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'Banana George' Blair Dies at 98 By LISA COFFEY He said the lake called him to ski. George Blair, affectionately known as "Banana George," rode the waves for more than 50 years wearing a twinkle in his blue eyes, a grin behind his white mustache — and a lot of yellow. The Water Ski Hall of Famer who barefooted with boyish enthusiasm well into his 90s died Thursday. He was 98. The Guinness Book of Records says Blair is the only person to have skied on all seven continents — the last in Antarctica in 1986 on Whaler's Bay. The self-promoter skied exhibitions in 45 countries, including the Soviet Union. The Water Ski Hall of Fame says his visit there in 1988 opened doors between skiers in Europe's Eastern bloc and the world. He skied on a hydrafoil at 48, and flew solo at 53. At 68, he rode a camel, at 75 he snow boarded. He drove a race car at 81. At 83, he sky dived and surfed. At 85, he rode a bull. In his 90s, having suffered more than five broken vertebrae in 50 years, he continued to ski using a training boom or harness to hold his frail body above the water. Blair first tried skiing in 1955 at age 40 as a form of rehabilitation. After breaking his back and having surgery to fuse his spine, doctors told him warm water would do his back good.