Former WWE Superstar Duane 'Gillberg' Gill Suffers Heart Attack

Gill has thankfully been moved out of ICU and is said to be doing "very well".

by Andrew Pollard
Gillberg Return Raw
WWE.com

In some sad news to report, Duane Gill is said to have suffered a heart attack earlier this week.

Former WWE superstar James Ellsworth was the one who broke this news, taking to Twitter to make the announcement on behalf of Gill’s family. Previously, of course, Gill famously performed as Gillberg in the then-WWF – even becoming WWF Light Heavyweight Champion.

There is some semblance of positive news here, as Ellsworth revealed that Gill is out of intensive care and doing “very well”.

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As Ellsworth explained last night:

I just got off the phone with Duane Gill, also known as Gillberg’s, wife. She wanted me to let you know what’s going on with Duane. He had a heart attack yesterday, but he is doing okay, he’s doing good. He just got out of ICU, doing very well, so I just wanted to say that, first and foremost. He is doing fine and he should be okay going forward. Hopefully, he’ll be home this weekend and start transitioning into getting back to normal. But his wife did want me to come on here and tell everyone what’s going on. So please send your prayers to Gillberg and his family at this time, and hopefully he’ll be home soon and back to his normal, fun, goofy self.

Duane Gill’s wrestling career began back in 1990 and he’d often find himself being used as an enhancement on WWE television up until getting his break as part of the J.O.B. Squad in 1998. Later that year, Gill took on the gimmick of Gillberg – a Goldberg knock-off – and his 445-day reign as the Light Heavyweight Champion is the longest in that title’s history.

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The thoughts of us here at WhatCulture go out to Duane and his family, and here’s hoping it’s a speedy and full recovery for him.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.