Portrait of Jimmy Snuka

Birthday profile

Jimmy Snuka

Jimmy Snuka, Fijian wrestler (died 2017)

Born
May 18, 1943
Died
January 15, 2017
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1943

About Jimmy Snuka

James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s. He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in the 1980s to where he was credited with introducing the high-flying wrestling style. He was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996, and was the inaugural ECW World Heavyweight Champion (a title he held twice) in Eastern Championship Wrestling (later Extreme Championship Wrestling). His children, Sim Snuka and Tamina Snuka, are both professional wrestlers. Snuka was indicted and arrested in September 2015 on third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges in relation to the May 1983 death of his girlfriend and mistress, Nancy Argentino, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He pleaded not guilty, but was found unfit to stand trial in June 2016 due to dementia. Terminally ill with stomach cancer, his charges were dismissed on January 3, 2017, twelve days before his death. Even though Snuka portrayed a violent villain, he won fans because of his athletic style. He first won the title by pinning Bull Ramos on November 16, 1973. In 1977, he won both the Texas heavyweight and tag team titles.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Jimmy Snuka timeline

  1. He first won the title by pinning Bull Ramos on November 16, 1973.
  2. In 1977, he won both the Texas heavyweight and tag team titles.

The world when Jimmy Snuka was born

Jimmy Snuka was born in 1943. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1943

  • #1 song"As Time Goes By" – Dooley Wilson
  • Top movieFor Whom the Bell Tolls
  • Best-selling bookThe Robe – Lloyd C. Douglas

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League founded
  • Top headlineAllies invade Italy
  • Technology milestoneLSD accidentally discovered by Albert Hofmann
  • Defining fadZoot suits
  • Notable inventionSlinky
  • World population2.38 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population136.7M

1943 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jimmy Snuka's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19432026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$5,700$435,000
Average income$4,100$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.27$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population136.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, CageMatch, Internet Wrestling Database, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.