TV colossus David John Leckie died at age 70 on Tuesday following a decade-long battle with illness
Under Kerry Packer and Kerry Stokes, Leckie took the Seven and Nine networks to number one as CEO
Friends knew him as Big Wave Dave and all knew that philanthropist wife Skye wasn t the only love in his life He had another mistress for many years, and unfortunately for dad she came in the shape of a . TV screen
David Leckie made his name in an era when television network bosses were larger-than-life characters who could attract as much attention as on-screen stars.
Leckie was a colossus of the industry, stomping across and through its landscape like a dinosaur - which is what some detractors thought he was.
He was big, bold, brash and boisterous. Often blistering and sometimes boorish. Harsh critics called him a bully boy but he could also be a charmer.
Leckie was a noted drinker and prone to profanity, almost as well known for his long lunches as being one of few men to run two television networks.