“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, an iconic figure for fans of sports, videogames, and movies, has passed away of Cardiac Arrest at age 61, shocking his fans, friends, and family.
Born Roderick George Toombs, he wrestled under the name ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper and rose to fame in the 1980s as one of the biggest stars in the WWF, later renamed the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) organization.
Piper gained special prominence in the 1980s as a villain in the WWF/WWE’s stable of wrestling entertainers. With his trademark kilt and raspy voice, Piper was most often an antagonist, going head-to-head often against his great rival, Hulk Hogan.
Piper would also appear in 15 videogames, and players of WWE2K14 will remember being able to play him as a character.
Piper did some acting, landing starring roles in the cult-classic John Carpenter film “They Live” in 1988 and in “Hell Comes to Frogtown.”
On TV, his credits included 1994’s RoboCop: The Series, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2009 and Cold Case in 2010. He also appeared in Cyndi Lauper’s music video for the track The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough.
Piper was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006, but revealed he was cancer-free in November. He is survived by his wife Kitty and their four kids, including wrestler son Colton.
Rest in peace.
SOURCE: KOMO TV News, Seattle