Jimmy Hart | |
---|---|
Birth name | James Ray Hart |
Born | [1] Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | January 1, 1944
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Jimmy Hart[1] The Strapmaster The Mouth of the South The Colonel The Memphis Chicken |
Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Billed weight | 166 Ib (75 kg) |
Billed from | Memphis, Tennessee[1] |
James Ray Hart[2] (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is currently signed to WWE in a Legends deal.[1] He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and used the nickname "the Mouth of the South" (one that was also given to Ted Turner).
Regarded by many to be one of the greatest managers in professional wrestling history, Hart has managed the likes of Andy Kaufman, The Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart (no relation) and Jim Neidhart (The Hart Foundation), Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, Jerry "the King" Lawler, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Irwin R. Schyster, The Mountie, The Natural Disasters, Dino Bravo, the Nasty Boys, The Giant, and Hulk Hogan. He was briefly the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion in 1981.
Before becoming involved with professional wrestling, Hart was a member of rock band The Gentrys, best known for their 1965 top five Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Keep on Dancing".[3]