Portrait of Fred Ottman

Birthday profile

Fred Ottman

Fred Ottman, American wrestler

Born
August 10, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1956

About Fred Ottman

Fred Alex Ottman (born August 10, 1956) is an American retired professional wrestler. He worked for the World Wrestling Federation (later WWE) from 1989 to 1993 under the ring names Tugboat and Typhoon. As the former, he played a key babyface ally of Hulk Hogan. As the latter, he turned heel to form The Natural Disasters with Earthquake and held the WWF Tag Team Championship. In 1993, Ottman debuted as The Shockmaster in World Championship Wrestling and immediately fell over, losing his mask on live television while his teammates broke character and laughed. This botch hurt his career, and is now generally regarded as the worst debut in wrestling history, but he was able to capitalize on its notoriety after his in-ring retirement. On April 19, 2025, Ottman, as Typhoon, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2025 alongside Earthquake as The Natural Disasters. Ottman made his first appearance in the WWF in June 1989 in a dark match under the ring name "Big Steel Man" with Slick as his manager. On April 17 they won the SWS Tag Team Championship defeating George Takano and Shunji Takano in Yokohama, Japan when WWF had a partnership with Super World of Sports. On the June 17 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, Earthquake's manager, Jimmy Hart, reintroduced Ottman as Typhoon, and he and Earthquake became known as The Natural Disasters.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Fred Ottman was born

Fred Ottman was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Fred Ottman's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, CageMatch, Internet Wrestling Database. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.