Roderick George Toombs
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Roddy Piper, born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He became infamous for his mic skills and hosted Piper’s Pit, where he smashed Jimmy Snuka with a coconut in 1984. Piper headlined Wrestlemania I against Hulk Hogan in 1985 and later starred in They Live 1988. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and died on July 31, 2015 from cardiopulmonary arrest caused by hypertension.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Roddy Piper — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Roddy Piper by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Roddy Piper — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age 12, after a falling out with his father, Roddy Piper left home and spent three years in youth hostels. He trained as a Golden Gloves boxer and earned a black belt in Judo before entering professional wrestling in 1973. Piper was born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Piper wrestled his first match against Larry Hennig in 1973, losing in ten seconds for $25. By 1975, he had become a top heel in NWA Hollywood Wrestling. In the WWF, Piper’s Pit debuted in 1984. In the most famous segment, he cracked a coconut on Jimmy Snuka’s head. Piper headlined the first Wrestlemania in 1985 against Hulk Hogan. He defeated Adrian Adonis in a hair match at Wrestlemania III in 1987. In 1992, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from The Mountie, his only WWF title. Piper also acted in films, including They Live 1988, and later worked for WCW in the late 1990s.
Piper married Kitty Toombs on October 12, 1982; they remained together until his death. He had four children: daughters Anastacia, Ariel Teal, Fallon Danica, and son Colton. Ariel Teal became an actress and Colton an MMA fighter. Piper beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He counted Ric Flair and Rick Martel among his closest friends. He had a real-life dislike for Mr. T and Vince McMahon.
In 2005, the WWE inducted Piper into its Hall of Fame and named him the greatest heel of all time. His Piper’s Pit segment became a staple of wrestling interviews. They Live 1988 remains a cult classic. Piper’s feud with Hulk Hogan helped define the 1980s wrestling boom, and his mic skills are still celebrated.
The complete filmography of Roddy Piper — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Roddy Piper — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Roddy Piper — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I’m the Reason Hulk Hogan Lost His Hair!
Just When They Think They Know All the Answers, I Change the Questions.
Real Men Wear Kilts.
I’m so Quick, I Could Spit in the Wind, Duck, and Let It Hit the Old Lady Behind Me.
I Don’t Need to Know How Tough I Am to Know How Tough I Am.
I Never Told the Fans to Say Their Prayers or Take Their Vitamins. They Cheered for Me Because They Wanted To, Not Because They Were Programmed To.
Little-known facts about Roddy Piper — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
He successfully beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He is a former Golden Gloves boxer and black belt in Judo.
After a falling out with his father, he hit the road, and from age 12 to 15, he stayed in youth hostels wherever he could find them. This mirrors his character Nada in They Live 1988 who had left home when he was 13.
At Wrestlemania V, Piper did a Piper’s Pit segment interviewing Brother Love and the late Morton Downey Jr.. Downey repeatedly blew smoke in Piper’s face, so Piper used a fire extinguisher on him.
He returned to the WWE at Wrestlemania 19 in March 2003 to help Vince McMahon attempt to beat Hulk Hogan. This was surprising to most as Roddy and Vince are not each other’s biggest fans both on-air and in real life. Piper began hosting his interview segment Piper’s Pit again and worked for the WWE until July 2003, where after causing a stir on a program about wrestlers and drug use and admitting to a great dislike of his on-air character, the WWE ended their relationship with him again.
At Starrcade 1983, Piper beat Greg Valentine in the legendary dog collar match. Roddy lost 75% of the hearing in his left ear, which remains today.
He considers Greg Valentine to be his toughest opponent, and Greg Valentine has implied that the feeling is mutual.
One of his daughters is actress Ariel Teal Toombs and his son is MMA Fighter Colt Toombs.
He was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment WWE Hall of Fame 2005.
He learned his patented eye poke and sleeper hold from watching wrestling gurus Mark and Harry McCaul aka The McCaul Manglers of Winchester, Massachusetts.
He was asked to induct his on-screen rival, Superfly Jimmy Snuka, into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996. He was forced to decline, as he was just about to begin working for WCW. Snuka was instead inducted by Don Muraco.
