Anastasia and Ariel at the set of They Live.
Boarding the Love Boat.
Roddy and Kitty, 1986.
Roddy and Stanley Toombs, 1990.
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Bruce Prichard as Brother Love.
The Toombs clan gets a taste of the outdoors.
The actor is ready for work.
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Mitch Ackerman joins the fray in WCW.
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Right where “Uncle Gene” likes his friends.
Colt at the Backlot Brawl.
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Ariel and Roddy enter the Kress nightclub.
Comedian Steve Simeone.
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Bruce Prichard on the Rod Pod podcast.
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Piper’s Pit podcast sidekick Earl Skakel.
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Making music again, with Alan Snoddy in Niagara Falls.
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The last word with TMZ.
Father and son getting back to their roots outside Edinburgh Castle.
Acknowledgements
This book was originally intended to be written by our father and his editor, with a handful of interviews and conversations to help them fill in the blanks. When Roddy passed and we took up the job of finishing his story, many people stepped into the breach to help us complete Rowdy. We are grateful to them all.
First and foremost, our mother, Kitty Toombs, and our sisters, Anastasia and Falon, agreed that we could carry the Toombs Clan flag in the effort to complete our father’s legacy in print, and they supported our effort throughout with their time, memories and love. As did our spouses, Sarah Toombs and Phil Brock.
While researching the original version of this book, Dad visited with his sister Cheryl Grant and mother, Eileen Toombs, in British Columbia. He also spent two days with Cam Connor in Edmonton, including time with Sherilyn Connor and their son, actor Kristofer Connor. Their memories and insights further helped us put together the story of Roddy’s early years. We spoke by phone with Dad’s sister Marilyn Robertson, in Ontario. Our thanks to all of them.
Many more of Dad’s oldest friends gave generously of their time and memories. Mitch Ackerman was one of the very first people we sat down with, in Los Angeles, and his recollections were crucial to understanding what it was like for Roddy when fame broke, when he stepped back from wrestling and pursued his screen career, and during the final weeks of his life. “Judo” Gene LeBell, also in LA, spends two hours a week at the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood. The week we visited, he gave us an hour and forty minutes. Everyone wondered who was so important that Gene would dedicate nearly his whole work week to us. That’s Uncle Gene for you, and we are hugely grateful for his time and memories. Kellie Cunningham, who helps manage his office work, was generous and helpful as well.
Throughout Dad’s wrestling career, he bonded with many of his peers, and even if they hadn’t worked with him since the 1970s, their memories were often as sharp as if it had been only last year. Several members of this wonderful fraternity spoke to us at length and we thank them all for helping keep our father’s story alive: Big Show, “Edge” Adam Copeland (and Daniel Abrams), Len Denton, Chavo Guerrero Sr., Stan Hansen, Bret Hart, Rick Martel, Bruce Prichard, and Tom Prichard. Manager/trainer Merv Unger took us back to Winnipeg for Roddy’s earliest matches, and referee Jimmy Korderas shared his memories with us of Roddy at WrestleMania VI and Maple Leaf Wrestling.
Roddy loved to laugh, and after he’d retired from wrestling he wanted to make a career out of laughter. To that end, he got to know a number of LA’s finest comedians, some of whom became dear friends. Steve Simeone, Earl Skakel and Cousin Sal Kimmel spoke to us, as did Barry Kolin, owner of Harvey’s Comedy Club in Portland, Oregon. Roddy also never gave up the dream of making music, and we’re grateful to Toronto singer/songwriter Alan Snoddy for sharing memories of his friendship with our father.
Being a creature of the old wrestling territories, Dad never got with the idea of having a single person to manage his business. He worked with many managers, producers and assistants over the years, and they often remained good friends even after parting company professionally. Our thanks to Julian Dagnino, Noelle Kim, Freya Miller (aka “Buttons”), Adam Opitz and Bill Philputt, as well as Roddy’s lawyer and friend Sam Perlmutter.
At Random House Canada, Associate Publisher Scott Sellers first reached out to Roddy about writing a new book, one that would tell the story of his whole life and not shy away from his Canadian roots. Publisher Anne Collins and Senior Editor Craig Pyette turned that conversation into a reality. Angelika Glover and Gil Adamson ironed out the kinks in the manuscript in record time. Publicist Ruta Liormonas helped announce the book to the world.
And thanks to you, Roddy’s fans and our readers, without whom there could be no legends to recall, no icons to remember.
A Note on Sources
Much of Rowdy was written from our family’s own recollections, as well as those of our more than thirty interview subjects. We’ve done our best to be clear who told us what throughout the book, and unless we point to a source for those quotes in the notes below, you can presume we were told those things directly by the person speaking. In many cases, quotes from people we did not interview come from Roddy’s Piper’s Pit podcasts (which are, as of this writing, still available on Soundcloud.com), on which he interviewed many of his friends and wrestling peers during more than sixty episodes, or his earlier Rod Pod podcasts, (excerpts from which remain scattered across YouTube). Further, Roddy’s editor watched hundreds of hours of old match footage and “Piper’s Pit” episodes to help us flesh out the blow-by-blow accounts that appear throughout the book.
