THE GENIUS

Pro-Wrestler ‘Leaping’ Lanny Poffo Dead at 68

Poffo, the brother of Randy Savage, also wrote a book of limericks warning against the danger of drugs and alcohol.

Former pro-wrestler Lanny Poffo, known by his ring names “Leaping Lanny Poffo” and “The Genius,” has died at the age of 68, according to fellow former pro-wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Poffo, whose older brother Randy Savage and dad Angelo Poffo were both pro-wrestlers, joined the World Wrestling Federation (now known as the WWE) in 1985 before moving to World Champion Wrestling in 1995. He returned to the WWE in 2015 to induct his brother, who died in 2011, in the WWE Hall of Fame. An anti-smoking advocate, he published a book of limericks for children warning against the dangers of drugs and alcohol. He also published a biographical comic, “The Genius Lanny Poffo,” in 2018. Poffo’s cause of death hasn’t been revealed.