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54-Year-Old Entertainer Stevie Lee Dies Suddenly

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Stevie Lee

Stevie Lee passed away unexpectedly in his Los Angeles, California home on Sept. 9, 2020. He entertained audiences whether he was acting in a film or wrestling.

In much of his early filmography, Stevie Lee’s credits include his surname, Richardson. His wrestling fans also know him as Puppet the Psycho Dwarf or simply Puppet. Some sources refer to him as “Wee Man,” which is making “Jackass: The Movie” fans angry — wrestler Jason Acuña is the Wee Man.

He is known for his performances in”American Horror Story: Freak Show” as Evil Twin #2 and the Munchkin Carriage Driver in “Oz the Great and Powerful” — 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Stevie Lee’s first acting gig was in the “The Babe,” as Eddie the Bat Boy in 1992. Two years later he appeared in “Death Match.”

Stevie LeeStevie “Puppet “Lee’s professional wrestling career began in 2002 on “NWA: Total Nonstop Action.” He was in five episodes, including the premiere touted as the first-ever TNA pay-per-view wrestling brought to viewers every Wednesday night from Huntsville Alabama.

In 2004, Stevie Lee appeared in two episodes of  “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.” The sports television show aired on Fox Sports Net. “The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entertainers,” according to a synopsis review on IMDb.

The Half-Pint Brawlers organization was Stevie Lee’s brainchild. In 2010 Spike TV created a reality series of the same name. “Puppet “was in each of the six-episodes that aired.

On June 4, 2010, ryerson07 posted a lengthy review of “Half-Pint Brawlers:”

I normally don’t watch Spike TV but I was flipping around on Wednesday night and came across Half Pint Brawlers. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was funny, disturbing, and dramatic all in one. The show starts off getting to meet this crew of “midget” wrestlers. (They call themselves midget the whole show.) But they are kicking off their tour, and all of the guys are together with Puppet, the leader of the crew. During their first show, there are 2 brothers who wrestled each other in a bar, (with no ring) right on the concrete floor! Gnarly.

On the GoFundMe account set up by a friend to help Stevie Lee’s only remaining brother pay for the entertainer’s burial expenses, $3, 310 of the $5,000 goals were donated by 125 individuals in the first 24 hours.

Many donors left comments about Stevie Lee, such as one by J. Wheeler, “Maybe I’ll get to meet you on the other side, Puppet…Regardless of your physical stature, you lived a big life…Rest in Peace, bro.”

Adrian Lemberger shared a memory, “I met Puppet as a talent agent at Shirley Hamilton in Chicago years ago, he was the nicest guy. Rest in Power, man.” Paul Hemmes wrote, “I knew Steve from College. Very sad to hear of his passing.”

As of this writing, no cause of death has been released. While Stevie Lee was born with achondroplasia, a form of short-limbed dwarfism, medical experts indicate most people born with this syndrome have a typical lifespan.

There are three factors that could have shortened Stevie Lee’s life, the first and least dangerous is sleep apnea. The last two are serious complications; spinal stenosis and hydrocephalus — both can be managed and treated with surgery.

Stevie “Puppet” Lee “put smiles on people’s faces across the world with his hardcore attitude and lifestyle. He is a legend in the art of Midget Wrestling,” writes Jacob Colyer.

Written by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

Independent: Stevie Lee death: Jackass and American Horror Story star dies aged 54; Louis Chilton

IMDb: Stevie Lee

Deadline: Stevie Lee Dies: ‘Jackass’ Star And Wrestler Was 54

NIH: Achondroplasia

Featured Image by Kristopher Joseph Courtesy of Herald Post’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Cathy Milne-Ware is a seasoned writer and editor. Her background: Journalism for online and print newspapers, new website content from the about page to blog posts, newsletters, book reviews, and social media content. She enjoys writing Health, Entertainment, and Political news stories.

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