James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant. Fanning started wrestling in 1964 as “Big Jim Vallen”. He went to the WWWF in the 1970s as “Handsome Jimmy Valiant” and formed a team with Johnny Valiant that would dominate the tag team scene for a while as WWWF Tag Team champions. In the later 1960s in the WWA, they were managed by Bobby Heenan. Valiant had entered the WWWF in 1971 as a babyface, originally known as “Gentleman Jim Valiant,” but quickly switched to heel.[4] He had title matches against champion Pedro Morales in secondary arenas, such as Philadelphia, and feuded with short-term tag partner Chief Jay Strongbow. Jimmy and his kayfabe brother Johnny held the tag belts from 1974 to 1975 and main evented Madison Square Garden against Chief Jay Strongbow and Bruno Sammartino. During the late 1970s – early 1980s, Valiant was a central player in the Memphis, Tennessee wrestling scene. He feuded regularly with Jerry Lawler and teamed with Bill Dundee to dominate the tag team matches of that time. Despite the Memphis promotion desperately wanting to keep him in Memphis full-time, even offering to buy him a house in Memphis according to Jerry Lawler’s biography, Valiant decided to move on after holding the AWA Southern Heavyweight title for roughly a year. In the early 1980s, Valiant returned as a babyface to NWA’s Jim Crockett Promotions. January 1984, Valiant was attacked by Paul Jones and The Assassins. They tied him to the wrestling ring ropes so that Jones could cut his beard off. This led to a grudge match with hyped supershow called ‘Boogie Man Jam ’84’ in Greensboro, North Carolina. For this match, Dusty Rhodes was in Valiant’s corner and tied by a rope to Paul Jones. Valiant defeated Assassin II, who was unmasked and revealed as Hercules Hernandez. Due to the beard cutting attack, he feuded heavily with Paul Jones and his army of wrestlers, from 1984 through to late 1986. This army of wrestlers included The Barbarian, Baron von Raschke, Teijo Khan, and The Assassins. During this three-year feud, Valiant received help from Héctor Guerrero and Manny Fernandez. Although Jimmy Valiant would lose a Loser Leaves Town Tuxedo Street Fight to Paul Jones at Starrcade 1984 in Greensboro, North Carolina the feud with many from the Paul Jones stable continued, which would come to include Abdullah The Butcher. In 1985, Valiant and Ragin’ Bull Manny Fernandez formed a team called B and B Connection. During The Great American Bash 1986 summer shows, Paul Jones adopted a military style look in his long feud with Valiant and labeled his stable of wrestlers The Army. Valiant would beat Shaska Whatley in a hair vs hair match, but with outside interference lost a hair vs hair match to Paul Jones only weeks later. In the fall of 1986, The Ragin Bull Manny Fernandez, Valiant’s best friend accepted Jones’ money and turned on Valiant, starting a feud between the two. Paul Jones at this point shortened his army to his newly acquired tag team of Ragin Bull and Rick Rude. The war between Valiant and Paul Jones climaxed at Starrcade 1986 with Valiant putting up the hair of his valet Big Mama against the hair of Paul Jones in a No DQ Match which Valiant won.
James Fanning Biography / Wiki
Name | James Fanning |
Also Know | Jimmy Valiant, Charlie Brown, James Harold Fanning, The Boogie Woogie Man, Handsome Jimmy, The Boy from New York City |
Gender | Male |
Known For | Acting |
Place of Birth | Hammond, Indiana, USA |
Date of Birth | 1942-08-06 |
Age(as in 2022) | 80 |
Deathday |
James Fanning Acting Movies
Movie Name | Character | Release Date | Overview |
NWA Boogie Jam | Jimmy Valiant | 1984-03-17 | Paul Jones tries to escape the clutches of “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant in a vital Hair vs. Hair Match!… |
WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and Other Out of Control Matches | 2012-05-15 | At long last the WWE Falls Count Anywhere DVD and Blu-ray match listing has arrived! The full content comes to us courtesy of Shock Entertainment…. | |
AWA The Road to SuperClash III | Himself | 1988-09-18 | A who’s who of WWE Hall of Famers, including Cactus Jack, Jeff Jarrett, Kerry Von Erich and more compete in this AWA spectacular…. |
Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’ | Himself | 2011-02-24 | Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’ is the definitive documentary about the history of Memphis wrestling from the 1950’s with legendary … |
I Never Quit: The Magnum T.A. Story | 2016-10-13 | At his apex, Magnum TA was a professional wrestling phenomenon, the biggest star in the National Wrestling Alliance in the mid 80s. After having troub… | |
The Absolute Truth About Pro Wrestling | Himself | 2005-10-01 | A new documentary about the strange and sometimes secretive world of pro wrestling, both inside and outside the squared circle. For six years, Mark E… |
NWA The Last Battle of Atlanta | Jimmy Valiant | 1983-10-23 | Within the grizzly confines of a completely enclosed steel cage, and Paul Ellering hanging above the ring, the blood feud between “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawye… |
NWA Great American Bash ’86 Tour: Charlotte | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1986-07-05 | The Bash rolls into Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium for a red-hot night of action!… |
