great men of the 80s...and beyond!

as promised, 'made fresh daily' is featuring another galvanizing social force from the 1980s. this week the spotlight has been shown in the direction of kamala the ugandan giant.

Kamala "the Ugandan Giant/Warrior/Headhunter" is one of the great bizarre characters that only pro-wrestling could create. The man behind the gimmick, Jim Harris, was a simple Mississippi boy who was a decent athlete for someone of his size, but never really had the charisma to go anywhere. After getting much of his seasoning in Europe, where he claims to have first adopted a prototype of the character, Harris returned to Memphis. There, Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett gave birth to Kamala, who became a major heel for the ten years. Typically Kamala would come with a manager/handler and get pushed right to the top after mainly squash matches. Harris had a knack for the part and it even encouraged him to get in touch with his own African heritage later in life. After runs in the major territories in the late 80s with all the major territories, Kamala sort of disappeared. He returned to both WWF and WCW in the post-territory days and truly enjoyed great success considering his abilities and so fourth. Only a handful of wrestlers worked in all the places he did in the 80s and they're men who are generally regarded as the greatest of that time period.

lets all hope that jimmy is doing well and not selling velvet, tiger paintings from an abandoned hoss's steak and seafood parking lot in asheville, north carolina