Pepper Martin

Pepper Martin, born Howard Martin, was a Canadian-American performer who worked first as a professional wrestler and later as an actor. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1936, he died in 2022. He broke into wrestling in 1957, toured several territories, and had his greatest success in the Pacific Northwest, where he won the heavyweight title five times and also called matches as a commentator. His first feature film came in 1968 with Angels from Hell, and his credits included Walking Tall (1973), The Longest Yard (1974), Scream (1981) and Return to Horror High (1987). He was perhaps best known for playing Rocky, a truck driver who fights Superman in Superman II (1980). Television work followed on The Rockford Files, Mannix, The Incredible Hulk, I Dream of Jeannie, The Mod Squad and Police Woman, and in 1972 he acted in a revival of The Time of Your Life in Los Angeles.