While Kamala might not be quite that big, nor really a cannibal, he was an excellent character for that time in wrestling. Kamala worked well against the good guys of the era, like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant.
In wrestling, when a performer wears a mask or heavy makeup and doesn't talk much, it is not uncommon for several different men to play the part over the course of time. If the gimmick is good, promoters don't want it to end. However, imagine my surprise, when at a convention a couple years ago, I was introduced to Kamala the Ugandan Giant, who appeared to be about 5'5" or so.
After some prodding, the promoter finally admitted it was really Kamala Jr. (although, in wrestling, Jr's are not always really sons of the Senior). This Kamala Jr. is apparently the second version, although little info is available about the first. I would hope he fit the role better.
Kamala Jr. is billed at 5'7" and over 300 pounds (which is probably stretching it on both counts). He is portrayed by Perry Bernard McClendon Jr (Hey...he really is a Junior!).
I have nothing against McClendon, but this incarnation just had nothing going for it. He was very quiet at the convention. Before anyone states that maybe he was just staying in character, I doubt any face-painted cannibal would wear a silk dress shirt.
Believe me, I can suspend reality plenty as far as wrestling goes. This was just a bit too much (or would that be too little?).
Kamala Jr. and me in Kokomo, IN-November 2007.
4 comments:
I just saw him last night. He is a gentleman and a great showman.
I am glad you had a good experience with him. I liked the guy, but thought his character was just too much of a stretch.
His name is not perry its really james radford he lives in goshen ohio outside of cincinnati i know this cuz he was my trainer and he is a promoter i worked for him and we discussed this article. If you to look on facebook or any other sites I believe it indywrestlers.net he is a great wrestler he has videos on youtube and mocked his gimmick as Alamak jr which is kamala spelled backwards. A great guy and yes he is 300 pounds trust me!
Anon #2-Hey thanks for stopping by and the info. I'd be happy to write an update on him if he wants to contact me. I'd love to hear from him and would promote whatever he wanted included.
Post a Comment