“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the kilt wearing trash-talker who headlined the first WrestleMania and later found movie stardom, died Friday. He was 61.
The WWE confirmed the death. The wrestling organization provided no additional details.
Piper, born Roderick Toombs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is the second WWE Hall of Famer to die this summer, following the June death of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Piper’s death also comes days after Hulk Hogan, his biggest rival for decades, was fired by the WWE. Hogan had used racial slurs in a conversation captured on a sex tape.
Piper and Hogan battled for years and headlined some of the biggest matches during the 1980s. Hogan and Mr. T beat Piper and Paul Orndorff on March 31, 1985, at the first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden in a bout that featured Muhammad Ali as the guest referee.
Piper was a villain for the early portion of his career, once cracking a coconut over the skull of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka in a segment for his popular WWF talk show called “Piper’s Pit.” He later starred in the movie “They Live” and continued acting for most of the next three decades.
WWE chairman Vince McMahon called Piper “one of the most entertaining, controversial and bombastic performers ever in WWE, beloved by millions of fans around the world.”
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Piper’s son, Colt Toombs, posted to Twitter: “My father @R_Roddy_Piper was a great man and my best friend I will miss him forever and will always try to be the man he raised me to be.”
Piper also went by the nickname “Hot Rod” during his career. Although he was Canadian, he often appeared in a kilt and came to the ring blowing bagpipes in a nod to his Scottish heritage.
Piper inspired UFC fighter Ronda Rousey to take the “Rowdy” nickname. Piper was touched Rousey used the name and the MMA fighter paid tribute to him on her social media feeds before Saturday’s UFC card.
“Thank you for the name…. And so much more…. Will do it justice and do you proud tomorrow,” she wrote.
Rousey fights Brazilian challenger Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.
Piper was best known for his lengthy career with the World Wrestling Federation, now the WWE. He was a WWE Intercontinental and tag team champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame 2005.
“Saddened about the passing of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper,” tweeted Paul “Triple H” Levesque, a wrestler and top WWE executive. “He was truly a legend and icon, and will never be forgotten… #ThankYouRoddy #RIP.”
Piper became a household name because of his rivalry with Hogan, and the involvement of pop star Cyndi Lauper and her friend Captain Lou Albano. The feud led to an MTV special “The War to Settle the Score” in 1985. Piper was cast as the villain, and his disqualification led to Hogan keeping the WWF championship.
A brawl at the end of that fight would lead to the first WrestleMania.
Piper also had well-known rivalries with Rick Rude and Adrian Adonis, among others. He boxed actor Mr. T at WrestleMania 2.
“RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper! What a competitor?! I was honored to be your opponent in the first Wrestlemania. Bless You My Brother,” Mr. T tweeted.
In addition to his celebrity in the ring, Piper appeared in John Carpenter’s 1988 cult classic “They Live.” In that film, he delivered the memorable line: “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass - and I’m all out of bubblegum.”
“He was a great wrestler. He was an underrated actor and just a marvelous entertainer and I feel like I’ve just lost one of my close friends,” Carpenter told The Associated Press.
Carpenter said when he last saw Piper, his friend had just had shoulder surgery but was doing well.
“His outlook was very good,” he said. “Roddy will always be loved because of his wrestling career. He really became a legend in pro wrestling. He will not be forgotten.”
Former “Survivor” star Jonny Fairplay started work in 2001 as Piper’s personal assistant.
“I would wake him up in the morning and yell at him from the door of his bedroom,” he said. “I’d say, ’Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, the guy who never beat Hulk Hogan.’”
Fairplay named his daughter Piper in honor of the wrestler.
“Rowdy Piper should be remembered as the greatest bad guy of all time,” he said.
More recently, Piper appeared in the show “Celebrity Wife Swap,” trading wives with fellow former wrestler Ric Flair.
Piper battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006, but later said he had beaten the cancer.
In recent months, Piper was active in the charity Stand For The Silent, an organization aimed at honoring the victims of bullying and bringing awareness to the issue.
Piper is survived by wife Kitty and their four children.
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Associated Press writers Anne Peterson and Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.
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