George Harris

Who was George Harris?

George Lee Harris was a member of the first United States Olympic judo team. He was born in Kittrell, North Carolina. He was a 9th dan in Judo. Harris began his judo career after 1952.

He was a two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games, four-time United States National Champion, and six time Air Force Champion. He also trained at the Kodokan.

Harris had a long involvement with military judo in the United States Air Force, and later served as president of the United States Judo Association.

Harris starred in a feature film tiled "Judo's Gentle Tiger" and also known as "The Year of the Gentle Tiger". A forerunner to "The Karate Kid", it was shot in the late 1970s, and was later broadcast as a NBC daytime program. Harris also appeared on talk shows and was twice a guest on "To Tell the Truth".