The former football star and ‘Naked Gun’ star had announced he had cancer last year.
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O.J. Simpson – athlete, actor, and accused murderer – has died. Simpson died of cancer yesterday at age 76. According to a statement released by his family to Deadline, Simpson “was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
Orenthal James Simpson was born in 1947 in San Francisco, California. After a troubled youth, he became a star running back for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1968. After college, he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, and led the league in rushing for four seasons. Nicknamed “Juice”, he was a fan favorite and one of the league’s biggest stars, but was beset by injury and discipline issues, and was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he played his final two seasons before retiring. With his football career over, he turned to the screen. He’d begun his acting career while still at USC, appearing in an episode of Dragnet, and starred in films and TV shows including Roots, The Towering Inferno, and Capricorn One during his NFL career. His most memorable role, however, came in the Naked Gun comedies, where he played the luckless Detective Nordberg.
