Kamala James Harris ( May 28 , 1950 ) is an American professional wrestler . For much of his career , Harris has wrestled under the ring name Kamala , using the gimmick of a " Ugandan Giant " . Early life . Harris was born in Senatobia , Mississippi and grew up in Coldwater , Mississippi , where his family owned a furniture store . The family collected welfare to help pay the bills . He got into trouble with the local law enforcement for breaking and entering and was asked to leave town . In 1967 , he relocated to Florida to pick fruit , where he briefly attended college and worked as a plumber . At the age of twenty - five , Harris moved to Michigan , where he met wrestler Bobo Brazil . Harris then began training as a wrestler under a friend of Brazil ' s , Tiny Tim Hampton . He moved to Arkansas to continue training , as he wanted to get away from the snow in Michigan . Professional wrestling career . Harris trained alongside Michael Hayes , Percy Pringle , and Terry Gordy . He debuted in 1978 , facing The Great Mephisto in his first match . Harris originally wrestled as " Sugar Bear " Harris before adopting the ring names " Ugly Bear " Harris and " Big " Jim Harris . He wrestled in the United Kingdom for several years to develop his wrestling skills . He developed the character of The Mississippi Mauler , which had some similarities to the Kamala gimmick that later made him famous . Harris then returned to the United States . While acquiring a new costume in Memphis , Tennessee , Harris was asked by Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett to adopt a gimmick . Harris agreed , and , together with Lawler , created Kamala ( originally spelled Kimala ) by drawing upon a character originally developed for Harris by The Great Mephisto . Jarrett and Lawler decided that having Harris portray an African wrestler would help him succeed despite his limited technical wrestling ability , and would explain his poor interview skills . The name came from a " National Geographic Magazine " that Jarrett read , which discussed a Doctor Kimala , who was conducting research in Uganda . The character was a Ugandan cannibal with a painted face and body who wrestled barefoot and in a loincloth . Kamala wrestled for Mid - South Wrestling , Memphis , and World Class Championship Wrestling in Dallas throughout the early 1980s . In Mid - South Wrestling , Kamala was nicknamed " The Ugandan Giant " and was managed by General Skandor Akbar . He was originally billed as a former bodyguard of President of Uganda Idi Amin . World Wrestling Federation . Kamala ' s had several runs in the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s and 1990s . His first run came in 1984 as a heel , where he was flanked by Akbar and " Classy " Freddie Blassie , and competed in a series of matches against André the Giant ; during their feud , Kamala lost a high - profile steel - cage match to André after André twice sat on Kamala ' s chest . Kamala also appeared — along with Blassie — in a segment of the WWF ' s " Tuesday Night Titans " , where Kamala ( in kayfabe ) ate a live chicken on the air ; a cutaway shot was shown of feathers flying out of Kamala ' s mouth , creating the illusion of what he just ate for " dinner . " Kamala returned to the WWF in 1986 , this time managed by his " handler " , Kim Chee ( who was usually portrayed by Steve Lombardi ) , and by King Curtis Iaukea ( as The Wizard ) . In this run Kamala battled Hulk Hogan and Jake " the Snake " Roberts ; the latter feud began after Roberts exposed Kamala ' s fear of snakes . Kamala also teamed with Wild Samoan Sika before leaving the WWF in 1988 . He then wrestled in the Memphis - based United States Wrestling Association , where he feuded with Jerry Lawler and Koko B . Ware and held the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship on four occasions . Kamala returned in 1992 along with Kim Chee , this time managed by Harvey Wippleman . After a loss to The Undertaker in the first televised Coffin match at Survivor Series in 1992 , Kamala left Wippleman and turned face under the tutelage of the newly ordained Reverend Slick . Slick set out to humanize Kamala , on one occasion by teaching him to bowl on a Coliseum Video . World Championship Wrestling . After once again leaving the WWF in 1993 , Kamala returned to his previous job of driving