Hillbilly Jim

Jim Morris (born July 5, 1952) is a professional wrestler best known to fans as Hillbilly Jim. He was one of the World Wrestling Federation's most popular wrestlers of the mid-to-late 1980s.

Before appearing in the WWF as Hillbilly Jim, Jim Morris wrestled in the Memphis area under the name Harley Davidson, a biker gimmick; while there, Morris formed a popular tag team with Roger Smith, who went by the ring name "Dirty Rhodes" because of his resemblance to Dusty Rhodes.

In late 1984 Jim first appeared in the WWF as a wrestling fan who routinely sat in the front row of live events, who eventually decided to try his hand at wrestling himself. A series of vignettes were aired on WWF's TV programming in the early weeks of 1985, showing Hulk Hogan training Jim and providing him with his first set of wrestling boots. And thus was introduced the character of Hillbilly Jim, a simple-minded, shaggy-bearded Appalachian hillbilly clad in bib overalls, and claiming to hail from Mud Lick, Kentucky, a fictional town said to be in the remote Appalachian Mountains. In reality, Mud Lick is a small town in Monroe County, Kentucky where Morris is originally from.

Hillbilly Jim appeared in a few tag team matches with friend Hulk Hogan, and had his first high-profile singles match at the War To Settle The Score event on February 18, 1985 in which he defeated Rene Goulet. Unfortunately, Jim would be sidelined by an injury a few days later. At a show in San Diego, he appeared in Hogan's corner in a match between Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. While chasing Beefcake's manager Johnny V around ringside, Jim slipped on a wet spot and (legitimately) broke his leg. To help fill in the seven months during his recovery, similarly-dressed "family" members Uncle Elmer and Cousin Junior were introduced for Jim to accompany to ringside as a manager.

When his in-ring career resumed, Jim often either tag teamed with his family, or fellow big man André the Giant. He was traditionally matched up against the WWF's monster heels of the era, such as Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. He also had a short feud with Mr. Fuji, and wrestled him in a series of tuxedo matches in late 1986.

Hillbilly Jim was generally kept as a "fun" character, rarely getting involved in any serious storylines. His only WrestleMania appearance outside of battle royals was a novelty match in WrestleMania III involving King Kong Bundy and midget wrestlers. His theme music was a folksy barn dance tune called "Don't Go Messin' With a Country Boy", which Jim would dance along to with his partners (or the ring announcer) while the audience clapped along.

Hillbilly Jim continued to appear regularly in WWF matches until the summer of 1990. He returned in December 1995 as a guest referee, and a month later became manager of Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn, "cousins" who were pig farmers. Morris later worked as a road agent and participated in the "Gimmick Battle Royal" in 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven. He hosted the WWE's "Road to WrestleMania 21" publicity tour.

In 2005, Sirius Satellite Radio added "Hilllbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee" as a weekly program on its Outlaw Country channel 63. Every Saturday, Morris plays a wide variety of classic country music and Southern rock. Between records, he tells stories of his days with the WWF.

WrestleMania Appearances

 * WrestleMania 2, Chicago, Illinois
 * WrestleMania III, Pontiac Silverdome Detroit, Michigan
 * WrestleMania IV, Trump Plaza, Atlantic City, New Jersey
 * WrestleMania X-Seven, Houston Astrodome

Finishing and signature moves

 * Bearhug
 * Leg Drop

Appearances on nationally syndicated TV Shows

 * Hee Haw
 * Live with Regis and Kathy Lee
 * Farm Aid
 * Jerry Lewis Telethon
 * Special Olympics
 * Juvenile Diabetes Telethon
 * Variety Club Children's Telethon

Other Appearances

 * Trade Shows: Various Home Video Trade Shows (Atlanta Super Sports Show, Video Software Dealer's Association, Focus on Video, and many others.)
 * Numerous personal appearances in national retail store's such as Blockbuster Video, Walmart, K-mart, Toys 'R Us, and Kroger's

Commercials

 * National Chevy Truck
 * Local TV and radio in Kentucky

Other Projects

 * WWE Wrestling Album (certified gold)(Epic Label), including the original single, "Waking Up Alone" performed by Hillbilly Jim
 * WWE Cartoon Series "Hulk Hogan and Friends," D.I.C. Productions
 * Hillbilly Jim Character portrayed in various WWE merchandise (t-shirts, magazines, action figures, video games and home video releases).

Retirement from the ring

 * After Jim's ring career ended he successfully managed the WWF tag team champions, the Godwinns.
 * From 1990 to 2001 Jim traveled worldwide representing WWE for Coliseum Home Video sales, and later WWE with Sony Videos.

Hillbilly Jim Now

 * Was the official WWE legend host of the highly successful WrestleMania Fan Axxess tour for WrestleMania 20, WrestleMania 21, WrestleMania 22, and WrestleMania 23 tour, major malls across the US.
 * As part of the WrestleMania 20 Fan Axxess Tour Jim performed at the "House of Blues" in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Orleans sponsored by Gibson Guitars.

Accomplishments

 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 298 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.