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Black Bart passes away after battle with cancer

Posted: Jan 10th 2025 By: Ethan Renner

Professional wrestler “Black Bart” Richard Harris passed away Thursday after a battle with cancer according to multiple reports.

Harris’s wife Linda announced his passing on Thursday:

“You might know him as Black Bart but to me he was my husband Ricky. He left us this morning . He was pronounced at 5:26 this morning. He is Resting In Peace“

A 30-plus-year-pro, Harris announced his cancer diagnosis in 2023, noting the stage 4 disease had spread to his liver. A December 23, 2024 report stated that Harris had ceased chemotherapy treatment and was “ready to meet his maker.”

According to Slam Wrestling, insurance stopped paying for Harris’s rehab last month.

Black Bart was the recipient of the 2024 Cauliflower Alley Club’s Courage Award, accepted on his behalf by former student John Bradshaw Layfield. Layfield wrote about his mentor’s passing in a social media post Thursday:

"Black Bart took me under his wing and taught me how to be a professional wrestler. We were tag champs in Texas-but we were also just buddies. We sat together in the locker room while Bart spit in his trash can and constantly joked about everything. Bart meant the world to me. I love you big brother. RIP"

Harris had a true journeyman’s career, winning championships in the Florida and Mid-Atlantic territories, while primarily being used as enhancement talent on the national stage with brief stints in WWF and WCW.