Michael Buffer
Michael Buffer (born November 2, 1944 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American entertainer . He is considered the best known announcer of sporting events , especially boxing matches , worldwide. Buffer's trademarks are a tuxedo with a black bow tie and the loud battle cry “Let's get ready to rumble”.
biography
Michael Buffer's biological father, Joseph Buffer, was a Marine. After returning from World War II, he separated from his wife, whom he married at the age of 19. Eleven-month-old Michael was then placed in a foster family. His foster father, named Huber, was a bus driver. At the age of 20, Michael Huber signed up for military service. Since his foster family had not adopted him, he was listed there under his maiden name Michael Buffer.
Buffer married for the first time at the age of 21. His wife had two sons before the marriage ended in divorce after seven years. His second marriage, which he entered into in 1999, no longer exists.
In 1967 Buffer left the army and worked briefly as an automobile salesman . In the same year he began to work as a dressman , including for the Gucci fashion company .
In 1982 he saw a boxing match on television with one of his sons, in which the ring announcer botched his appearance. "Dad, you could do that too," his son is said to have said. As a result, the Dressman Buffer applied to all major hotels in Atlantic City that hosted boxing matches. In fact, he got a chance, but he couldn't take it at first. It was not until March 1983 that he gradually managed to establish himself as a ring announcer.
He was contacted by his birth father in 1989 after seeing Buffer on television. Michael and his half-brother Bruce, whom he then met, decided to work together.
"Let's get ready to rumble"
Buffer's world-famous reputation is protected by trademark law in the USA and may therefore only be used by Buffer itself. It was probably first used by him in 1984. Back then, the ring announcer was looking for a battle cry to heat up the atmosphere around the ring before a fight. He remembered that Muhammad Ali once said: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee - rumble, young man, rumble". TV commentator Sal Marciano picked up this saying a little later and said: “We're ready to rumble”. Both quotes resulted in Buffer's request “Let's get ready to rumble”.
After the reaction was initially rather subdued, Buffer began to fine-tune the pace of the sentence. He started by rolling the "R" s and dragging the "L" s and the "M" out until he finally managed to achieve the desired electrifying effect on the audience with his battle cry.
Appearances
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In addition to moderating countless boxing matches, Michael Buffer has worked as an announcer in many other sports, including the MLB Baseball World Series , the NHL Stanley Cup finals ( ice hockey ) , the NBA championship games ( basketball ) and the Play -off games of the NFL ( American Football ). Also in the sports entertainment sector, especially in the now defunct wrestling league WCW , Buffers “Let's get ready to rumble” was heard regularly before important championships. Buffer made his debut in the former competitive WWE league in 2007 at the Saturday Night's Main Event when he announced a boxing match between Evander Holyfield and Matt Hardy . He was also a ring announcer at the Royal Rumble 2008. Both events took place in Madison Square Garden .
In addition to his regular presence as an announcer, Buffer has also appeared in several cinema and television films. He mostly played himself and announced fictional boxing matches belonging to the plot, including in the boxer dramas Rocky V , Rocky Balboa , Creed and Zwei vom alten Schlag with Sylvester Stallone , The Fighter , in an episode of the cartoon series The Simpsons as well in the end time film 2012 . He also starred in the 2008 action comedy Don't Mess with Evil Walbridge.
In 1996 the Hamburg music company Mercury Records released the single Let's get ready to rumble by KO's feat. Michael Buffer . It is a dance floor track with various announcements from buffers. The title reached number 20 in the German single charts .
The boxing games Ready 2 Rumble Boxing and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 , in which Buffer's voice announces the individual fights, have also been released for various video game consoles . Buffer can also be heard in other computer and video games.
On German television, Michael Buffer has been the ring announcer for the boxing matches that have been broadcast live on ARD since 2006, alternating with Roman Roell , as well as the boxing matches of Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko broadcast by RTL .
From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, Buffer was seen and heard as an advertising character for Media-Saturn-Holding in TV and radio commercials. On March 19, 2011 he had an appearance at Deutschland sucht den Superstar - as part of the boxing match between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solís , which later also took place in Cologne .
In early December 2011, it was announced that Buffer would be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.
On March 3, 2012, Buffer had another appearance at Deutschland sucht den Superstar as part of the boxing match between Wladimir Klitschko and Jean-Marc Mormeck, which later took place in Düsseldorf .
In 2019 he had a brief appearance in the remake of Dumbo .
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Michael Buffer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Buffer, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entertainer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 2, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Philadelphia , Pennsylvania |