James Ray "Jimmy" Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in Memphis Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He is known by the nickname "the Mouth of the South" (also given to Ted Turner). He was the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion for five days in 1981.
Hart has managed numerous prominent wrestlers including Andy Kaufman, Randy Savage, The Honky Tonk Man, Greg 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, Hulk Hogan, and Hart Foundation members Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart.
Before becoming involved with professional wrestling, Jimmy Hart was a member of the rock band the Gentrys. He also composed theme songs for multiple WWE wrestlers and released his own album, Outrageous Conduct, in 1985.
James Hart was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on January 1, 1944. His mother was also involved in music and wrote under the name Sadie Sallas, and penned "Enclosed, One Broken Heart", for singer Eddy Arnold in the 1950s. His family later located to Memphis, Tennessee, where he graduated from Treadwell High School. Hart was a vocalist in the Gentrys, who found success with the release of "Keep on Dancing" in 1965, which sold over a million copies and reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Hart was still in high school when he got the call to audition for the group after their previous singer left. After he took the job, they had a few minor hits, most notably "Why Should I Cry" and a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", but they were never able to match the success of "Keep on Dancing". Hart and the band were successful in the Memphis-area nightclub circuit. The group was under contract to Stax Records at the time of its bankruptcy, and Stax could not properly promote them.
He was brought into wrestling by Jerry "the King" Lawler, who knew of Hart because both had attended Memphis Treadwell High School. Hart was asked to be a backup singer for Lawler and later became his manager. After splitting from Lawler, Hart created a stable of athletes known as the First Family to attack Lawler, which among others included Hulk Hogan, King Kong Bundy, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, Ox Baker, Kamala, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert, The Iron Sheik, and Kevin Sullivan.
In 1982, Hart earned national headlines doing a match with comedian and television star Andy Kaufman. Hart, Lawler, and Kaufman would continue this feud for over a year. Hart became known as "the Wimp", a nickname given to him by Lawler and chanted by fans, and was the subject of the song "Wimpbusters", which was sung by Lawler to the tune of "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. A music video was also made featuring Lawler, announcer Lance Russell, and wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Jimmy Valiant, Dutch Mantel, Tommy Rich, and Rufus R. Jones, along with footage of Lawler beating Hart and the First Family. In 1981 through 1984, Hart led Austin Idol, Masao Ito, and Gilbert to NWA/AWA International titles.
World Wrestling Federation (1985–1993)
In 1985, Hart's friend, Hillbilly Jim, recommended him to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) owner Vince McMahon, who hired him. He was nicknamed "the Mouth of the South" due to his loose-lipped style, often augmented by his trademark megaphone, which he used as a weapon, and to instruct and encourage his protégés to discourage and annoy opponents and announcers, especially Gorilla Monsoon. Hart's first acquisition in the WWF was Greg Valentine, then the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, whom Hart managed at WrestleMania I. After Valentine lost the Intercontinental Heavyweight Title to Tito Santana, Hart briefly co-managed the Dream Team (Valentine and Brutus Beefcake), until he was phased out and gave full control to "Luscious" Johnny Valiant. At WrestleMania, Hart also managed King Kong Bundy as he defeated S. D. Jones. Hart later traded Bundy's contract to Bobby "the Brain" Heenan for The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis. He helped the latter to establish his "Adorable Adrian" gimmick.
Hart also managed Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart. 1985 also marked the appearance of Bret "Hitman" Hart (no relation). Jimmy Hart teamed him up with Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart to form the Hart Foundation. On January 26, 1987, Hart guided the Hart Foundation to the WWF World Tag Team Championship, which they won from the British Bulldogs. Disgraced-referee-turned-wrestler Danny Davis was also managed by Jimmy Hart.
In 1985, Hart took the Funk Family under his wing. The Funks included Terry Funk and Hoss Funk, as well as their kayfabe brother Jimmy Jack Funk. Hart wrestled on house shows with the Funks. On July 12, 1986, Hart won a battle royal to receive $50,000 at Madison Square Garden. When The Honky Tonk Man turned heel, Hart became his manager. In this position, Hart was nicknamed "the Colonel" in reference to Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of Elvis Presley. With Hart in his corner, the Honky Tonk Man captured the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat on June 2, 1987, and held it until August 1988. During that time, the Honky Tonk Man feuded with Randy Savage and his manager Miss Elizabeth. "The Colonel" moniker stuck with him for years, even after the Honky Tonk Man departed the company in early 1991. At WrestleMania III, Hart was involved in three matches and took some bumps during the show. His first appearance was with "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, who fought Rowdy Roddy Piper. Then came the six-man tag match, pitting the Hart Foundation and Danny Davis against the Bulldogs and Tito Santana. Jimmy Hart's third appearance on the show was when the Honky Tonk Man fought Jake "the Snake" Roberts, who had rock legend Alice Cooper in his corner. Following that match, Hart was left alone in the ring, where Roberts and Cooper teamed up to terrorize him with Roberts' pet snake Damien. Also in 1987, Hart managed the WWF Women's Tag Team Champions The Glamour Girls. Martin and Kai mostly feuded with the Jumping Bomb Angels.
Hart was named Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Manager of the Year in 1987, an award he won again in 1994. At WrestleMania IV, Hart received a haircut from Brutus Beefcake, after interfering in the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship match between Beefcake and the Honky Tonk Man, helping Honky Tonk Man retain the title by getting disqualified.
When the Hart Foundation fired Hart as manager (and turned face) in 1988, Hart managed the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers to feud with his former team; the angle was that Hart still retained the managerial rights to his former team and gave a portion of it to the Rougeaus, giving them the right to appear at ringside whenever the Hart Foundation wrestled. At SummerSlam 1988, Hart accompanied Demolition and Mr. Fuji to help retain their WWF Tag Team title against the Hart Foundation. Ax used Hart's megaphone as a foreign object to strike Bret in the head and secure the victory. In 1989, Hart brought Dino Bravo into his stable after the departure of Frenchy Martin. Then, at a push-up contest between the Ultimate Warrior and Bravo, Hart and Bravo invited a large 460-pound man from the audience–later known as Earthquake–into the ring to sit on the contestants' backs. Earthquake had been planted in the audience by Hart and Bravo, and they eventually teamed up against the Warrior. In 1990, Hart groomed Earthquake to be the man to beat Hulk Hogan. Hart continued his war with his former tag team, the Hart Foundation. In 1990, he combined his protégés Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine into the short-lived team of Rhythm and Blues, though they had teamed previously as themselves when facing the Hart Foundation at WrestleMania V. In 1991, he managed The Nasty Boys to defeat the Hart Foundation for the WWF World Tag Team title at WrestleMania VII, this time using a motorbike helmet as a weapon.