TMZ is reporting this evening that legendary pro wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has died at the age of 61.
As testimonials pile in from around the world, we wanted to pour one out for the WWE Hall Of Fame wrestler known not just for lengthy feuds with Hulk Hogan, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Mr. T, or as the star of such cinematic classics like They Live and Hell Comes to Frogtown but also as a man who played an integral part in the mid-80’s “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection,” where the booming pro wrestling industry linked up with the video stars of the fledgling new channel MTV.
Piper starred in Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” video along with peers and wrestling luminaries like Captain Lou Albano, the Iron Sheik and Classy Freddie Blassie, and was even a guest VJ on MTV in 1987.
Five years later, Piper would make his deepest foray into the music industry with the song “I’m Your Man”.
The 1992 video, which you can watch after the news report jump, is a lost masterpiece of the ’90s, complete with quite stylish Zubaz, a touching beach scene with a lover and a dog, and the immortal lyric: “I ain’t no New Kid On The Block, neither — I’m the whole damn block. I’m ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.”
Respect. Here are details from TMZ on this breaking story:
Piper — born Roderick George Toombs — died from cardiac arrest in his sleep at his home in Hollywood on Thursday night. He was discovered on Friday.
Piper was a wrestling icon — one of the biggest stars in the WWE back in the ’80s, and even wrestled in “Wrestlemania I” back in 1985 … squaring off against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. Roddy’s rep tells us, “I am devastated at this news. Rod was a good friend as well as a client and one of the most generous, sincere and authentic people I have ever known. This is a true loss to us all.”
Piper had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2006, but last November he said he was cancer free. A family source tells us he was “cancer free” at the time of his death.
A family member tells us, “Our family is saddened by the sudden passing of our father and beloved husband, Roderick Toombs aka Rowdy Roddy Piper.”
He was our man back then. And he’s still our man now. RIP Hot Rod. May the bagpipes signal your entrance into the afterlife.