He'll be inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame next weekend, but that doesn't mean renown rodeo clown and bullfighter Lecile Harris is entertaining any ideas of retirement.
"By no means does that mean I'm retiring," Harris said Tuesday night at the 63 rd annual Rodeo of the Ozarks at Springdale's Parsons Stadium. "I don't even have retirement in my mind."
Why would he ? At 71, Harris' shtick is still in high demand after 52 years of performing. Rodeo patrons lap up his brand of PG humor at more than 125 shows a year.
As times have changed, Harris has kept his act current. The advent of the wireless microphone made him the innovator of "walkin'and talkin'," where Harris works the crowd in a manner akin to a nightclub comedian.
"That's probably my strongest asset," Harris said. "It's pretty much a stand-up act I do with the announcer and the crowd where I comment on what's happening. "
His slapstick and rapier wit kept him relevant after he retired from bullfighting in the late 1980 s. Harris cultivated his comedic craft when he began fighting bulls in 1955.
"I learned comedy while I was fighting bulls, which worked out well for me," Harris said. "When I had to retire from fighting bulls, my comedy was where it needed to be. Comedy is a lot harder than fighting bulls."
The physical courage he displayed for 36 years of bullfighting took its toll.
Ill-tempered bulls have inflicted Harris with more than 100 broken bones. He's broken his back twice, his pelvis twice, split his sternum and broken too many ribs to mention.
"I was so tall to be a bullfighter that I was vulnerable in my ribs," Harris said. "But it was an advantage to me when I got hung up because I was tall enough to where I could see what I had to do up there to untie the cowboy and then take the bull away. The disadvantage was that there was so much space for the bulls to get under me."
Injury isn't all the business has exposed him to. Embarrassment is also part and parcel of the profession, like the time a rope trick with a horse went awry.
"The horse jerked my pants off and I didn't have any underwear on," Harris said. "Another time I was trying to untie a cowboy from a bull and got wrapped up. The bull dragged me all over the arena that night."
Harris' eldest son, Matt, now handles the bullfightingend of the business. Comedy is still his dad's domain.
Harris' penchant for inducing laughs landed him a regular appearance on the popular TV series "Hee Haw. "He's also appeared on the TV series "W. W. and the Dixie Dance Kings."
Taking on irritable bovines and making people laugh aren't his only talents. A Tennessean, Harris was a session drummer during the heydays of Memphis' Sun Studio and Hi Studio, playing on many hits of the era. His music and rodeo career burgeoned at the same time, but Harris said he was more attracted to the cowboy lifestyle.
"It's just a huge family," Harris said. "I've been coming here for over 20 years. It's one of the rodeos I like. That's why I keep coming back. I know people in the stands and they know me. They know my character."
Harris described his induction into the Pro Rodeo Hall Fame next Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., as the pinnacle of his career, which includes being recognized as Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association's Clown of the Year four times (1992, ' 94, ' 95 and'96 ). However, being enshrined alongside other rodeo luminaries trumps all the individual accolades.
"Being clown of the year four times, that's pretty much the ultimate in the business," Harris said. "I never expected to get into the Hall of Fame. It was quite a surprise. What makes it so great is the people that are already there."
More information can be found online at www. lecile. com.
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