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James Fanning

James Fanning

Actor

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.

Born: August 6, 1942 (Age 82) in Hammond, Indiana, USA

Streaming Sources for all James Fanning Movies & TV Shows

James Fanning  Movies & TV Credits

Title Rating Job Role(s) Year
Movie
5.2
ActorBoogie2018
Movie
8.1
ActorHimself2011
Movie
7.9
ActorHimself2005
Movie
4.4
ActorHimself2017
Movie
Actor2016
Movie
4.8
ActorSelf2010
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1985
Movie
Actor"The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant1988
Movie
6.9
Actor2012
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1986
Movie
6.5
ActorJimmy Valiant1986
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant2016
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1988
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1990
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1984
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1986
Movie
7.9
Actor"The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant1988
Movie
Actor"The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant1986
Movie
Actor"The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant1986
Movie
7.6
Actor"The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant1987
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant2022
Movie
ActorHimself1984
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1985
Movie
ActorHimself1984
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1978
Movie
ActorJimmy Valiant1983
TV Show
ActorThe Master of Terror
1 Episode
1998
TV Show
ActorMaster OF Terror
1 Episode
1998
TV Special
7.4
ActorJimmy Valiant1987
TV Special
6.4
ActorJimmy Valiant1985
TV Special
5.9
Actor"The Boogie-Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant1988
TV Special
6.7
ActorCharlie Brown1983
TV Special
5.5
ActorJimmy Valiant1984
TV Special
6.1
ActorJimmy Valiant1986
Title Rating Job Role(s) Year
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