NWA Night of Champions | Himself | 1984-05-30 | The National Wrestling Alliance invades the ‘Big Apple’ with an all-star card featuring a main event of Ricky Steamboat coming out of retirement for o… |
NWA Starrcade 1983 | Charlie Brown | 1983-11-24 | The first ever Starrcade features Ric Flair battling Harley Race in a Steel Cage Match for NWA World Heavyweight Championship. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper tak… |
NWA The Great American Bash ’86: Livin’ in the Promise Land | Jimmy Valiant | 1986-07-26 | Jim Crockett Promotions used “The Great American Bash” as the name for a tour that had several PPV caliber shows around the country. In 1986, there we… |
Ultimate Death Match 2 | Self | 2010-01-02 | Several competitors compete in the Ultimate Death Match tournament. The winner walks away with one million dollars. The loser dies…. |
WWC Aniversario ’88: One Hot Night in Bayamón | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1988-09-10 | The World Wrestling Council presents its annual anniversary celebration with WWW Aniversario ’88!… |
NWA: Starrcade ’85 – The Gathering | Jimmy Valiant | 1985-11-28 | NWA Starrcade ’85: The Gathering was the third annual Starrcade professional wrestling event produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the NWA banner…. |
NWA Lords of The Ring | Himself | 1984-06-30 | A genuinely stacked supercard equal to any modern Wrestlemania, held in the 75,500 seat Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, Florida. The main event saw a (… |
PWUSA Star Wars | Jimmy Valiant | 1985-02-24 | February 24, 1985 at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey… |
NWA Starrcade ’86: The Night of The Sky-Walkers | Jimmy Valiant | 1986-11-27 | Only one team will survive the “Night of The Skywalkers” as The Road Warriors and The Midnight Express clash high atop a 25 foot scaffold! Ric Flair d… |
NWA Great American Bash ’86 Tour: Greensboro | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1986-07-26 | The Greensboro Coliseum is the site for the final stop on the ’86 Bash tour!… |
Toxic Tutu | Himself | 2017-10-28 | Follow Mark Torgl star of 1984’s The Toxic Avenger who played “Melvin The Mopboy” and transforms into Toxie, as he attends the Monster Convention circ… |
The Super Bowl of Wrestling | Jimmy Valiant | 1978-01-25 | The biggest match in the history pits WWWF World Champion “Superstar” Billy Graham against NWA World’s hampion Harley Race in a epic confrontation in … |
NWA Starrcade ’84: The Million Dollar Challenge | Jimmy Valiant | 1984-11-22 | One million dollars is on the line as NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair takes on Dusty Rhodes with legendary boxing champion “Smokin” Joe Fra… |
NWA The Great American Bash 1985 | Jimmy Valiant | 1985-07-16 | The Great American Bash (1985) took place on July 6, 1985 at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The main event was a … |
NWA The Great American Bash ’87: War Games | Jimmy Valiant | 1987-07-31 | This was the first use of the WarGames: The Match Beyond match conceived by Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was on the winning side in both events along with the… |
The First Annual NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | Jimmy Valiant | 1986-04-19 | The first Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament was held on April 19, 1986. The tournament featured 24 tag teams…. |
TWA Autumn Armageddon ’90 | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” | 1990-09-15 | Terry Funk and Jerry Lawler renew a nearly ten-year rivalry in The City of Brotherly Love!… |
WCCW Cotton Bowl Extravaganza ’88 | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1988-10-15 | The King and The Modern-Day Warrior collide with both The WCCW & AWA World Titles on the line!… |
WrestleCade 2016 – The Final 3 Count | Jimmy Valiant | 2016-11-26 | This is the 2nd ever Showcase of Champions event featuring wrestlers from the top promotions across the country!… |
The Third Annual NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1988-04-23 | The third and final Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament was held over two nights, April 22 and 23, 1988. Scheduled to feature 24 teams, … |
Tag Team Champions | 1986-03-01 | A tribute to the WWF’s dynamic duos precision, timing, and teamwork that make them champions…. | |
AWA SuperClash III | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1988-12-13 | The American Wrestling Association teams up with various other regional promotions to deliver the third SuperClash, live from Chicago on December 13, … |
WrestleMassacre | Boogie | 2018-08-03 | Randy is an awkward groundskeeper who is obsessed with professional wrestling. Longing for a sense of belonging with grandiose dreams of becoming a wr… |
The Second Annual NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament | “The Boogie-Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant | 1987-04-11 | The second Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament was held over two nights, April 10 and 11, 1987. The tournament included 24 tag teams…. |
Toxic Tutu | Self | 2017-10-28 | Follow Mark Torgl star of 1984’s The Toxic Avenger who played “Melvin The Mopboy” and transforms into Toxie, as he attends the Monster Convention circ… |
Credit: TMDB
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