Introduction
This Isn’t Supposed to Happen
Observations of WrestleMania—the original and number two—and Roddy’s dealings with Mr. T came from Roddy himself, during interviews on his 2015 road trip with his editor. These two matches and many more that we discuss throughout the book can be viewed on WWE’s DVD Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story, also a source of some of Roddy’s quotes.
1
A Very Active Child
Aside from the attributed quotes, this chapter was informed by interviews with Roddy’s mother and two sisters, as well as his own recollections.
2
Concede or Get Up
Cam Connor provided much of the information in this chapter, attributed and otherwise. Roddy supplemented that information in conversation with his old friend. Merv Unger added background. Jesse Ventura is quoted from Piper’s Pit podcast #30, as are Roddy’s recollections of his first match with “Superstar” Billy Graham. The most complete record of Roddy’s wrestling matches is here: www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=67512. Where possible, we have cross referenced dates and opponents with media reports and www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=51&page=4&s=1100
3
The Jesus Years
Roddy’s recollection of his first wrestling forays into the US come from his first book (In the Pit with Piper: Roddy Gets Rowdy, Berkley Boulevard: New York, 2002) and his one-man stage show, recordings of which were provided to the authors by staff who travelled with Roddy on the 2014 UK tour. There are discrepancies between the accounts (who took him to the diner in 1973, for instance—was it Mad Dog Vachon or Ivan the Terrible?). We have used our best judgment and understanding of the cast of characters in Roddy’s life at the time to portray these scenes as accurately as possible. The story of his match with Larry Hennig came from these sources, as well as Roddy’s recollections to his editor and the memories of Cam Connor, who was not present at the Hennig match but provided helpful context. Roddy’s early harassment at the hands of older wrestlers came from his direct recollections as well as those he shared with Kayfabe Commentaries for its Timeline: The History of WWE DVD series, 1984 as Told by Roddy Piper. Roddy’s recollections of Johnny Va
lentine came from Piper’s Pit podcast #60. Roddy’s Texas run was informed by the memories of Bruce Prichard and Tom Prichard, as well as this fine biographical piece about Red Bastien: http://empirewrestlingfederation.com/2012/08/red-bastien-king-of-men/. We benefitted from the excellent collection of fliers and newspaper reports that included many mentions of “Rod” Piper’s Maritimes run at http://mapleleafwrestling.yuku.com/topic/58/Forty-years-ago-this-week-1975#.V4T-rNIrKHs. Background on Eileen Eaton and Roddy’s run in Los Angeles came from Gene LeBell and his self-published book, The Godfather of Grappling (Gene LeBell Enterprises, LLC: Santa Monica, 2003), as well as our interview with Chavo Guerrero Sr. The late Leo Garibaldi is quoted from http://www.prowrestlingdigest.com/2012/08/12/lano-red-bastien-king-of-men/. Roddy also discusses Los Angeles with Chavo Guerrero Jr. on a pilot episode of The Chavo Show, available online from geeknation.com. The story of Victor the Bear receives an overdue telling on Deadspin: http://deadspin.com/the-amazing-true-story-of-victor-the-wrestling-bear-1531930655.
4
Thanks for the Blood and Guts, Kid
Stan Hansen assisted greatly in our understanding of Roddy’s first tour to Japan and in helping us understand the Japanese wrestling culture when Roddy was there. Roddy interviewed at length for the book about his experiences in Japan. We cross referenced dates and details of his matches there with the following list: http://www.puroresu.com/forum/threads/5182-Roddy-Piper-in-Japan. Ned York’s mistakenly being arrested as the Hillside Strangler comes from Roddy; background about victim Jane King came from https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/2164686. We determined Jane King was the victim who knew Ned York by surveying bios online of the victims and the dates when Roddy was in Los Angeles between Japan runs—she was the only actress murdered while he was home from overseas. Roddy told the story of Tiger Nelson to Colt and his editor. A lengthier account is available in Roddy’s first book.
5
Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You
Rick Martel provided us with much of the insight about his and Roddy’s friendship in Portland. Background on Roddy’s Hawaii trip was aided by http://www.50thstatebigtimewrestling.com/history5.html. Further stories and insights come from two podcast interviews with Luke Williams on Piper’s Pit 44 and 45, and our mother, Kitty Toombs. We learned more about the strange life of Chris Colt from this article, originally published in Betty Paginated #31: http://docriot.blogspot.ca/2011/07/down-and-out-with-chris-colt.html.
