Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Reveals How He Learned of Dad Rocky’s Death

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson laid his father, Rocky Johnson, to rest last month during a private ceremony. The funeral took place after Rocky died from a heart attack at the age of 75. Little was known about this ceremony, but Johnson provided a glimpse into his eulogy with a video posted on Instagram.

The longtime wrestler headed to the dais to talk about his father. During this roughly 9.5-minute speech, Johnson talked about the impact that his father had on his life and on the sport of professional wrestling. He also shared insight into the moment that he learned about his father’s death.

“I was on my way to work the other day, on January 15, and I was just pulling into work,” Johnson said. “And we were shooting that day, and it was the very first day of production. And then I get a call from my wife Lauren, who said ‘hey, I just spoke to Cora. Seems like something’s going on with your dad.’

“Lauren was with…” Johnson continued. “She was with our babies, she was with my mom, and she said, ‘you know, I really can’t talk. I think you should call Cora though.’”

Johnson made that phone call, which is when Cora broke the news to him that his father had died. This conversation took place as he was pulling up to the set for one of his projects. Johnson remembers hundreds of individuals walking around and waving at him, but the entire moment seemed like a dream.

“I’m literally just pulling in and I’m looking at the whole crew, hundreds of guys and women milling around, carrying equipment and waving at me in the truck, and I’m waving back and it all got really foggy and it seemed like it was a big dream,” Johnson said. “You know how you have those moments where you try and shake yourself out of it, and you’re like ‘No, it’s not a dream. … My dad’s gone.”

In the midst of this moment, Johnson heard a voice telling him “the show must go on.” Both he and his father were professional wrestlers and were well aware that they had to enter the ring even when tragedy struck. That was part of the wrestling business.

The eulogy continued with Johnson explaining why his father was a trailblazer in professional wrestling. He said that Rocky “changed people’s harsh behaviors toward a man of color.” He also helped open up opportunities for Johnson and many of his peers.

Johnson finished his eulogy with a very simple message to his father. He paused for a moment after thanking everyone for their love and support and then said: “I’ll see you down the road, Soulman.”

(Photo Credit: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images)