Lisa Purves, the filmmaker, was born Oct. 26, 1968, in Vancouver. At the time, her mother, Vera Pinter, lived across the street from a boarding house that hosted wrestlers on the local promotion. The way it was later explained to Lisa: Her mother met Rocky through a mutual acquaintance, and on their first date they went to a Little Richard concert. Soon after, Rocky and Vera moved in together.
When Vera was four months pregnant, Lisa says, Rocky traveled to a wrestling show. He wrote a letter saying that he’d be back, adding “P.S.: I still love you” at the bottom and signing the note with a nickname he used long before his son ever did, “The Rock.” But he never returned. When he called on the night before Lisa was born it marked the last time Vera would hear from him. She learned shortly afterward that Rocky was already married and had kids.