Even with Howard Stern's creative and personal evolution, there's still room for some Wack Pack fun on his SiriusXM radio show. Of course, the politically incorrect antics of Howard's menagerie of society's outcasts have lessened over the years. While some of Howard's critics loathed his inclusion of the likes of Eric The Actor, Beatlejuice, and Wendy The Slow Adult (not her original nickname) as they thought he was exploiting and making fun of them, others thought the shock jock was giving them a voice when no one else would. Either way, the Wack Pack have all been willingly thrust into the spotlight and fans of The Stern Show are fascinated to know what's happening in their lives. Especially since Howard's use for them has diminished.
While Howard Stern is a great celebrity interviewer, he's also pretty amazing at getting personal information out of anyone he speaks to. This includes members of the Wack Pack like the late-Nicole Bass. While Nicole isn't seen as the greatest member of the Wack Pack, she is certainly one of the most memorable. Whether it was Howard's writer and sound effect guru Fred Norris playing The Munsters theme song upon her arrival, or Nicole's deeply masculine yet sensitive voice, fans totally ate up her appearances on the show. While they know that Nicole passed away in 2017, they may not know about the extent of her tragic end.
Who Is WWE And Ms. Olympia Nicole Bass?
Nicole Bass (later Fuchs) was born in 1965 and was an extremely active wrestler, bodybuilder, actor, and professional wrestling valent throughout her life. In the 1980s, Nicole got into bodybuilding and she continued this through the late 1990s when she won the title of Ms. Olympia at the 1997 NPC National Bodybuilding Championship. But after winning that title, there was little direction for her to go in. Therefore she became a wrestler.
Nicole made her debut appearance as a wrestler in 1999 as part of Paul Heyman's ECW. She was famous for getting into feuds with Mikey Whipwreck and Beulah McGillicutty among others. Nicole did so well as part of ECW that she briefly joined Vince McMahon at the WWE. Her first appearance in the WWE was at WrestleMania 15. This is where she was officially named Women's Champion Sable's bodyguard.
While she made some really memorable and decent moves during her brief time at WWE, it seems she was actually suffering. Upon being released from her contract, Nicole secretly filed a $120 million lawsuit against WWE due to claims of being sexually harassed by The Brooklyn Brawler (AKA Steve Lombardi). According to Sportscasting.com and The New York Times, Vince McMahon and the WWE rejected all of Nicole's claims and said that they fired her because she had "two left feet" as well as that her accusations were purely based on her anger about her termination. Due to 'inconsistencies' in her statement, the jury ruled against Nicole. This forced her to take her case to the U.S. Court of Appeals where it was swiftly thrown out.
After this case, Nicole basically vanished from the spotlight, working 'normal' jobs to pay ends meet. She didn't even wrestle again after 2002. Fortunately, she also had her established connection with The Howard Stern Show to keep her afloat until her timely death.
Nicole Bass' Time On The Howard Stern Show
Simultaneously with her careers in bodybuilding and wrestling, Nicole did some acting in various soap operas including The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital. Her love of show business also led her to the most successful radio show of all time.
Nicole first appeared on The Howard Stern Show in the early 1990s when she competed in the pay-per-view television event, The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant. Shortly after, she became a fully-fledged member of the Wack Pack due to her masculine voice, massive physical size, and willingness to do just about anything for a laugh. Her presence on The Howard Stern Show became so fundamental to the show that she was included in Howard's movie, Private Parts.
While Nicole was often made fun of on the show, as well as admitted to being deeply unhappy about being constantly confused for a man, she never missed an appearance. It's clear that she really valued Howard's support, particularly him coming to her aide during her sexual harassment trial. Even though some didn't see the funny in Nicole's gross gags with Stern Show staffers Sal Governale and Richard Christie, nor Fred's mocking laugh, Nicole clearly was in on the joke.
She was also extremely open about her life and how deeply lonely she could get. She also was open about her love life, including her allegedly violent marriage to Bob Fuchs who passed away in 2013, and her newfound romance with her business partner, Kristen Marrone.
The Truth About Nicole Bass' Death
While her tragic experiences in the WWE and with her husband would be enough to overwhelm anyone, Nicole fought through. For the most part, she kept a positive attitude through it all did everything she could to keep herself going. However, in 2017, Nicole lost her life after a tragic heart attack at the age of 52.
Following her death, her partner Kristen put out this statement:
"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. Nicole was an amazing woman. Strong not only on the outside but inside as well. Beautiful soul and kind heart. Many people knew Nicole but few ever got close enough to know the REAL woman that she was. I got to be one of the lucky few. Not only was she my soul mate and my girlfriend but she was my best friend, my teacher and my business partner. I learned many valuable things from her and created many beautiful memories in the time we had together."
