Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura (born July 15, 1951, as James George Janos, which is still his legal name) was elected the 38th Governor of Minnesota on November 3, 1998, after a career as Navy SEAL, professional wrestler, actor, mayor, and radio talk show host. He ran as a candidate for the Reform Party of Minnesota (now called the Independence Party of Minnesota) and "shocked the world," as he phrased it, when he unexpectedly beat the major-party candidates: St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (Republican) and Minnesota Attorney General Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (Democratic-Farmer-Labor). Ventura, who spent considerably less than his opponents, is widely regarded as one of the first candidates to effectively use the Internet in a political campaign. He served as governor from January 4, 1999, to January 6, 2003, without seeking a second term.

Education, entertainment career, and early political career

Ventura was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He (then known by his legal name of Janos) graduated from Minneapolis's Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1969. From 11 September 1969 to 10 September 1975 he served in the United States Navy as a Navy SEAL and was on active duty 05 January 1970 through 10 December 1973 during the Vietnam era. Although Ventura served with Underwater Demolition Team 12 during his time on active duty, he was never a full-time member of a SEAL team. However, Naval Special Warfare policy states that Ventura, just like any other Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL graduate, deserves and has earned the title of SEAL. His overseas service was in Subic Bay, Philippines and off the coast of Vietnam but he did not see combat. He was awarded the National Defense Ribbon and the Vietnam Service Ribbon.

Related Topics:
Minneapolis, Minnesota - Theodore Roosevelt - 1969 - 11 September - 10 September - United States Navy - Navy SEAL - 05 January - 10 December - Underwater Demolition Team 12 - Naval Special Warfare

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He returned to Minnesota and attended North Hennepin Community College in the mid-1970s at the same time he began weight lifting and wrestling. In 1975, he married his wife Terry (the couple now has two grown children).

Related Topics:
North Hennepin Community College - 1970s - Weight lifting - Wrestling - 1975

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He created the stage name Jesse "The Body" Ventura to go with the persona of a bully-ish beach body builder, taking "Ventura" from a California highway map. As a professional wrestler, Ventura wrestled as a "heel" (the "evil" characters), and often used the motto "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" Late in his career he developed an adversarial relationship with WWF owner Vince McMahon, although given the nature of professional wrestling it must be assumed that this was at least to some extent a "work".

Related Topics:
Ventura - California - Professional wrestler - Heel - WWF - Vince McMahon - Work

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Ventura continued to wrestle until the mid-1980s when health problems forced him to retire from the ring. He began to do color commentary on television for wrestling, and then did the same on radio for a few National Football League teams (among them, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Ventura most notably, co-hosted Saturday Night's Main Event with Vince McMahon and the first six WrestleManias (1985-1990) with the late, great Gorilla Monsoon. Ventura acted in the 1987 movie Predator, whose cast included future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and future Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Sonny Landham. He had a starring role in the 1991 sci-fi movie ', and supporting roles in The Running Man and Batman and Robin starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Related Topics:
1980s - Television - National Football League - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Saturday Night's Main Event - WrestleMania - Gorilla Monsoon - 1987 - Predator - California - Governor - Arnold Schwarzenegger - Kentucky - Gubernatorial - Sonny Landham - 1991 - The Running Man - Batman and Robin

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Ventura ran for mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in 1990 and served from 1991 to 1995. Between 1995 and his run for governor, Ventura had a radio call-in show in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Related Topics:
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota - 1990 - 1991 - 1995 - Minneapolis-St. Paul

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