10 Weirdest Ways Wrestlers Got Their Gimmicks
1. Kamala
James Harris’ wrestling gimmick, crafted by Jerry Lawler, was a world away from his real-life. It sprung from two leftfield references. The Mississippi native was cast as ‘The Ugandan Giant’ based on former dictator Idi Amin, who among his many atrocities was also a rumoured cannibal. Lawler explained:
“At that particular time, you’re always looking for something […] topical, something that’s going on in the world today […] Idi Amin was the actual president of Uganda, and he was an admitted cannibal. I mean he had in the past been a cannibal, and he’s elected president of Uganda. And it was just like the natural pick to kind of capitalize on this story that was in the news.”
Despite this initial political influence, Kamala was portrayed as a savage rather than a military despot.
When Lawler went to pitch the idea to Jerry Jarrett, further inspiration struck in Jarrett’s office when Lawler noticed in amongst hunting paraphernalia was a big African Mask and shield. This triggered Lawler to recall:
“I had seen this picture [by] this artist named Frank Frazetta […] I remembered this painting that he did on a cover of a magazine where this girl was tied up, and she’s about to get burnt at the stake by a bunch of Natives. And they were all dressed with spears and the masks and that sort of things […] I took the makeup off of one of those Natives in that picture. And I painted Kamala’s face with just white acrylic paint […] and we put this […] leopard looking loincloth thing around him.”