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Hollywood and Its Athletes, Part 1 - The Entertainment Chronicles - Entertainment Trivia
Hollywood and Its Athletes, Part 1
Basketball's Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal weren't the first famous athletes to appear in major films.
During Hollywood's silent film era in 1920, baseball's Babe Ruth appeared in at least three films: How Babe Ruth Hits a Home Run, Heading Home, and Play Ball with Babe Ruth. He was also in a number of films before his death in 1948, usually cast as himself, including the acclaimed The Pride of the Yankees. "The Babe" did a lot of product endorsements, including Wheaties cereal.
Here are eleven other famous athletes of the past and present who turned to show business - some for better, some for worst; some for a fleeting moment, others for a lifetime:
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| Larry Bird: | Entertainment Pursuits | | basketball Hall of Famer; multiple-NBA champion for Boston Celtics; 12-time NBA All-Star; All-Star Game MVP (1982); NBA MVP (1984, 1985, 1986); 3-time All-NBA Defensive Second Team Member (1982-84); Olympic Dream Team gold medallist; first player in NBA history to shoot over 50 percent from the field and over 90 percent from the foul line; career 24.3 scoring average; nicknamed "Larry Legend" | Films include Blue Chips (1994), Celtic Pride (1996), Space Jam (1996); endearing TV commercials with Michael Jordan. |
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| Brian Bosworth: | Entertainment Pursuits | | football; NFL line backer for Seattle Seahawks | Films include Stone Cold (1991), One Tough Bastard (1995), Blackout (1996), Three Kings (1999), The Operative (2000), Mach 2 (2000); starred in short-lived TV series Lawless; commentator for the XFL football league. |
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| Dick Button: | Entertainment Pursuits | | figure skating Olympic gold medallist | Films include The Young Doctors (1961), The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978); had own television show for many years in 1950s; TV guest appearances include Beverly Hills 90201 and cameo voice for Animaniacs. |
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| Don Drysdale: | Entertainment Pursuits | | baseball Hall of Famer; pitcher for Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1956-69); pitched record 6 shutouts in a row (1968); Cy Young Award (1962); star basketball player at UCLA and elected to Basketball Hall of Fame in February, 1993 | Made-for-TV films include Flashing Spikes (1962); TV cameos and roles include The Rifleman, Leave It to Beaver, Cowboy in Africa, Then Came Bronson, The Brady Bunch, The Greatest American Hero. |
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| Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier: | Entertainment Pursuits | | football; All-Pro defensive tackle with New York Giants, later with Los Angeles Rams (1950s and 1960s), where he was leader of the "Fearsome Foursome," acclaimed by experts as being the best defensive line in football history; established the national headquarters of non-profit organization "Are You Committed"; inducted into New Jersey's Sports Hall of Fame (1997) | In TV mini-series Roots: The Next Generation (1979); regular cast member in several TV series: Daniel Boone, Make Room for Granddaddy, Movin' On, The White Shadow; films include Skyjacked (1972), Evil in the Deep (1976), Rabbit Test (1978), The Glove (1978), The Gong Show Movie (1980), The Sophisticated Gent (made-for-TV 1981), Reggie’s Prayer (1996); TV cameos include The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Dream of Jeannie, Kojak, Chico and the Man, CHiPs, The Love Boat, The Jeffersons, The Larry Sanders Show. |
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| Sonja Henie: | Entertainment Pursuits | | ice skating; multiple Olympic gold medallist; held record for youngest ice skating Olympic medallist for decades | Films include One in a Million (1936), Thin Ice (1937), Happy Landing (1938), My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939), Everything Happens at Night (1939), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Iceland (1942), Wintertime (1943), It's a Pleasure (1945), The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948), Hello London (1958). |
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| Joe Namath: | Entertainment Pursuits | | football Hall of Famer; quarterback for the New York Jets (1965-76) and Los Angeles Rams (1977); All-American quarterback at Alabama; MVP of Super Bowl III; nicknamed "Broadway Joe" | Films include Norwood (1970), C.C. and Company (1970), and Avalanche Express (1979); TV cameo appearances include The Sonny and Cher Show, Here’s Lucy, The Brady Bunch, and Kate & Allie, and more; cast regular on the 1970s TV series The Waverly Wonders and star of short-lived The Joe Namath Show in 1969; appeared in many TV commercials, including an unforgettable 1974 pantyhose commercial. |
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| Mark Spitz: | Entertainment Pursuits | | swimming; Olympic multiple-gold medallist; during swimming career, set 26 individual world records in the freestyle and butterfly, also contributing to 7 relay world records; world swimmer of the year (1967, 1971, 1972); inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer (1977); named among the century's 50 greatest athletes on ESPN | Made-for-TV films include Challenge of a Lifetime (1985); TV cameo appearances include Emergency! |
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| Kerri Strug: | Entertainment Pursuits | | gymnast; part of the gold medal-winning U.S. women's gymnastic Olympic team in 1996; won the 1996 Olympic Spirit award; was the youngest U.S. athlete at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona | TV cameo appearances include Beverly Hills 90201. |
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| Johnny Weismuller: | Entertainment Pursuits | | swimming champion; undefeated winner of five Olympic gold medals, 67 world and 52 national titles; holder of many freestyle records | Films include many Tarzan and Jungle Jim films, including Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), Tarzan and His Mate (1934), Tarzan Escapes (1936), Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939), Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), Tarzan Triumphs (1943), Tarzan and the Amazons (1945), Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948), Jungle Jim (1948), The Lost Tribe (1949), Pygmy Island (1950), Fury of the Congo (1951), Voodoo Tiger (1952), Jungle Jim In the Forbidden Land (1952), Valley of Head Hunters (1953), Killer Ape (1953), Jungle Man-Eaters (1954), Cannibal Attack (1954); starred in the TV series Jungle Jim (1955). |
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| Jesse Ventura: | Entertainment Pursuits | | wrestling; 10 years with American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation; went on to become mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and later, governor of Minnesota; nicknamed "The Body" and "The Mind" | Films include Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987), Thunderground (1989), No Holds Barred (1989), Ricochet (1991), Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe (1991), Demolition Man (1993), Major League II (1994), Batman and Robin (1997), Six Days in Roswell (1998); film series Wrestlemania; TV cameos and roles include The X-Files, Small Wonder, Hunter, Arli$$, The Young and the Restless; color commentary for the Minnesota Vikings radio network; radio talk-show host. |
Author: Vicki McClure Davidson
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