The WWE says William Moody, better known to pro wrestling fans as Paul Bearer, the pasty-faced, urn-carrying manager for performers The Undertaker and Kane, has died. He was 58.

A spokesman for the wrestling circuit said Moody's family contacted the WWE to report the death on Tuesday. No cause was released.

The WWE partly molded Moody's character off his real-life job in the mortuary business.

After stints in minor-league wrestling promotions, Moody joined the WWE in 1990 and quickly became associated with The Undertaker, a character who claimed he was undead and impervious to pain.

In the WWE plotline, Paul Bearer later managed Undertaker's on-screen half brother Kane.

He was a fixture on WWE programming for more than a decade. His shrill catchphrase, "Ooohhh yeeesss!" and contorted facial expressions made him one of the sports-entertainment company's more popular personalities.