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Nicole Bass, Howard Stern Show Wack Packer, Has Died

By Liz Brown 
Published on: 16:15 PST, Feb 17, 2017

Nicole Bass, a pro-wrestler, body builder, and long running member of the Howard Stern Show “Wack Pack” passed away Friday evening, February 17, following a heart attack. She was 52-years-old.

News of the pro wrestler, bodybuilder, and Howard Stern Show personality’s ailing condition was first reported on Nicole Bass’s official Facebook page by her girlfriend on Thursday evening, and reports of her death began popping up on the internet Friday. USA Today reported that Nicole Bass had died early Friday afternoon, but a reporter from Pro Wrestling Sheet who spoke to a hospital employee stated that Bass was still on life support at the time. She was scheduled to be taken off on Friday evening because she was brain dead following a cardiac arrest. The premature reports of Nicole Bass’ death are being attributed to the Facebook post to her page by Kristen Marrone, who said that she shared the news about Nicole’s passing before it was official because Bass was brain dead and it was “like she was already gone.”

The Facebook post, coupled with the “feeling heartbroken” emoji, offered this explanation of Nicole’s condition.

“A few days ago Nicole got very sick. She was brought into the hospital and they did everything they could to help her. I have been sitting here with her in the room 24/7 since she got here making sure she was being given the best possible care. Today we learned that there is nothing else that can be done.”

Howard Stern Show archive site MarksFriggin, which has been providing comprehensive daily recaps of the show since 1995, lists the first Nicole Bass appearance on the show as occurring in 1998 when she agreed to Howard Stern’s request to take a DNA test to officially determine her gender. Bass also appeared as part of Stern’s pay-per-view special New Year’s Rotten Eve in the “Miss Howard Stern New Year’s Eve Pageant,” a two-hour event that occurred during the evening of December 31, 1993, and January 1, 1994.

Nicole Bass’s passing is the latest in a series of deaths of Howard Stern Show personalities in the last two years. Stern Show Wack Packer Joey Boots was found dead in his apartment in December of 2016. Stern Show personality Riley Martin passed away in December of 2015. And, of course, Stern Show fans are still reeling from the death of Wack Pack superstar Eric the Actor, who passed away in late 2014 at the tender age of 39.

Nicole Bass tribute tweets from Howard Stern Show staffers, personalities, and fans began pouring in on Friday afternoon. Howard Stern Show news reporter Jon Leiberman tweeted the following.

Comedian and former Howard Stern Show sidekick Artie Lange posted a heartbreaking tweet after hearing the news.

Former Howard TV Executive Producer Doug Goldstein tweeted as well.

Nicole Bass won the 1997 NPC National Bodybuilding Championship and became known as the world’s “largest female bodybuilder.” Bass made her debut as a member of the World Wrestling Federation in 1999 when she became “bodyguard” to Sable.

The official report on her death from Pro Wrestling Sheet stated that she died “while surrounded by those closest to her.”

At the time of this report, Howard Stern had not yet responded to the official news of the Nicole Bass death.

[Featured Image by Robert Spencer/AP Images]

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