Dusty Rhodes was an American professional wrestler. Rhodes was the father of Goldust/Dustin Rhodes and Cody Rhodes.

Without the classic physique of a wrestler, he managed to gain a large share of popularity among the public, especially during his period in the National Wrestling Alliance, thanks to his willpower, charisma and his attitude as a simple and modest, but very ambitious person and friendly.

Rhodes played the character of the worker who toils all day to feed his children and was someone the average American could relate to. Also famous were his gab and microphone skills during promos, such as the famous Hard Times speech. With the transition to the World Wrestling Federation, he was officially recognized as the one who had achieved the American dream, but he failed to achieve noteworthy successes in the new federation, being delegated to less and less important roles also due to the onset of age.

He won three NWA World Heavyweight Championships, one NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, three NWA World Television Championships, two NWA World Tag Team Championships, and two NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championships, plus numerous other regional titles.

Rhodes was found on the ground in his home on June 10, 2015 and taken to an Orlando hospital where he died at the age of 69. On the June 15 episode of Raw, a minute of silence was observed to commemorate his disappearance.