From the CBC archives: 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper hosts 2006 comedy festival
Piper, 61, died of natural causes in his Hollywood home on July 31, 2015
Everyone knew him as one of the top wrestling villains in WWE history, but 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and his mean persona also knew how to work a crowd looking for a laugh.
Piper was invited to host the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival in 2006, in part because he grew up in Winnipeg. His initial reaction to that invitation?
"I thought they were nuts," Piper told CBC over a decade ago. "Do you know my reputation?"
Over his 30-year-career, the Saskatoon-born WWE hall-of-famer became about as famous for his mouth as for his moves. He had a handful of forays into the acting world and proved a formidable host on the stage at the Winnipeg comedy festival.
"I don't know that I would've hosted it if it were in some other place. I lived all over the place as a kid, but I started my professional wrestling career here," Piper said.
"I'm kind of like an adopted hometown child and I'm proud to be."
The 61-year-old wrestling icon died on Friday, July 31, 2015.