Lance Russell, the longtime Memphis wrestling announcer credited with launching the career of Jerry Lawler, died early Tuesday in Memphis at the age of 91.

Russell, who lived in Pensacola, Fla., was in town visiting family when he fell and broke a hip, according to Lawler. Russell's daughter, Valerie Russell Houston, died Friday of cancer while Russell was here, and her funeral is Tuesday evening at Memorial Park.

"These two tragedies for the family right together is just so sad," Lawler said.

Russell's family also announced the death on Russell's twitter account:

Russell began his foray into wrestling in Jackson, Tenn. That's where he was asked in 1955 if he wanted to announce local wresting matches when his TV station began airing them.

"I said I'd love to try it. Always been a fan. So that's how I got into it," Russell recalled in an interview with Lawler in which Lawler reminisced at length with his longtime foil.

Russell moved to Memphis from Jackson and continued as a wrestling commentator, first at Channel 13 and later, beginning in 1977, at Channel 5 with long-time sidekick Dave Brown.

Brown, who is now retired, tweeted that Russell was responsible for Brown's own TV success.

Around 1970, a young artist with a flair for theatrics sent Russell some drawings he had done of local wrestlers. Russell liked what he saw, and he asked young Jerry Lawler to do some more drawings.

In December 1970, Lawler donned tights and stepped into the ring for the first time, and the regular Saturday morning back and forth between the often loud-mouthed Lawler and "Banana Nose," as Lawler dubbed Russell, had begun. The Saturday TV program was always a warm-up for the story line that would spill over into Monday night matches at the Mid-South Coliseum.

The mayhem usually included Russell in the middle as the straight man, feigning attempts to keep order as chaos regularly broke out in all sorts of bizarre directions -- fights behind the concession stand, in the parking lot. Nothing was off limits, but Russell was always there to restore order.

It was a Saturday-to-Monday ritual that would entertain, and sometimes infuriate, a generation of Memphians before Lawler moved on to national prominence in the World Wrestling Federation, later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment.

Russell also found himself in the middle of the unusual -- even by professional wrestling standards -- feud between Lawler and comedian Andy Kaufman. After Kaufman declared himself "World Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion" by goading women into matches, he came to Memphis looking for a match with Lawler.

Lawler subsequently left Kaufman in a neck brace with a "piledriver" move, leading to a famous televised showdown on David Letterman in which Lawler slapped Kaufman.

"He was a priceless character," Russell would later say of the late Kaufman in an interview about the Lawler-Kaufman rivalry.

After retirement, Russell moved to Florida but was back in Memphis to visit often because of family. Lawler said he had visited with Russell and his family just days before Russell's death at Lawler's barbecue restaurant.

"I learned so much from him over the years," Lawler said. "I was honored that he asked me to come to Las Vegas last year to induct him into the wrestling commentators hall of fame.

"We so were so close. It was like losing my dad again."

Mick Foley, a WWE star who got his wrestling start in Memphis, remembered Russell on Facebook for his rich, smooth voice calling the action in the ring.

"He was one of those great announcers that could get completely swept away in the moment, creating great drama -- but was also a fatherly figure to so many, and had a singular way of expressing disappointment with the actions of some of the ... heels (wrestling bad guys) to grace the area."

Foley said Russell, after retiring to Florida, would often stop by Foley's gym to talk about old times.

"He was a credit to our business," Foley wrote. "God bless you Lance. You will be missed."

Russell's wife of 67 years, Audrey, died in 2014. He leaves two sons, Rusty and Shane Russell.