Ski Hi Lee

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Ski Hi Lee was a professional heavyweight wrestler who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. His name is sometimes given as Ski-Hi Lee, Sky Hi Lee, Sky-Hi Lee or Sky High Lee and there may be other variations in use. (The pronunciation was definitely 'Sky High', not 'Ski' as in skiing on snow). Much about his life is unknown; although he was quite famous in his time, there is little about him today on the public record.

Certain sources refer to Lee as a citizen of the U.S.A. (Texan by some accounts) but others describe him as Canadian and possibly a lumberjack to boot. His real name was Robert E. Leedy and he was born in 1921. Reports of his height vary but he stood at least 6' 9" in his socks and weighed 290lb in his heyday.

After retiring from the ring, Lee appeared on stage in Paris, apparently in the role of a caveman. He was married to a singer named Billie Allen and sometimes appeared on stage with her as a comic foil. For a period he ran a restaurant in Toronto. The date of his death is not known, nor -with any certainty- is the cause. It has been suggested that he suffered from a form of gigantism and that this shortened his life. It has also been suggested that his sheer size induced a strain on his heart.

Lee is well remembered amongst older South Africans, because he is mentioned in a locally-famous satirical song from the sixties entitled "Ag Pleez Deddy" ("Oh Please Daddy", also known as "The Ballad of the Southern Suburbs", by Jeremy Taylor, 1961), in which reference is made to a scheduled bout between Lee and a well-known South African wrestler, Willie Liebenberg (died 22 November 1998). Whether this bout really took place and if so, who won, is unknown. Lee certainly appeared in the ring in South Africa on many occasions and he also fought in Canada and Australia.

Some sources:

http://kingsbury.blogspot.com/2006/02/sky-hi-lee.html

http://www.greatnorthroad.org/bboard/archives.php?period=200505

http://www.3rdearmusic.com/lyrics/pleezdaddy.html

http://www.mediaman.com.au/articles/australian_professional.html

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