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Jerry “The King” Lawler, a world-renowned wrestler, shows off his bigger-than-life-size “Incredible Hulk” in the garage of his East Memphis home. A two-time candidate for mayor, Lawler said his celebrity would be an advantage if he’s elected mayor. (Photos by Wiley Henry) |
An installment of the Tri-State Defender series crafted to paint a more complete picture of the candidates for Mayor of Memphis.Jerry Lawler proclaimed himself to be the undisputed king of wrestling nearly four decades ago.
In the years since, he has switched to a larger arena where the jabs still can sting: Lawler is one of 25 candidates vying for the job of Memphis mayor in the special election on Oct. 15th.
“It’s more difficult for people to take you serious in a political environment,” said Lawler, who also is a businessman, commentator and professional artist.
A few entertainers have made the transition to politics such as wrestler/actor Jesse Ventura, the former governor of Minnesota; bodybuilder/actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the current governor of California; and the late actor Ronald Reagan, the former governor of California and 40th President of the United States.
However, their formerly flashy careers often made them bigger targets as well, Lawler said.
“I found out that being in the entertainment world is a draw back rather than a help,” he said. “When Ronald Reagan was running for the office of President, all they did was bring up his movie ‘Bedtime for Bonzo.’ They showed him with a chimpanzee.”
This is the second mayoral race for Lawler, who was a third-place finisher in the 1999 election won by former mayor Willie W. Herenton, who recently resigned the job to run for Congress.
After becoming a fixture on Memphis television for decades, Lawler has spent the past 17 years as the colorful, fast-talking, pompous commentator on “Monday Night Raw,” a professional wrestling program for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. It is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 500 million homes.
When asked during the first mayoral debate if he would give this up if he won the election, Lawler said unequivocally that his celebrity would be an advantage on the world stage.
“I only work two hours a week on Mondays,” he said.
His celebrity was clearly evident last week at the Delta Fair. Several people stopped by his booth for autographs, purchased campaign T-shirts bearing his image and wished him well in his campaign.
At another booth manned by Guy Coffee, a former wrestling promoter, Lawler’s supporters purchased photographs of him in wrestling attire and his signature crown on his head.
“You got my vote,” a passerby said. Another one gave a thumbs up sign to show his support.
Lawler thanked his fans and asked for their votes.
‘I want to sell Memphis’
Lawler said if he’s elected, he would run Memphis like a business, much like Memphis Wrestling, a company he started in 1977 and sold for $2 million in 1997.
“I took a company from nothing and made it into something very successful,” said Lawler, adding that Memphis hasn’t been marketed properly.
“I want to sell Memphis,” he said. “I want to make Memphis into a star, a showplace where people around the world would want to come to Memphis.”
Lawler said he’d use similar promotions like those he uses in the wrestling business to market Memphis’ gems: Beale Street, Elvis Presley’s Graceland and Memphis music.
He also said he would promote the city’s crème de la crème of solo entertainers such as the late Isaac Hayes, the late Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla Thomas.
“The way you do that in wrestling is you create wrestling stars,” said Lawler, who transformed a non-wrestler called ‘Sugar Bear’ Harris from Senatobia, Miss., into “Kamala, the Ugandan Giant.”
“He now headlines wrestling cards all around the world and has made a million dollars for himself,” said Lawler, who also launched the career of Koko B. Ware, a farm worker from Union City, Tenn.
“I took him and made him into ‘The Birdman’ Koko B. Ware, who last year got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. (Now) he is one of the most famous wrestlers in the world.”
Here’s what Lawler would do for the Memphis Pyramid just in case the city doesn’t close the deal with Bass Pro: “It could be turned into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Cleveland, Ohio, has the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Nashville is considered Music City U.S.A., and neither one has half the musical history we have.”
Lawler also suggested that Mud Island River Park be changed to Elvis Island to complement tourism at Graceland. “It could draw tourism dollars to Memphis like never before. It could relieve the tax burden on the citizens of Memphis.”
It’s just common sense, said Lawler, 59. As a businessman, Lawler is aware that if he’s elected mayor he’d have sole contracting authority to award contracts. With this power, he said he’d seek parity and award contracts based on the majority population.
“In the city of Memphis, African Americans are the majority,” said Lawler, who spoke recently to a group of business owners about economic development. “In reality, women are in the majority. So why don’t the majority of contracts go to the majority?”
