Roddy Piper, wrestler, actor, Died at 61

  Dead Famous

Dead, Roderick “Roddy” George Toombs born April 17, 1954, died July 31, 2015, better known by his ring name “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, film actor and podcast host.

In professional wrestling, he was best known for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

Although he was Canadian, due to his Scottish heritage he was billed as coming from Glasgow in Scotland and was known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music.

He earned the nickname “Rowdy” by displaying his trademark “Scottish” rage, spontaneity and quick wit. Despite being a crowd favorite for his rock star-like persona, he often played a villain.

Aside from his ring name, he was also known by the nickname “Hot Rod”.

Piper headlined several major pay-per-view events; he participated in the main events of WrestleMania I and WrestleMania X – as a special guest referee in the latter.

Never a world champion, he nevertheless accumulated 34 championships in various promotions during his career.

Piper’s most notable rivals included Greg Valentine, Adrian Adonis and Hulk Hogan, with the feud against the latter also involving Captain Lou Albano and singer Cyndi Lauper.

Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and named as the top villain in wrestling history by WWE.