[2] In 1957, to impress a group of young women, Pezim dived into a pool with no water in it, and broke a number of his bones when he landed on the concrete.
"[2] Pezim worked as a stockbroker before turning to promoting gold mining companies listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange (VSE).
[5] Elkind described Pezim as a very flamboyant man whose outward bonhomie and good humor masked a cynical, manipulative and utterly selfish personality.
[6] Ali made a great point of insisting that this time he would finally knock out Chuvalo and told the media in his usual colorful way that he would regard any victory less than a knockout as a defeat.
[6] To attract media attention and build hype around the match, Pezim arranged for a series of public relations stunts where Ali and Chuvalo would make a great show of insulting each other.
[9] The Canadian journalists David Cruise and Alison Griffiths in their 1991 book Fleecing the Lamb : the Inside Story of the Vancouver Stock Exchange described Pezim as an unscrupulous mining promoter who went about maniacally promoting penny stocks of questionable value and strongly implied that he routinely broke the law in his business deals on Howe Street.
[9] Pezim frequently visited Las Vegas casinos, and the comedian Joey Bishop gave him the nickname of "the Jewish Howard Hughes".
[10] Three geologists Don McKinnon, John Larche and David Bell contracted Pezim to provide the capital for a gold mine.
[10] In 1980, Pezim allied himself with another VSE stockbroker Nell Dragovan, to create a company, Corona Resources, to develop a potential gold mine in northern Ontario at Hemlo Valley, committing $1.2 million in exchange for a 3% smelter royalty fee.
[10] After encouraging drill results, Bell recommanded that Corona buy two slots of land adjacent to the land it already owned..[10] On 6 May 1981, LAC Minerals approached Corona with an offer to buy a share of the Hemlo Valley, which led to some sort of understanding being reached, though the precise arrangement was the subject of much ligationý.
[10] On 29 May 1981, a drilling result from hole 76 discovered a rich vein of gold..[10] On 8 June 1981, Pezim became a director on the board of Corona and a vice president in August 1981.
[10] The ownership of the Hemlo Valley mine became mired in lawsuits as Pezim in 1984 sued the LAC Minerals for breach of trust.
[12] In the summer of 1989, geologists working for Pezim discovered a gold deposit at Eskay Creek in northern British Columbia that proved to be worth billions once a mine was opened.
[3] The announcement by Pezim in August 1989 of the discovery of the Eskay Creek gold deposit, which he estimated to be worth $1 billion, caused pandemonium on the floor of the VSE as trading that day broke all records.
[13] Pezim's announcement about Eskay Creek led to a feverish gold rush atmosphere on the VSE as millions poured into the exchange and TV crews were present everyday to record the rampant speculation.
[1] The journalist Bob Mackin wrote: " "The Pez" was the quintessential Howe Street wheeler-dealer known for smoking cigars, promoting his latest get-rich-quick scheme and womanizing.
He flogged Vita Pez pep pills and audio tape greeting cards through Pezzaz Productions, a subsidiary of Pezamerica.
[13] In 1990, the American journalist Greg Heberlein wrote: "Pezim's ego may be bigger than British Columbia, but he is a legend in more than just his own mind.
"[14] Pezim suffered from bipolar disorder, which explained much of his maniacal, hyperactive personality along with his obsessive need for media attention and extremely reckless behavior.
[15] The American anthropologist Emily Martin observed that CEOs with bipolar depression tend to be flamboyant characters known for seeking publicity along with rash decision-making.
[15] Martin listed Pierre Karl Péladeau, Richard Branson, and Ted Turner as other examples of CEOs with bipolar disorder.
[16] Faced with the team going bankrupt, the premier of British Columbia, Bill Vander Zalm, was heard to say: "Time to bring in the Pez".
[16] The lawyer and politician Roy McMurtry who was serving as an adviser to Vander Zalm expressed some concern about the choice of Pezim as he was lobbying the province at the time to build a highway to the remote Eskay Creek gold deposit located in the mountains in northern-western British Columbia close to the American border.
The entire West Coast media have followed Pezim around over the last five years, doting on every silly note he plays as if he were the Pied Piper of Hamelin.)
Place stadium, during a Canadian Football League game involving the British Columbia Lions, an old fat guy is on his feet.
[2] Pezim was noted for operating in a chaotic and erratic style with major business decisions involving millions being made seemingly on whims.
[2] Looney noted that Pezim surrounded himself with extremely attractive women dressed in revealing uniforms as his staff, which added to his mystique.
[2] His summer home overlooking English Bay was widely viewed as one of the most lavish and luxurious in the entire Lower Mainland.
[20] The BC MPP Bill Reid stated: "If Murray hadn't stepped in and bought this team before last season, the Lions would have failed, and without Vancouver, there is no CFL.
[2] Pezim treated the Lions very much like his mining companies, as something to be relentlessly promoted while neglecting to invest in the Lions..[21] With the notable exception of Flutie, Pezim was unwilling to hire good players and did not seem to understand that importing one star American player such as Flutie was insufficient to win the Grey Cup.