Roderick Toombs, better known around the world as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, passed away last week at age 61 of cardiac arrest. I remember watching him from his days as a wrestler on the National Wrestling Alliance circuit, with his classic "dog collar" match against Greg Valentine, before he put on the kilt and hosted the WWF-themed talk show "Piper's Pit." His segments were always entertaining, most notably when he hit Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka with a coconut.
He was the ultimate heel to Hulk Hogan's All-American "good-guy" image (obviously this was before Hogan's recent comments) and Piper just knew how to rile up a crowd with his promos on the microphone. I used to loathe Piper as a child watching wrestling every week, hoping for the day when he got his comeuppance. As time went on, my respect for him grew even more when he parlayed his skills outside of the ring in the John Carpenter film "They Live." He had such range as a character that when he returned as a face I couldn't help but cheer for him. While he never won the World Championship, he never had to. He always had an audience and made himself into a legend in the industry and out of it.
Piper had an ability to keep people intrigued in what was coming next out of his mouth, and he represented the type of person that we always need in our circle: the one who has no problem telling us like it is. The person that is going to tell you the truth without concern about feelings, even if the words are a bit harsh. People looked at Piper as the ultimate instigator, the one that could create drama with just a few words. Just like a writer with the stroke of a pen, Piper's work on the microphone was a work of art, and in our lives we need someone who has the ability to call it as they see it. Do you have someone who always keeps you on your toes, that changes the environment in the room upon their mere presence?
Just like Piper, we need to always have someone that changes the questions when we think we have all the answers.
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