Lecile: This Ain't My First Rodeo

Book Synopsis: #1 Best Seller in Rodeo, Rural Life Humor, and Extreme Sports and Winner of the 2016 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Excellence in Western LiteratureRodeo legend Lecile Harris spent over sixty-five years in the arena, first as a bull rider, then a bullfighter, and finally a clown. These tales of cowboys, bulls, wrecks, fights, injuries, characters, and other rodeo legends from his storied career will leave you in stitches, just like the millions of fans Lecile entertained across North America and the world. Lecile Harris was a 4x PRCA Clown of the Year, 2007 Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee, and 2020 Bull Riding Hall of Famer.

Marvin Lecile Harris, 83, passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 13th, 2020 after the final performance of the 55th annual Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Mississippi.

Born in Lake Cormorant, Mississippi on November 6th, 1936, Lecile and his family moved to Collierville, Tennessee where he lived until his passing. He is preceded in death by his parents Rubye and Marvin Harris.

Lecile Harris got his start in rodeo as a bull rider and then a fill-in bullfighter while still in high school and developed into one of the sport’s most respected funnymen over a career that has spanned more than half a century. Called the “Dean of Rodeo Clowns/Bullfighters,” he was PRCA Clown of the Year in 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996 as well as being inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2007 and Bull-riding Hall of Fame, Bull-fighters - Legends in 2020. Lecile performed all over the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe and Africa.

Lecile performed at more than 140 rodeos each year, his timing, inventiveness and classic style the envy of his contemporaries. He became well known for his signature end to a performance — as The Original Bulldancer — in which he would dance with a bull from the bucking stock. Lecile’s style is influenced by the work of several comedians he grew up admiring, including Emmett Kelly, Red Skelton, W.C. Fields and Laurel and Hardy. The painted face he used in his acts has been part of his persona since 1955 when he was asked to serve as an emergency replacement at Sardis, Miss., and used shoe polish and lipstick from the local drug store to prepare.

The multi-talented Lecile was a football player at the University of Tennessee-Martin, a session drummer and songwriter in the Memphis area during the 1950s and early ‘60s, when Sun Records and Hi Records were in their peak. Having performed on television and in films, He spent five years on the TV series Hee Haw and appeared in the films Walking Tall: The Final Chapter, The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James and W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings.

Somewhere between the fiercest of protectors and a sweet gentle man with a golden heart; where tough love meets compassion. The first to lend a hand and the last to ask for one, Lecile was a man of pure values, generosity and unwavering authenticity.