"The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

Here we go, double-dipping again! Nobody ever accused Jimmy Hart of not speaking his mind. In fact, just about the only thing louder than "The Mouth of the South" were the sequined jackets that he wore. This outrageous legend managed some of the biggest Superstars in WWE history and somehow managed to outshine just about all of them. With a stable of talent that read like a virtual Who's Who of WWE finest, Hart was rarely seen without his trusty megaphone in hand. While the bullhorn was generally used to instruct and encourage his proteges or distract and discourage his foes, Hart wasn't above using it as a weapon when necessary. Jimmy Hart's pre-WWE career as a successful musician has served him well throughout his career, as he has been instrumental in the creation of entrance music for many WWE Superstars. We've written about Jimmy Hart before, so you know that's all true: he was a member of The Gentrys, and when he entered the wrestling business in 1974, his gimmick was a record producer. He was loud and boisterous, and managed some of the biggest names in the biz through four different promotions - Memphis, WWF, WCW and TNA. The Mouth of the South did have a figure in Jakks Pacific's Classic Superstars line, as linked to the last paragraph, but it was kind of terrible. For one thing, the likeness was quite unimpressive. Sure, you could tell it was him because it was on his body, but this toy looks much more like him. His mouth is open in a shout, which is natural for him, and his white-framed sunglasses are removable. Even his hair and his beard look better! Also a vast improvement? The body. Mattel, like Jakks, uses a pool of shared sculpts to create their wrestlers, but they chose a smaller sculpt to make the man. No more huge brute! Sure, he's still perhaps a little larger than he should be, but he's significantly smaller than before. He's wearing a white jacket with red lapels and red hearts painted all over it, a black necktie with silver musical notes, black pants and shoes, and a silver cummerbund. That's a separate piece around the wasit, by the way; Jakks just painted theirs on. Jimmy wasn't one for performing in the ring, but the toy still has just as much articulation as the other Hall of Fame figures - Mattel did not skimp! He's got a balljointed neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel/hinged wrists, hinged torso, swivel waist, H-hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, and what seem to be balljointed ankles (or at least swivel/hinges with a great range of motion). Considering the most dynamic thing he usually did was jump on the ring apron and distract the referee at a crucial moment, that's more than enough. The removable sunglasses are not his only accessory - if you release a Jimmy Hart without his megaphone, you're doing something wrong! It's red and white, with hearts and lip prints on it. The handle fits his right hand perfectly, and his artisulation is almost good enough to get the back up to his mouth. This figure is part of the Target-exclusive Hall of Fame Series, honoring his 2005 induction. Just like Series 1 and everybody except Tito Santana in Series 2, it's a bit difficult to find him, but he's worth the hunt, baby! Bret "The Hitman" Hart | "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart | Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart -- 09/21/16

Tweet