6
Flair and the Family Man
Len Denton and Tom Prichard provided valuable insights into Roddy’s Charlotte/Atlanta years, as did Kitty Toombs and Luke Williams’ podcast interview. Background on George Scott came from http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/wwf-mastermind-and-promoter-george-scott-dies-at-84/2162810. Ric Flair’s story came from episode 14 of his podcast, WOOOOO! Nation with Ric Flair. Greg Valentine is quoted from Piper’s Pit podcast #60. We learned some useful context about the first Starrcade from David Ungar at the blog Attitude of Aggression (http://www.attitudeofaggression.com/1983-starrcade-and-the-emergence-of-the-supercard-2/) and also at https://anokasflawless.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/and-im-like-goin-old-school-in-nwa-starrcade-1983-a-flair-for-the-gold/.
7
A Despicable, Disgraceful Display
Bret Hart and Mitch Ackerman gave us wonderful interviews about Roddy’s rise to national prominence after he joined the WWF. Roddy’s stories about Bob Orton Jr. came from Piper’s Pit podcast #32. Roddy’s comments about Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake at WrestleMania 3 came from his appearance on Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show episode 81.
8
All Outta Bubble Gum
Background on Hell Comes to Frogtown came from the last known interview with the film’s creator, Donald G. Jackson, available at http://www.scottshaw.com/dgjinterview.html. Roddy’s comments about that film and They Live were mostly made to his editor. Additional sources include a panel discussion with co-stars Keith David and Meg Foster at the Days of the Dead horror convention in Atlanta in February 2013 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5PfgVgdgZI), Roddy’s interview with director John Carpenter on Piper’s Pit podcast #37, and the audio commentary by Roddy and John Carpenter and a “Making of They Live” from the Collector’s Edition DVD of They Live. Our account of Roddy’s return to the WWF was aided greatly by our interview with Bruce Prichard. The story of Tag Team came from Mitch Ackerman. Roddy’s comments on WrestleMania 6 were made to his editor and on the July 12, 2012, episode of his Rod Pod podcast. Background on Shepard Fairey and the cultural influence of They Live was supported by http://www.lataco.com/they-live-tribute-art/.
9
Frats
We discussed Roddy’s non-wrestling commercial activities with his former UK manager, Freya Miller, and his US pursuits with manager Noelle Kim. Accounts of the Zahorian steroid trial come from Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment by Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham (Three Rivers Press: New York, 2002) and Roddy’s first book. Additional comments from “Superstar” Billy Graham and Ivan “Polish Power” Putski are quoted from the LA Times, March 12, 1992, in an article by John Cherwa and Houston Mitchell, “Wrestling’s Star Takes a Tumble.” Vince McMahon’s admission that he used steroids has been widely reported, including at http://www.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/mcmahon-vince.html.
The sexual abuse scandal is discussed in many places, including Mike Mooneyham’s own site: http://www.mikemooneyham.com/2002/10/20/past-still-haunts-former-wwf-ring-boy/; as well as http://wrestlingperspective.com/issue/78/cole1.html. Roddy’s story about the ninja was one of his favourites, and he told this iteration to his editor. Big Show told us his story about Roddy himself. The Los Angeles car crash and the circumstances surrounding it were told by Roddy to his editor. Snippets of HBO’s Real Sports interviews with Roddy and Vince McMahon are available on YouTube.
10
Finish
The stories of Roddy’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame come in part from his friend and “Coach,” Barry Kolin. Roddy’s fateful run as tag-team champion to the UK was informed by our very helpful interview with “Edge” Adam Copeland, as well as an account of the Glasgow event written for WrestleView.com by Adam Martin (http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1163041553.shtml). The story of Roddy’s forgotten black belt came from Noelle Kim and Gene LeBell. Details of the death of Buddy Rose originated here: http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/buddy-rose-found-dead/; details of Randy Savage, here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1643969-the-final-days-of-randy-macho-man-savage. Besides Ariel’s own recollection of the Kress nightclub incident, Roddy told the story to his editor. The Bleacher Report article about Roddy’s supposed second bout with cancer is here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/267986-sad-sad-day-wwe-hall-of-famer-rowdy-roddy-piper-may-be-gone-soon. Details of Roddy’s final TMZ interview came from our interview with Roddy’s manager, Bill Philputt.
Image Credits
Unless otherwise stated below, all images appearing in Rowdy are from the personal collections of the authors or Kitty Toombs.
pai1 “Wrestling hurts…” Photo courtesy of Tom Prichard.
pai2 “Setting the stage…” Walter Iooss Jr. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr./Sport
s Illustrated/Getty Images).
pai3 “Bruce Prichard as…” Photo courtesy of Bruce Prichard.
pai4 “Mitch Ackerman…” Photo by Mike Lano, courtesy of Mitch Ackerman.
pai5 “Right where ‘Uncle Gene’…” Photo courtesy of Gene Lebell.
pai6 “Ariel and Roddy…” Maury Phillips / Contributor, via Getty Images.
pai7 “Bruce Prichard on…” Photo courtesy of Bruce Prichard.
pai8 “Piper’s Pit podcast…” Photo courtesy of Earl Skakel.
pai9 “Making music again…” Photo courtesy of Alan Snoddy.
pai10 “The last word…” Photo courtesy of Bill Philputt.
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