https://www.cbr.com/pepper-martin-obit/

Superman II Actor and Pro Wrestler Pepper Martin Has Died at 85

BY NARAYAN LIU

Actor and pro-wrestler Howard "Pepper" Martin died at the age of 85. He
passed away on March 18 following a long battle with cancer. He was
surrounded by family when he died.

After some time with the Navy, which he joined by lying about his age
when he was 16, Martin began a career as a wrestler and went on to win
a number of titles, beginning with the Pacific Northwest heavyweight
title, which he won five times between 1964 and 1966. Not too longer
after, an injury pushed him to set his sights elsewhere, and Howard
began a film career with Angels From Hell, directed by Bruce Kessler
and went on to appear in major titles including Superman II.

In the 1980 film, Martin played Rocky, a truck driver Clark Kent and
Lois Lane encounter at a diner they stop at on the way back to
Metropolis from the Fortress of Solitude. This came at a time when
Superman had lost his powers. Howard shared a brief fight scene with
actor Christopher Reeve. He defeats the depowered superhero and appears
again later on after Clark regains his powers and evens the score. But
Superman II was not the only comic book project Martin was involved in.
The wrestler and actor also appeared in a number of television shows,
including the 1978 series, The Incredible Hulk, in the episode "Killer
Instinct."

The late character actor Pepper Martin NEVER EVER to be confused with the late St. Louis Cardinals star Pepper Martin--born on Leap Year Day 1904!--who led the so-called Gashouse Gang to their 1931 triumph over the Philadelphia Athletics in a wild 7-game World Series that was a rematch of the previous series, which the Athletics won in six games.

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida