerned.

    Moody and his wife also have another son, Daniel.
    - IMDb mini biography by: Adam Ritchie

Family

  • Spouse
      Dianna Lynn McDole(December 22, 1978 - January 31, 2009) (her death, 2 children)

Trademarks

  • Eerie high-pitched voice
  • Scary face contortions
  • Heavy white, ghoulish makeup and Gomez Addams-style moustache.
  • His urn

Trivia

  • He was a licensed funeral director and embalmer, and maintained his license throughout his professional wrestling career.
  • Former manager of The Undertaker, Kane, Vader, and Mankind.
  • WWE Hall of Famer.
  • He has managed such wrestler as Rick Rude, The Assassin, Blackjack Mulligan, Matt Borne, Buzz Sawyer, Eric Embry, The Great Kabuki, Lex Luger, The Dingo Warrior, "Sugar Bear" Harris, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kane and Mankind.
  • He died from a heart attack in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama. The cause was supra-ventricular tachycardia. His interment was at Serenity Memorial Gardens in Theodore, Alabama after his Mass of Christian Burial at Saint Vincent Catholic Church on March 9, 2013.

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