Professional wrestler and actor “Rowdy” Roddy Piper died in his sleep of a heart attack on Thursday night. He was 61.

Although Piper’s wrestling career began in his teens in his native Canada, he would reach prominence in the mid-1980’s as Hulk Hogan’s arch rival at the first Wrestlemania. After years as one of wrestling’s most hated villains, he would become one of its most beloved stars. Heel or face, Piper had no rival on the mike with his Piper’s Pit show.

Piper also occasionally acted in TV and in movies most notably in the 1988 cult horror flick They Live. 

A decade ago, Piper was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. But he continued to periodically make appearances with the WWE. 

Here is Piper being interviewed by Arsenio Hall back in 1989. Where has all the time gone?