a truck for two years . On January 29 , 1994 , he did appear at a card in a school in Hamilton , Ohio in a challenge to see if any of a group of local personalities could slam him . ( A woman who used the name of " Coyote Kim " did succeed in pushing Kamala over after she distracted him with a photo ) . After Hulk Hogan called and asked if he was interested in working for World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) , Kamala had a short stint with the promotion . He was part of Kevin Sullivan ' s Dungeon of Doom stable , whose goal was to end Hogan ' s career . In his first WCW pay - per - view appearance , he defeated " Hacksaw " Jim Duggan at Bash at the Beach 1995 . He had a singles match against Hogan at Clash of the Champions XXXI but was defeated . He then competed as part of the Dungeon of Doom at Fall Brawl 1995 to face Hogan ' s team of Hulkamaniacs . The Hulkamaniacs won the match , and Kamala did not appear on a WCW pay - per - view again . He left the promotion in October 1995 , as he was on a pay - per - appearance deal and WCW was not interested in offering him a contract . Extreme Championship Wrestling . Kamala made a brief appearance for ECW during early 1998 . He was used on 5 ECW house shows before he disappeared back to the indies in Memphis . His short - lived run in ECW is often mistaken for Uganda , a Kamala - like gimmick who appeared in ECW in the early 1990s . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment . Harris participated in the " Gimmick Battle Royal " at WrestleMania X - Seven and was eliminated by Sgt . Slaughter . On July 26 , 2004 , Harris made a surprise return to World Wrestling Entertainment , participating in a Raw Diva Search segment in which the female contestants were instructed to try to seduce him . Kamala made an appearance on the August 11 , 2005 edition of " SmackDown ! " . Former manager Kim Chee came to the ring with him , but his match with Randy Orton ended in a no decision when a message from The Undertaker interrupted the match . Kamala also appeared at the 2005 Taboo Tuesday event , where he was one of the choices for Eugene ' s tag team partner . He lost out to Jimmy Snuka but came down at the end of the match and delivered a big splash to Tyson Tomko . On June 25 , 2006 at Vengeance , he accompanied Eugene to the ring along with Doink the Clown and Hacksaw Jim Duggan to take on Umaga . Umaga quickly won the match , after which he attacked Eugene , Doink , and Duggan . Before Kamala and Umaga could fight , Umaga ' s manager , Armando Estrada , intervened . Kamala faced Umaga on " Raw " the following night and lost the match . Independent circuit . In 2003 , Kamala also worked at Juggalo Championship Wrestling where , accompanied by The Masked Negotiator , he defeated jobber , Tom - Dub in a " Loser Leaves JCW " match . At the 2008 Gathering of the Juggalos Kamala was scheduled to make a one night return to JCW ' s first Bloodymania show , to take on C . J O ' Doyle , but no - showed the event , leaving his opponent as a referee in 1 match the entire night Harris continued to wrestle independent shows on the West coast : in September 2006 , he went to a non - finish with Bryan Danielson in a match for the Ring of Honor title . He has also recently embarked on a new career as a singer , releasing his debut album , " The Best of Kamala Vol 1 " through his official website . The main track of his album is a ballad to the memory of Stanley " Tookie " Williams . Kamala was also at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ' s Slammiversary pay - per - view in June 2008 , as a guest at Jay Lethal and SoCal Val ' s storyline wedding . Personal life . Harris was married to Sheila Stover from 1974 to 2005 . After the couple divorced , Harris married Melissa Guzman . Harris also lives with his niece Ashley in Senatobia , Mississippi . Since 1993 , he has been writing , performing , and producing his own music . He has written over 100 songs . Some of his songs discuss his frustration with the working conditions he dealt with in the wrestling industry , most notably the low wages . In an interview , Harris spoke about seeing the payment amounts for the wrestlers who competed at SummerSlam 1992 . He said that he received $ 13 , 000 while hearing that his opponent , The Undertaker , had received $ 500 , 000 .