Jim Backlund
| Birth name | David Everett Ferrier |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 30, 1962 Grove City, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | December 6, 2014 (aged 52) Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Cause of death | Myocardial infarction |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jimmy Backlund Jimmy Del Ray Jimmy Graffiti Jumo Kenya |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (100 kg) |
| Trained by | The Mighty Yankee |
| Debut | 1985 |
| Retired | 1997 |
David Everett Ferrier (November 30, 1962 – December 6, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Del Ray was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Heavenly Bodies with his tag team partner, Tom Prichard.
Ferrier was trained by The Mighty Yankee and debuted in 1985 as "Jimmy Richland", which most thought was his real name. In the late 1980s, Del Ray joined Championship Wrestling from Florida as "Jumo Kenya". He later changed his ring name to "Jimmy Backlund" and formed a tag team with Brett Sawyer known as "The Playboys". The Playboys were awarded the vacant FCW Tag Team Championship on July 1, 1989. They held the titles until August 22, when they were defeated by the Nasty Boys.
Del Ray later joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where he replaced Stan Lane as one half of the Heavenly Bodies with Tom Prichard. He was given the name Jimmy Del Ray as a small on Lane, because Lane was billed during his career as being from Delray Beach, Florida. The Heavenly Bodies were managed by James E. Cornette, and won the SMW Tag Team Championship on three occasions. Cornette put the "Gigolo" moniker on his name as a play off his physique. While Del Ray was an agile and able wrestler at the time, he had a slightly pudgy midsection that shook, or "jiggled" when he did a taunting dance.
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