Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Leon "Big Van Vader" White, Dead at 63


Former WWE superstar Vader aka Leon White has died at age 63 from heart complications.

All of us likely know him best (or, I don't know, maybe you guys like wrestling more than I) from the three episodes he appeared in  of Boy Meets World. It was an interesting situation where he was playing himself, Vader. Except Vader wasn't named Leon White, he was named Francis Stecchino Sr. (or Leslie, depending on the episode) and he lived in a trailer park in suburban Philly (despite... being a famous professional wrestler) and was Frankie Stecchino's father. 

He was a hoot in all three of his episodes, but is likely best remembered for his final episode, "Sixteen Candles and a 400 Pound Man" which focused on his strained relationship with Frankie. Here's an interesting interview with Michael Jacobs, focusing on his appearance. 

 I couldn't find a good clip of that on YouTube, so here's him in his second most memorable episode, "The Thrilla in Phila". Rest In Peace, Vader!



23 comments:

  1. I just found out myself, Christian and came here as soon as I heard.

    This really sucks. I loved Vader.

    Funnily enough, apparently Vader's full name was "Francis Albert Leslie 'Frankie' Stecchino, Sr."

    Can't remember when that was said outright, but still.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Cryptid. It's been awhile. I miss talking to you. Though, not much to say here but RIP. Happy Independence Day.

      Delete
    2. Hi Milestones, I miss reading your comments too.

      Thank you, and happy Canada Day as well.

      Delete
  2. I just checked Youtube myself, and the only thing I could find while searching "16 Candles and Four Hundred Pound Men" was this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9r9i-JzSjY

    Not a bad quality, though the cropped margins are a bit of a pain.

    I'll keep looking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I’m re watching the series and re reading these blogs and it is a wonderful pass time hahaha
    But this is sad news. He was great!

    ReplyDelete
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  6. literally will friedleDecember 24, 2018 at 3:15 PM

    Merry Christmas, you jerks. I love you all. Class dismissed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey everybody.

    Would you rather have soup or bowl?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Cryptid, that time of year isn’t it? My memory isn’t what it used to be, but it seems like that might have been the funniest bit of business the show did.

      Delete
    2. Hi Milestones! Yes, it is. My Patriots are going to the Super Bowl. Again! Here's hoping!

      As for this...It's close, but I think the funniest episode is probably....either "Bee True" (when they were in college and wanted to get Feeny a girlfriend) or..."And Then There Was Shawn" (Remember the one that was parodying horror movie tropes?)

      Delete
    3. Hi Cryptid, congrats: your hopes panned out.

      I do remember that episode, in broad strokes at least. I remember liking it.

      Delete
  8. I somewhat recently discovered this blog, so I wasn't really around when the big discussions were happening (unfortunately, I would have loved to be part of that). This is the most recently used thread, so I thought I'd post this here. I found this list of "Greatest Boy Meets World Episodes" and the list is an absolute abomination. Not sure what these people were thinking

    https://www.cleveland.com/expo/life-and-culture/erry-2018/09/0481dce1d02666/boy-meets-world-turns-25-ranki.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On second thought, I don't want to call it an abomination. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just disagree about this list a lot. I don't want to bash anybody's opinion

      Delete
  9. Guys, bad news.

    Peter Took, the actor who played the original incarnation of Jedidiah Lawrence has passed away at 77.

    He was in several episodes of Boy Meets World, before casting changes. The most memorable was probably when the Monkees reunited for Alan and Amy's anniversary, "Rave On." Though admittedly, that episode was more for Davy Jones:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJUi6G4aufw

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH_KNK60FH4

    RIP

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/21/entertainment/peter-tork-dead/index.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Huh, the obituary from CNN says he was briefly a high school teacher. Learn something new every day.

      Delete
    2. The Monkees were a big part of my childhood, at least as big a part as a TV show or music could be to an 8 or 9 year-old. It was nice to see most of them in that BMW ep. I was going to post my thanks for this, Cryptid, but didn't right away and then suddenly it was 3 weeks later.

      Delete
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  11. Sad news all: Cloris Leachman who played Mrs. Svorski, the original owner of the bakery (and about a million other roles), has passed away at the age of 94.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Cryptid (seems like many years since I typed that), thanks for posting this. It was sad news

      Delete
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