Remembering Roddy Piper

When I was in high school I was a big wrestling fan. I didn't know much about the organization behind it all; nor did I know all of the interrelationships nor the players aside from their names.

However, watching wrestling as many times as I did over at Ricky Gleaton's house and seeing the excitement of his dad Mortimo it all rubbed off on me and I followed the theatrics for a number of years at that time and afterward.

I recall a time when the wrestlers pursued membership in the actor's guild and it was about that time that perhaps "the sleeper" and other things I had been exposed to on the teevee weren't quite the reality I once envisioned.

Although I must admit that the day Jack Redd put "the sleeper" on Johnny Thomas in math class that fateful day at Wagener-Salley High School was about as "total reality" as it gets.

One of those wrestling personalities with whom I engaged more frequently was "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. This was because he was quite the mouthy persona and as scrappy as they come. His antics were an enjoyable part of my interludes between work and other endeavors and I enjoyed his forays into acting ... and his part in the cult classic "They Live" in particular.

Roddy Piper died on July 31 of last year in his sleep from cardiopulmonary embolus. He was slightly less than a year older than me.

As I reflect on who he was and what he did it is sad to note that this formidable human being with whom I spent so much time not to have ever met him personally went down quietly in the night from one of those lifestyle disease which claim so many of us anymore.

Roderick George Toombs April 17, 1954 - July 31, 2015 Professional Wrestler, Screen Actor