Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
Bea Gillis
Beatrice Agnes Gillis wrestled professionally as Bea Gillis. She worked for a small female wrestling troupe based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Not only did Gillis wrestle in Canada, but she also had matches in the United States in places like Washington state, Utah and Ohio. Gillis mainly wrestled the same women in her troupe which consisted of Linda Dale and Ginger O’Hara with Gillis usually victorious.
Sadly, Gillis’ career only lasted a very brief six months in 1949. In August of that year, Gillis complained of nausea at her apartment and decided to get some fresh air by opening her bathroom window. She then climbed out of the window on to the fire escape. Tragically, she fell over the 3 foot railing and plummeted 50 feet on to a wood pile down below. A friend who was in the apartment with her , said the incident happened so fast, there was no time to react. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead from severe head injuries.
A wrestling event she was booked to compete on a few days later, held a one minute of silence for her passing. Bea Gillis was survived by her husband and two small children. She was just 31 years old at the time of her death.
David Fullam
So many questions this raises.