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TANYA ROBERTS, FEMALE LEAD IN 'BODYSLAM THE MOVIE', PASSES AWAY, CAUSE OF DEATH REVEALED

 

Actress Tanya Roberts, best known to wrestling fans as the female lead in the Roddy Piper-Dirk Benedict film Bodyslam The Movie, passed away on Monday at 9 PM Pacific time, hours after her death had been prematured announced.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the sad news that actress Tanya Roberts, who had a long career with appearances in multiple films and TV  series, passed away at 65, just a week after collapsing while walking her dogs in California.   Roberts' death was a result of a urinary tract infection that had spread to her liver and bloodstream.

Roberts, best known as a Bond Girl in A View to a Kill, had a long career where she was the female lead in Marc Singer cult classic action film The Beast Master and numerous film and television projects.  

Starring Roddy Piper, Tanya Roberts, The Tonga Kid, Lou Albano, Dirk Benedict and more, Bodyslam the Movie was directed by legendary stuntman Hal Needham, the plot of the film - "A down-on-his-luck music manager (Benedict) for the fictional rock band Kick finds his luck changing when he by mistake also starts managing a successful wrestling duo (Piper and Tonga Kid)."  The film received a small, limited theatrical run in November 1986 before being released to home video in early 1987 with Roberts as Candace Vandervagen, the daughter of a wealthy politician who eventually falls for Benedict over the course of the film.

Bodyslam featured tons of cameos from wrestling personalities, including Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino, Afa, Sika, The Barbarian, Teijo Khan, Freddie Blassie, Adnan Al-Kaissie and more.    It is slated for a DVD and Blu-Ray release later this year under the Kino Lorber Studio Classics banner.

PWInsider.com extends our deepest sympathies to Roberts' family, friends and fans.

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