Photo of Roddy Piper
Acting

Roddy Piper

Profession
Acting
Born
April 17, 1954 · Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died
July 31, 2015

Biography

Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, comedian and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1984 and 2000. Although he was Canadian, because of his Scottish heritage he was billed as coming from Glasgow and was known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music. Piper earned the nicknames "Rowdy" and "Hot Rod" by displaying his trademark "Scottish" short temper, spontaneity, and quick wit. According to The Daily Telegraph, he is "considered by many to be the greatest 'heel' (or villain) wrestler ever". One of wrestling's most recognizable stars, Piper headlined multiple PPV events, including the WWF and WCW's respective premier annual events, WrestleMania and Starrcade. He accumulated 34 championships and hosted the popular WWF/E interview segment "Piper's Pit", which facilitated numerous feuds. In 2005, Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Ric Flair, who dubbed him "the most gifted entertainer in the history of professional wrestling". Outside of wrestling, Piper acted in dozens of films and TV shows, most notably taking the lead role of John Nada in the 1988 cult classic They Live and a recurring role as a deranged professional wrestler called Da' Maniac on the FX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He is also widely known for his role in Hell Comes to Frogtown as the character Sam Hell.

Known for

They Live poster
They Live
Film · 1988 · ★ 7.3
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia poster
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Series · 2005 · ★ 8.2
Walker, Texas Ranger poster
Walker, Texas Ranger
Series · 1993 · ★ 7.0
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights poster
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Film · 2011 · ★ 6.7
Saturday Night Live poster
Saturday Night Live
Series · 1975 · ★ 6.9
Cold Case poster
Cold Case
Series · 2003 · ★ 7.7
Highlander: The Series poster
Highlander: The Series
Series · 1992 · ★ 7.4
Raw poster
Raw
Series · 1993 · ★ 6.8
The Outer Limits poster
The Outer Limits
Series · 1995 · ★ 7.7
Jimmy Kimmel Live! poster
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Series · 2003 · ★ 5.3
WWE Friday Night SmackDown poster
WWE Friday Night SmackDown
Series · 1999 · ★ 7.4
Hell Comes to Frogtown poster
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Film · 1988 · ★ 5.5

Filmography