‘Black people in this city put me on the map’The issues most important to the future success of Memphis are crime abatement, racial reconciliation, ethics in government, and education, Lawler said.
“If I’m elected, we have to declare war on crime. It’s got to be reined in; It’s got to be brought under control or our city will just continue to be destroyed.”
Lawler said some of the same crime-fighting techniques and strategies employed by former mayor Rudy Giuliani to arrest crime in New York could easily work in Memphis.
“It was his No. 1 issue,” said Lawler, pointing out that Detroit is the No. 1 most dangerous city in America followed by Memphis, according to Forbes Magazine.
Forbes used FBI statistics for 2007 to compile its 2009 list. There were 1,218 crimes per 100,000 people in Memphis that year.
Lawler said more patrolmen are needed on the streets of Memphis to keep crime down. He said fat could be trimmed from the budget to help pay for the additional manpower.
Crime is perpetuated by those who prey on hardworking people, said Lawler, who believes the return of the chain gang would deter would-be criminals.
“You want to make being incarcerated an unpleasant experience,” said Lawler, acknowledging that many people are in prison for drug offenses.
Former federal prosecutor Veronica Coleman-Davis, who testified recently before the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime, said the legal system is unfair to African Americans convicted for crack offenses.
“The punishment must fit the crime,” Lawler added. “It is too excessive for certain crimes.”
When the mayoral candidates were asked at the debate at Opera Memphis if they would submit to a drug test, each one said yes. Attorney Charles Carpenter took a drug test last week and challenged the others to do the same.
“I’ve never even tasted, not one sip, not one drink of beer, wine, whiskey or alcohol never in my life,” said Lawler. “Never done any kind of drug in my life. Never had a cigarette in my hand, much less smoked it.”
Lawler has yet to take a drug test.
The next mayor also will have to address the city’s racial divide, Lawler said. It’s a factor in Memphis elections and a wedge that splits communities.
“Memphis is the most racially divided city I’ve ever seen in the United States, bar none. We have a lot of people here still fighting the Civil War,” said Lawler.
None of the current city leaders have been able to address this racial polarization, he said. “That’s one of the things I feel I can bring to this race.”
Lawler believes the outcome will be different if he is elected. “Black people in this city put me on the map. I feel like I’m loved in the black community.”
According to the 2005 U.S. Census, Memphis is ranked the 17th largest city in the United States with a population of 671,929. More than 60 percent of that number is African American.
With an African-American majority in city and county governments, the school board, and Herenton’s rise to power in 1991, Lawler said the shift in power hasn’t benefited the African-American community that much and it caused some white flight.
“Black leadership has done nothing for the black community,” he said. “Our city’s leadership hasn’t been concerned with what’s best for the citizens, but they’ve been concerned with their own agenda.”
There is too much cronyism in government, past and present, and the current leadership is just as much to blame, the mayoral candidate said.
“That’s not the kind of city I want, not the kind of city I envisioned. I could live any where in the United States, but I chose to live in Memphis.”
Lawler also said the problem with city schools could be attributed to the city’s leadership. He said he’d use his celebrity to inspire children to learn.
“If A C Wharton, Carol Chumney, John Willingham or Myron Lowery were to speak at a school assembly, it wouldn’t excite any school children,” he said.
“But what if you went in to any school in Memphis and say tomorrow we’re going to have an assembly and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler is coming to speak to you all. They’re going to be excited.”
About Jerry Lawler
Jerry “The King’ Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. “I come from pretty humble beginnings,” he said.
Lawler’s parents worked in the fields in Whiteville, Tenn., and moved to Vernon Street for better opportunities. His father had a hearing condition and worked at Ford Motor Co.
“My mother only had a sixth-grade education,” he said. “But yet they had two boys, and their goal was to make sure we at least got a high school education.”
Lawler graduated from Treadwell High School in 1967. He earned a commercial art scholarship in 1968 to attend the former Memphis State University with help from his art teacher, Helen Stahl.
“I started drawing pictures of wrestlers and that’s how I met Jackie Fargo (wrestler) and Lance Russell (announcer), and that led me to getting into wrestling.”
That was 38 years ago.
Lawler is single and has two children, Brian Christopher Lawler, a professional wrestler, and Kelvin Lawler, owner of King Lawler’s Carpet Cleaning Company.
He has one grandson, Blake.