His very first pro wrestling match was against Larry The Axe Hennig. Piper lost to Hennig in ten seconds, and he earned 25 dollars in Canadian funds for the match.
Following his death, his remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered over his home in Gaston, Oregon.
He is notorious for hitting Jimmy Snuka in the head with a coconut on television in July 1984.
He was a featured singer in the MTV music video Land of 1000 Dances 1985 with Meat Loaf, Cyndi Lauper and Rick Derringer.
He has four children: daughters Anastacia, Ariel Tiel, Fallon Danica and son Colton.
He released a single called I’m Your Man 1992.
Piper served as Interim President of the WWE in early 1996.
Just as it was with their WWE story angle, Roddy Piper and Mr. T shared a mutual dislike for each other in real life.
Aided by former henchman ACE Cowboy Bob Orton, he whipped Mr. T with a belt after a boxing match between T and Orton on WWF’s Saturday Night Main Event in 1985.
Piper always said that Ric Flair and Rick Martel were among his closest friends in the wrestling business.
In 1980, Piper and Rick Martel won the NWA Pacific Northwest tag team titles three times.
In his young days, Piper trained in amateur boxing and became Golden Gloves standard.
He claims the only pin fall loss he ever had in the WWF was to Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 8, however on the Coliseum Video Release, Best of the WWF Vol. 3, Jimmy Superfly Snuka clearly pinned Piper in a strap match.
He was the special guest referee in the I Quit match between Bret Hitman Hart and Bob Backlund at WrestleMania XI.
For a while, Roddy Piper replaced Jesse Ventura as a commentator for the WWE. Piper commentated on pay-per-view events like the 4th Annual Survivor Series, the 1991 Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania VII and others.
According to Piper in his memoirs, he recalled his taking part in the main event at the first Wrestlemania. After the event was over, Roddy Piper claimed that neither he or his tag team partner Paul Orndorff received any thanks for their contribution. Piper remained resentful about this for years after.
He is a professional wrestler-turned-actor and published author.
Piper’s most popular feuds in the WWE were with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff.
Piper was Storyline Vice President of WCW in July 1999.
He claimed that Gene LeBell was the toughest man he knew.
He mentored the late professional wrestler Art Barr.
Notable title wins include: NWA Americas champion Los Angeles; NWA Americas Tag titles Los Angeles; NWA US Champion San Francisco; NWA Pacific Northwest tag champion 4; NWA Pacific Northwest champion 2; Canadian Tag Vancouver w/ Rick Martel; NWA Mid-Atlantic TV champion 2; NWA US champion Mid-Atlantic 2; NWA Mid-Atlantic champion; WWF Intercontinental champion; WCW United States Title.
He was trained in Jujutsu by Gene LaBell.
He made a special appearance at Summerslam ’92, playing the bagpipes before the final match on the card.
He is a former WWF Intercontinental and WCW U.S. Champion; WWE Hall of Famer.
He appeared in some of the live-action segments of the cartoon series Hulk Hogan’s Rock N Wrestling 1985-198?.
By late 1975 and early 1976, Piper was a top heel for Mike & Gene LeBell’s NWA Hollywood Wrestling.
He is a former World Tag Team Champion.
In his autobiography, Piper clearly stated how bitter he felt after the first Wrestlemania event had finished. Apparently, he didn’t receive any kind of gratitude for contributing to the success of the main event at Wrestlemania.
He was known for his talent at the microphone. He would reportedly fill pages with ideas for these ad libs as well as other pieces of business.
In 1981, Piper started with the Georgia territory as an antagonistic heel commentator.
From 1973-1975, Piper was a jobber in the AWA.
Piper was named Interim WCW Commissioner in 1997.
He claimed to feeling disappointed that he was never given the WWE heavyweight title.
He returned to the WWE in 1989, when Piper made a guest appearance at Wrestlemania 5.
He was named greatest heel of all time by the WWE.
He had a rematch against The Mountie on Saturday Night’s Main Event in February 1992, following their Royal Rumble match.
He lost a boxing match against Mr. T via a D.Q at Wrestlemania II.
He had a brief story angle with Paul Orndorff in 1986, when the latter was a baby-face for the WWE.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Roddy Piper.
Celebrities similar to Roddy Piper — same craft, ranked by reach.
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