Profile #480: "The Boogie Woogie Man," Jimmy Valiant

Saturday nights were awesome. As a kid, sitting in the basement with my father, eating cheesesteak subs and watching the NWA. And whenever I’d hear the opening strains of the Manhattan Transfer’s "Boy From New York City,” I knew I was about to see the boogie man.

More specifically, “The Boogie Woogie Man,” Jimmy Valiant (aka, “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant). He was a bizarre looking dude and I was never quite sure if he was a biker or a hippie or simply a mentally deranged street urchin. Nevertheless, he was a fun guy to watch. I don’t know that a chronological re-telling of Valiant’s wrestling career is really in order. Probably a more efficient way to illustrate the nonlinear nature of The Boogie Man’s career, which subscribed mostly to chaos and tomfoolery, can best be summarized via bulleted highlights:

• Valiant’s finishing maneuver was the ol’ thumb-to-the-eye. That’s it. He’d get his opponent in a side headlock, distract the ref, and then jab his thumb into the eye of his opponent. As a kid, I assumed this move would knock people unconscious, as it did on television.
• During interviews with play-by-play man, Tony Schiavone, The Boogie Man would ramble on and on, mixing metaphors and speaking in virtually incoherent street lingo, pausing only to nod his head vigorously (as if agreeing preemptively with what he’d just said), clapping his hands, shaking his enormous posterior, and then the interview would culminate in Valiant grabbing Schiavone (whom he referred to as "Tony Sha-von-toe!"), pulling him close in embrace, and kissing him on the mouth for anywhere between 5 to 10 seconds. Yeah. I got nothin’ here.
• Valiant’s most famous feud was against Paul Jones’ Army; specifically, a series of hair-vs.-hair matches against Pistol Pez Whatley (now known as Shaska Whatley) [See Profile #691]. Jimmy was known for his long lion’s mane and ratty biker beard, so needless to say these matches, while short on technical proficiency, were hard-fought battles with a tremendous amount at stake.
• After losing a big match late in his career, The Boogie Man was down-and-out, inconsolable. In what would turn out to be a pioneering effort of “candid” shots, cameras followed Valiant and found him on skid row in Charlotte, NC, singing the blues. Literally. Between the harmonica, the beard, and Big Mama’s appearance, this would become an all-time favorite bit for me [See below]. Forward to the 3:00-minute mark to 4:34.



Where is he now? As far as I know, Valiant is retired from active wrestling after spending numerous post-NWA years on the independent circuit. He currently runs "Boogie's Wrestling Camp," in Shawsville, VA.