Kamala
One Of Many Reasons We Attend If we had a legendary females Mt. Rushmore, with any number of athletes represented; who’d you pick after June Byers and Mildred Burke? Possibly Penny Banner, Moolah, Mae Young, Judy Grable, Nell Stewart, Ella Waldeck, Betty Nicolli, Vivian Vachon; Lioness Asuka, Chigusa, Manami Toyota, Bull Nakano, Akira Hokuto, Mariko Yoshida (and we’ve not yet mentioned Lucha and European stars yet like Hermanas Moreno)? Email your choices to wrealano@aol.com, and you’ll be credited here.
Mildred Burke
We recently lost two major names amidst others. Kamala(James Harris) and Regis Philbin. CAC had given “the Ugandan Headhunter” a substantial sum to help his major medical issues that cost him his legs and nearly his farm. I’d known James for years and wherever he worked from Otto Wanz’ Catch and UK’s Joint Promotions, to Bill Watt’s Mid-South; everyone agreed he was one of the nicest wrestlers ever backstage, often playing checkers or cribbage, smiling while beating you. CAC’s Jerry Lawler and his Memphis boss Jerry Jarrett took CAC honoree Frankie Cain’s rough Kimala concept and finessed it into the headhunter/Idi Amin bodyguard character. His first manager as Kamala was our own JJ Dillon who claimed on TV he’d discovered him on one of his excursions (cough) to Africa. Kamala had more managers than most with everyone from Great Mephisto/Cain to Blassie, Albano briefly (as a babyface), Gary Hart, Baron Von Raschke, Sika and Montreal’s Eddie Creatchman. During his run in the WWF, he feuded with Hogan, Andre, Savage, Warrior, Undertaker and more. We’re devastated he passed so young.
CAC’s seminar/lecturer/ring announcer AJ Kirsch made the Wall Street Journal’s front page in an article highlighting his live-stream Twitch-channel fitness classes that can benefit anyone. This MLW TV-booth commentator(BeIn Network)supports his family this way until shows are held again. CAC’s Geoff Winningham just republished his incredible 1972 book “Friday Night At The Coliseum” on Houston wrestling with his eye-popping revolutionary photos. He only shot for a few months, but changed how action was captured by most of us for decades after using unique angles. It’s@geoffwinningham.com and he had unprecedented access to/from promoter Paul Boesch who told the boys to call him “Professor” since Geoff taught at Rice University. Paul was an early proponent-attendee of CAC and close Mike Mazurki friend actually telling Geoff to get in the ring and photograph the boys during their introductions!
Regis’ non-stop string of daytime TV shows began in San Diego on ABC’s-KOGO affiliate in 1962. He’d attended several Jules Strongbow cards and was such a fan of thenheel Fred Blassie that he had Fred on several times plus Dick Beyer. Years later for a bigger ABC network in Los Angeles(and even when Regis cohosted Joey Bishop’s late night show attempting to “pin” Carson’s Tonight Show on NBC), Regis brought Fred back several times and Fred gave him a Brass Knucks honorary wrestling plaque onair. Regis would often work-tease Blassie trying to get him to break character, sometimes even trying to mess up his hair. Things went south once as Regis accidentally caught his finger in Fred’s fancy jacket button-hole. Fred jumped up too quickly while pretending to act outraged and somehow Regis’ finger became legit broken. Often when Fred returned to Regis’ New York Syndicated Live! Show, he’d
