Lanny Mark Poffo (December 28, 1954 – February 2, 2023), better known by his ring names "Leaping" Lanny Poffo and the Genius, was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, motivational speaker, poet, and actor. Early life Poffo was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy Poffo, a Jewish-American. He was the younger brother of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois. Professional wrestling career Early career (1974–1979) Poffo made his debut in 1974, losing to Wayne Cowan in the opening match of an All-South Wrestling Alliance card held in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 16. Poffo remained in the promotion for several months, defeating Cowan in a rematch and also gaining a win over The Great Fuji. On a card on July 9, 1974, in Atlanta he teamed with his father Angelo Poffo for the first time, defeating the veteran team The Royal Kangaroos. Still in his rookie year, Poffo and his father then headed to Big Time Wrestling, one of the varied promotions affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance at that time. In their initial match with BTW, Lanny and Angelo lost by disqualification to Lou Thesz and Mighty Igor on November 30, 1974, at a house show in Detroit, Michigan. They quickly began a house show series against the team of Bobo Brazil and Fred Curry. The two wrestled as heels, with Angelo Poffo wearing a graduation gown and cap similar to the attire Lanny later adopted in the WWF. That year they won the NWA World Tag-Team Championship, and the father/son duo held it until 1975 with successful defenses over The Mongols and Brazil and Curry. While still tag-team champions, the Poffos moved on to NWA St. Louis and continued to defend their championship. In 1975 they lost the title and returned to Big Time Wrestling. 1976 found Lanny wrestling primarily in singles matches in BTW, NWA Western States, and NWA St Louis. On May 29, 1976, Lanny received his first shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, losing a televised match to Terry Funk on NWA St Louis Wrestling at the Chase. He then defeated wrestlers such as Don Red Cloud, Raoul Guzman, and Gary Fulton. Lanny moved to Jim Crockett's Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling in July 1976, and for the first time began teaming with his brother Randy Poffo (Randy Savage). The Poffo Brothers immediately began touring