Lee Badham

Henry Lee Badham IV (born c. 1952; died 1980s) was a folk musician, health clinic worker, real estate agent and bon vivant.

Badham was the son of Henry Badham III and grandson of Henry Badham Jr. He attended Mountain Brook Elementary School and Shades Valley High School. At age 15 Badham went missing from a family trip to Gulf Shores during AEA Week. He was allegedly kidnapped and forcibly brought to Pensacola, Florida. He managed to escape unharmed. Ira B. Ward Jr was arrested and charged.

Badham overcame a drug addiction, and worked with J. Walden Retan at the Community House clinic, and later served as director of the Freedom House clinic on 6th Avenue South. He frequently gave talks to teenagers about drug abuse and pregnancy prevention. In the evenings he was often found performing at folk clubs. He drove an old bread truck with an image of a grinning horse on the side, and was filmed riding an antique bicycle through Five Points South in a promotional film for the city.

Badham had epilepsy. He was killed when a garage door closed on him during a seizure. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

References

• "Gulf Shores Man Is Held On Charges of Kidnaping" (March 30, 1967) The Montgomery Advertiser, p. 1