Hart recalls decades of wrestling
Jimmy Hart no longer needs his trademark megaphone to get a point across.
Hart's recently released autobiography chronicles his four-plus decades in the music and pro wrestling industries. "The Mouth of the South" ($18.95; ECW Press) details how Hart lived out his childhood dream by becoming one of the most successful managers in grappling history.
"I've read so many books on wrestling and so many people blame it for them leaving their families or having bitterness at the business," Hart said. "To me, wrestling was the greatest thing that ever happened. I've loved every day I've been in the business. I wanted to tell the story of somebody who isn't bitter and talk about the people I've been with who I owe for making that happen."
As a teenager in Memphis, Hart would sell sodas at the Ellis Auditorium so he could see matches for free. Hart said he hustled to sell out his inventory for the chance to watch such performers as Sputnik Monroe, Billy Wicks and The Interns.
But Hart's introduction in the wrestling business came in a roundabout way during his stint as a member of The Gentrys, a rock band that received national acclaim in the 1960s thanks to the single "Keep on Dancing." Hart's musical success led to him and Memphis wrestling icon Jerry Lawler becoming friends.
Hart began helping promote area wrestling shows until he got his big break as a motor-mouthed manager. It didn't take long before Hart was leading his charges known as the "First Family of Wrestling" against Lawler in a feud that fans thought was all too real.
"We had to have security guards watching my car each week," Hart said.
"Every week after the TV shows aired, my house was toilet papered and the mailbox was bent over. There were paint and eggs all over the porch.
"One day at school when my son Jimmy was in the third or fourth grade, he was pushed off a slide and got two teeth knocked out. He hated calling himself Jimmy Hart because he would always get picked on because people loved Lawler and hated me."
The most famous performer Hart managed was the late Andy Kaufman, who seemed to love wrestling more than his other careers as an actor and a comedian.
Kaufman's feud with Lawler is chronicled in the 1999 movie "Man on the Moon" and the hilarious documentary "I'm from Hollywood."
"He loved this business so much," Hart said. "He was in character 24-7. When we would go to Denny's or Shoney's, the waitresses would want our autographs. I gave mine right away, but Andy would say he wouldn't do it until after he ate because everyone would then want one. I told him they were going to spit in our food, but he would do what he wanted. He'd have still been a major influence on the business today if he were still here."
Hart's success in Memphis was noticed by World Wrestling Entertainment, which hired him in 1985. Hart spent almost a decade in WWE before making the transition to rival World Championship Wrestling.
Along the way, Hart became a real-life adviser to "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. The two remain close today, with Hart helping to promote the singing career of Hogan's daughter, Brooke. Hart may even be making a return to WWE if Hogan, who will be featured in a VH-1 series later this year focused on his family life, decides to appear at Wrestlemania XXI on April 3 in Los Angeles.
"There are negotiations going on," Hart said. "Hulk has put himself in good position financially and never has to do anything again, plus he's working so hard with his daughter. But the one thing is he still loves the wrestling business."
Hart, 61, may actually be busier than Hogan thanks to a series of wrestling-related activities. Hart is helping with local promotion of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling television tapings in Orlando, and has reunited with Lawler to promote a highly successful weekly wrestling show out of Memphis.
Hart also is part of a group that recently purchased the footage to the short-lived XWF (Xtreme Wrestling Federation) to release on DVD later this year.
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