R.I.P., Kamala

James Harris, a.k.a. Kamala the Ugandan Giant, has passed away.  He was 70.

I used to watch wrestling when I was a boy back in the '80s, and Kamala was one of the wrestlers who was active during that time.  I was young enough to believe it was all "real," and I sincerely thought the wrestling promoter had ventured into the heart of the African jungle to recruit a real-life cannibal.  I actually thought Kamala would start munching on his opponents at any moment.  The man absolutely terrified me.

From Wikipedia:

The character was a vicious Ugandan headhunter with face and body paint copied from a Frank Frazetta painting. His backstory was that he was a former bodyguard of deposed President of Uganda Idi Amin who had been discovered by J.J. Dillon during an excursion to Africa. A promotional vignette aired on WMC-TV featuring a spear-wielding Kamala seemingly emerging from a steamy African jungle; the vignette was actually filmed on Jarrett's farm in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with the steam effect created using dry ice. To establish Kamala as a monstrous character, Jarrett instructed him to wrestle in a brawling style with chops and biting. To preserve kayfabe, Harris wore robes and refused to speak English while in public in Memphis.

Kamala wasn't just a gimmick, though.  Don't let the fat belly fool you; the man had some real muscle.  He body-slammed Andre the Giant, no easy feat.

Later in life, of course, I learned about the reality of the wrestling business, and I grew to have more respect for professional wrestlers as performers rather than as just athletes.  I especially gained some respect for the villains, because they have to endure all the negative crap they get from the kids day in and day out--kids like me who believed it was all real--and that's got to really wear on a man's soul.

Mr. Harris suffered health problems later in life, particularly diabetes.  He would eventually have his legs amputated.  There's a short documentary on YouTube about his struggles.  It has over two million views.  It's only seven minutes and change.  You won't regret watching it, I promise:

R.I.P., Mr. Harris.