Happy Humphrey

Happy Humphrey was a professional wrestler who once tipped the scales at slightly 900 lbs. and once held the world's record for greatest weight loss. Born William Cobb on July 16, 1926 in Georgia, he billed himself as "The World's Largest Wrestler" in the 1950s and '60s. His most famous opponent was fellow fatman 'Haystacks Calhoun', who at 600 lbs was relatively svelte compared to Happy, whose weight was averaged 750 lbs. Cobb was a farm boy who was possessed of great strength.

In 1953, he began his career by wrestling a bear, soon graduating to battling human beings. Though considered a freak by other humans due to his large size (which sometimes resulted in him getting stuck in phone booths and movie theater chairs) and made him a social outcast, he was known to be a nice man who enjoyed socializing with his fans and was helpful to young wrestlers, passing on his knowledge. His great weight led to deteriorating health. According to Haystacks, "When I wrestled Happy he weighed about 700 pounds, but I could see as soon as we squared off that he was a fat 700 pounds. He had very poor balance, was easy to around and easy to handle. I slammed him easier than the average-size fellow. "The heavyweight Calhoun, who would die at the age of 55 while confined to a trailer after a leg was amputated because of diabetes, said of his opponent, "When I learned he was up to 800 pounds I warned him that it wasn't healthy.

"In the 1960s, Happy Humphrey underwent an operation that excised 100 lbs. of fat from his body, but he soon gained it back.

Heart trouble forced his retirement from wrestling in 1962 and he soon ballooned up to 900 lbs. as he would eat as many as 15 chickens at one sitting. Unable to walk 10 steps without running out of breath and having to sit down, he became confined to a bed as he couldn't walk, even with a cane. To save his life, he began a clinical diet program at the Clinical Investigation Unit of the Medical College of Georgia (Augusta, Georgia).

Upon entering the clinic at the end of 1963, he weighed 644 lbs, according to Time Magazine (other sources put his weight at 802, including the Guinness Book of World Records). Citizen Cobb was effectively an obesity research subject. In his 83-week stay, he was rotated through three types of diets, the most successful of which was a high-protein diet.

He checked out in the middle of 1965 at 232 lbs. , which put his weight loss at 412 lbs. , though both Time and -- more importantly -- the Guinness Book of World Records, declared his official weight loss at 570 lbs. The Guinness Book of World Records awarded him the title of "Champion Slimmer". Cobb became a shoe-repairman, having left the world of pro wrestling behind him.

His last brush with notoriety was an appearance in the movie 'Moonrunners (1975)' in 1975, playing a character called "Tiny", after he had gained back hundreds of pounds.