Candy Daddy Siki, an American Canadian skilled wrestler who pushed the boundaries of the game and helped to coach world champions, has died in Toronto on the age of 91.
Elkin James, born in Texas, died on Dec. 31, 2024, at Humber River Hospital after residing with dementia for a few years. Siki moved to Toronto in 1961 and made a reputation for himself in Canada as a pro-wrestler and a rustic musician from the Nineteen Sixties to the Nineteen Eighties.
In keeping with wrestling historian Greg Oliver, Siki married Anne, a Canadian lady, in Buffalo in 1964. The 2 went on to have two sons, Reg and Justin, and Siki “carved out a complete new life” for himself as knowledgeable wrestler with blond hair, sequined robes and massive sun shades. He was additionally a recording artist with a rustic and western band, the Irresistibles.
Siki would preen within the ring and known as himself “the women’ pet and the boys’s remorse.”
“The man was a real famous person,” Oliver mentioned in an interview with CBC Toronto on Friday. “Professional wrestling is about standing out and Siki all the time stood out.”
‘Certainly one of a sort’
His signature strikes included The Airplane Spin, the Coco-butt and the Neck Breaker, in keeping with a 2013 CBC Radio report.
“From his base in Toronto, he toured throughout North America. From St. John’s to Chicago, Calgary to Cleveland, Madison Gardens to Maple Leaf Gardens, Candy Daddy Siki wrestled with the very best of them,” the report mentioned.
Oliver mentioned Siki was anyone that everyone knew, however he was additionally a personal individual.
“He was a very pleasant man. He beloved to speak to individuals. He was a very good listener. However he did not reveal lots. So it took lots to get Siki’s belief via the years,” Oliver added.
Oliver famous that Siki mentored Toronto wrestler Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Oliver, who labored with Siki and his household for a CBC documentary about his life, mentioned Siki’s two All Elite Wrestling proteges had been Adam Copeland, finest often known as Edge, and Christian Cage.
Copeland, in an interview with CBC Radio’s Contemporary Air, mentioned Siki broke down racial limitations in skilled wrestling.
“Discuss certainly one of a sort. You are speaking a few man who helped combine this trade,” Copeland mentioned.
‘One of many Jackie Robinsons of our trade’
In his later years, up till the COVID-19 pandemic, Siki ran a karaoke night time at The Duke tavern on Queen Avenue East in Leslieville.
He was additionally well-known for driving across the metropolis in his transformed purple hearse.
Copeland mentioned Siki was “one of many Jackie Robinsons of our trade.” Robinson was a U.S. skilled baseball participant who was the primary African American to play in Main League Baseball within the twentieth century.
“He did a lot. However it occurred at a time when it wasn’t both celebrated or acknowledged. However typically it takes after the actual fact for individuals to completely notice,” Copeland added.
“Siki was additionally a personal man. And so I really feel like he wasn’t going to be the one to stroll round shouting from the rooftops what he is performed and the variations he made.”
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