Moment to recall 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper
PORTLAND, Ore. - The family of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper asked fans to observe a moment of silence as his friends and relatives gathered for a memorial yesterday.
PORTLAND, Ore.
- The family of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper asked fans to observe a moment of silence as his friends and relatives gathered for a memorial yesterday.
The kilt-wearing trash-talker who headlined the first WrestleMania died of cardiac arrest on July 31 at his California home. He was 61.
His family held a private funeral yesterday in the Portland area, where he maintained a home. They asked fans around the world to join them in a moment of silence as the service began at 10:30 a.m. The service coincided with last night's WWE SmackDown show at Portland's Moda Center.
Born Roderick Toombs, Piper rose to fame in the 1980s as he battled Hulk Hogan. Though Canadian, he often appeared in a kilt and came to the ring blowing bagpipes in a nod to his Scottish heritage.
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. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.