MINNEAPOLIS — Verne Gagne, one of professional wrestling’s most celebrated performers and promoters, has died. He was 89.

Gagne died Monday at his daughter’s home in the Twin Cities area, according to longtime friend Gene Okerlund, a pro wrestling announcer who was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame with Gagne in 2006. Gagne had Alzheimer’s disease.

“Verne was one of the pioneers,” said Okerlund, 72. “He put (pro wrestling) on the map in the early days when no one had seen it before.”

Gagne won several regional championships after turning pro in 1950 before heading to the newly formed American Wrestling Association, based in Minneapolis, in 1960, the WWE said.

The AWA “cranked out” a lot of stars, Okerlund said, including Hulk Hogan, Mad Dog Vachon and Nick Bockwinkel. It also was the breeding ground for future WWE stars.