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Bios

Gary Hart

Nickname: Gay; Playboy

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 239 lbs

From: Chicago, IL

Birthday: Jan 24th

Pro Debut: 1960

Aliases: Larry Kavins, Hurricane Hart, The Jackal

Feds Worked For: GWF, NWA-West, SoCW, TSW, WCCW, AWA, NWA, WCW, Al Haft Sports (IL/OH), Big Time Wrestling (MI), Championship Wrestling from Florida (FL), Fred Kohler Enterprises (IL), Georgia Championship Wrestling (GA), Gulf Athletic Club (TX), International Wrestling Association (IL), M & M Promotion (NM/TX), Major League Wrestling (PA), Maple Leaf Wrestling (Canada), Mid-Atlantic Championhip Wrestling (NC/SC), Mike London Sports (AZ/NM), NWA Big Time Wrestling (TX), Wolverine Wrestling (OH), World Championship Wrestling (Australia)

Signature Moves: Eye-Claw

Career Highlights: -NWA American Tag Team Champion (3x; all w/ The Spoiler)

Affiliates: New Age Management, H & H Limited, Dick Slater, Bob Orton, Jr., The Great Kabuki, The Great Muta, Killer Khan, Mark Lewin, Abdullah the Butcher, Pak Song, The Spoiler, Spoiler # 2, Chris Adams, Low Ki, Homicide, Bruiser Brody, Brian Adias, Toru Tanaka, Don Kernodle, Buzz Sawyer, John Studd, One Man Gang, Al Perez, Nord the Barbarian, Jeep Swenson, Kendo Nagasaki, Ivan Koloff, Tim Brooks, Dingo Warrior, Terry Funk, Rod Price, John Tatum, Ron Garvin, Kevin Sullivan, Larry Zbyszko, Dusty Rhodes, The Magic Dragon, Kevin Sullivan, J-Tex Corporation, Homicide, Alfred Hayes, Karl Von Brauner, The Army of Darkness, Jerry Lawler, Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson, The Ebony Experience, The Student, Johnny Case, Angelo Poffo, Fritz Von Erich, Al Costello, Mario Milano, Dick Murdoch

Notable Feuds: The Von Erichs, The Great Kabuki, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Ric Flair, The Andersons, Bronko Lubich, Johnny Weaver, Mike Graham, Jimmy Valiant, The Funks, Angelo Mosca, Jr.

Other Facts: -Real name was Gary Richard Williams
-Father of pro wrestler Chad Hart
-Uncle of pro wrestler Court Bauer
-Began wrestling at the age of 17.
-Took the last name "Hart" in honour of Stu Hart, the patriarch of the Canadian Hart wrestling family.
-Worked briefly in the AWA as "Larry Kavin". He chose that name because "Larry" rhymed with Gary and "Kavin" was his mother's maiden name.
-Wrestled under a mask as “The Jackal” until he was unmasked by Danny Hodge on February 19, 1974 and by Bill Watts on February 20, 1974. Not to be confused with the WWF manager of the same name
-On February 20, 1975, Buddy Colt was piloting a Cesna 182 from Miami to Tampa with passengers Bobby Shane, Gary Hart and Mike McCord (AKA Austin Idol). There was some bad weather, so Colt was forced to land at the airport on the nearby Davis Island but missed the landing and the engine stalled and they ended up crashing nose-first into the water. Colt, Hart, & McCord were all able to free themselves from the wreckage and swim to safety but Shane was not as lucky. He drowned and passed away at the age of 29. McCord was unable to swim so Hart dragged him to safety. Colt's career ended at this point. The crash knocked out all of Hart’s teeth, put a hundred stitches in his head, took away his sight in his right eye and left him with a broken back, broken left leg, broken left wrist and broken left arm. It fractured his sternum, his clavicle and vertebrae in his back. Hart was upset about Shane's death for the rest of his life because he had asked to switch seats with Shane to get more leg room.
-Former leader of Gary Hart's Army
-Former co-leader of H & H Limited
-Former co-leader of J-Tex Corporation
-Former leader of New Age Management
-Was the booker for the first Starrcade in 1983.
-Was the booker during the golden years of World Class from 1979-1987 and created some of the greatest gimmicks during that time such as The Great Kabuki, The Great Muta, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, The Samoan SWAT Team, etc. Hart also discovered Gino Hernandez, Chris Adams, and countless others.
-Was also a minority owner of WCCW for a time.
-Former co-owner of Texas Wrestling Federation
-Was one of the many interviewees on WWE's "Triumph & Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling" DVD. During the segment about Gino Hernandez, Hart began to cry saying he should have been able to save Hernandez from the demons of drugs but couldn't. He said he couldn't even look at a picture of Hernandez without crying. He added that he has several pictures of "his guys" from wrestling but just couldn't have a picture of Hernandez as it was too upsetting.
-Passed away March 16, 2008 due to a heart attack at the age of 66.
-His autobiography "My Life In Wrestling...With A Little Help From My Friends" was released posthumously in October of 2009.
-Posthumously inducted into the NWA Hall of Heroes in 2009
-Posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014
-Posthumously inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2016
-Posthumously inducted into the Legacy Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021