<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Roddy Piper fans asked to observe silence

The Columbian
Published: August 11, 2015, 5:00pm

PORTLAND — The family of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper asked fans to observe a moment of silence as his friends and relatives gathered for a memorial Tuesday.

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 Tuesday 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 a Tuesday night 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.

“The truth is that Roddy Piper was so good at his job that he never needed a title belt around his waist to make people pay attention to him,” friend Matthew Merz said at a public memorial held Monday in Portland, according to KOIN. “WrestleMania wasn’t built on a big world title match. It was built on Rowdy Roddy Piper.”

Piper was a villain for the early portion of his career. He later starred in the movie “They Live” and continued acting for most of the next three decades.

Loading...