Thursday, April 17, 2008

Nose-talgia: Roddy Piper and "Piper's Pit"

Back in the day, back when professional wrestling was in the glory days -- the mid-1980s -- of its resurgence as viable entertainment to a valuable demographic, there was no more entertaining wrestler than Rowdy Roddy Piper, the (mostly) bad guy with the gift of gab. He had his own segment on WWE (then the WWF) broadcasts called "Piper's Pit" where he interviewed other wrestlers and created his own unique brand of havoc. You might have heard about the time he attacked Jimmy "Superfly" Snukka with a coconut, but I've chosen a clip where Roddy talks to the late great Andre the Giant.

If you weren't into wrestling you'll at least remember Andre from his wonderful role in the movie The Princess Bride from 1987, and Roddy Piper also made a slew of movies including 1988's more-relevant-than-ever John Carpenter-directed science fiction classic They Live. My Nose-talgia choice has special relevance because it's Piper's 54th birthday today; if you're so inclined you can go on over to his website and wish him a Happy Birthday!

2 comments:

Jane said...

What a cool blast from the past. I remember Rowdy Roddy and Andre the giant and of course who could ever forget Hulk Hogan. Do you remember when we saw the Hulk at Natpe in San Francisco back in the 80's! Very cool post, Lisoid!

Lisa said...

I believe that we also had a wonderful conversation with the brilliant Jesse "The Body" Ventura, way before he was Governor of Minnesota! He was spectacular and articulate and one of the best of the bunch!