 |
Hollywood and Its Athletes, Part 2 - The Entertainment Chronicles - Entertainment Trivia
Hollywood and Its Athletes, Part 2
During moviedom's silent era, baseball legend Ty Cobb appeared in Somewhere in Georgia (1916) and in a cameo in Angels in the Outfield (1951) (released as Angels and the Pirates in the United Kingdom). Joe DiMaggio also appeared in Angels in the Outfield.
Jake LaMotta, middleweight boxing champion and subject of Raging Bull (1980), was in several films. He played a bartender in the 1961 pool film The Hustler; 14-time world billiards champion Willie Masconi also made a cameo in that film.
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:
|
| Jim Brown: | Entertainment Pursuits | | football and lacrosse Hall of Famer; fullback for the NFL's Cleveland Browns (1957-65); inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1971); president of Richard Pryor's production company for several years | Films include Rio Conchos (1964), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Dark of the Sun (1968), The Split (1968), Ice Station Zebra (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), The Grasshopper (1970), Black Gunn (1972), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973), The Slams (1973), Three the Hard Way (1974), Fingers (1978), The Running Man (1987), Mars Attacks! (1996), He Got Game (1998), I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988). |
|
|
| Dick Butkus: | Entertainment Pursuits | | football; two-time All-American line backer | Films include Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976), Deadly Games (1982), Johnny Dangerously (1984), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Necessary Roughness (1991); American TV series and mini-series include Rich Man, Poor Man, My Two Dads, Hang Time; TV commercials include Miller Lite and Lipton Brew with Bob Uecker and Bubba Smith |
|
|
| Buster Crabbe: | Entertainment Pursuits | | swimming; 1932 Olympic 400-meter free-style swimming championship, won bronze medal in the 1500-meter free-style championship at Amsterdam | Starred in many B-film series, including those as Tarzan, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Billy the Kid; films include The Thundering Herd (1933), Tarzan the Fearless (1933), Man of the Forest (1933), King of the Jungle (1933), Search for Beauty (1934), Badge of Honor (1934), Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935), Nevada (1935), Drift Fence (1936), Arizona Mahoney (1936), Flash Gordon (1936), Murder Goes to College (1937), Forlorn River (1937), Daughter of Shanghai (1937), Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938), Tip-Off Girls (1938), Mars Attacks the World (1938), Illegal Traffic (1938), Call a Messenger (1939), Million Dollar Legs (1939), Colorado Sunset (1939), Sky Patrol (1940), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940), Buck Rogers (1940), Billy the Kid Wanted (1941), Jungle Man (1941), Billy the Kid's Roundup (1941), Billy the Kid Trapped (1942), Queen of Broadway (1942), Law and Order (1942), The Renegade (1943), The Drifter (1944), The Gangster's Den (1945), Shadows of Death (1945), Gentlemen with Guns (1946), Prairie Badmen (1946), Outlaw of the Redmen (1947), Planet Outlaws (1953), Gunfighters of Abilene (1960), The Bounty Killer (1965); TV series include starring in Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion in 1950s, TV guest appearance on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in 1970s. |
|
|
| Whitey Ford: | Entertainment Pursuits | | baseball Hall of Famer; pitcher for the New York Yankees (1950, 1953-67); 1961 Cy Young Award winner; World Series records include most wins (10), most consecutive scoreless innings (33), and most strikeouts (94); best winning percentage of 20th-century pitchers; nicknamed "Chairman of the Board" and "Slick" | Films include Country Fair (1941), Safe at Home (1962), It's My Turn (1980), New York Yankees: The Movie (1987); broadcast the first Blue Jays game on April 7, 1977, filling in for fellow Hall of Famer Early Wynn. |
|
|
| Hulk Hogan: | Entertainment Pursuits | | wrestling; World Wrestling champion (1984-91); left WWF organization following steroid scandal; nicknamed "Hollywood Hogan" and "The Hulkster" | Films include Rocky III (1982), Bimini Code (1984), No Holds Barred (1989), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Suburban Commando (1991), King of the Ring (1993), Mr. Nanny (1993), Spy Hard (1996), The Secret Agent Club (1996), The Ultimate Weapon (1997), 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998), Muppets from Space (1999); film series Wrestlemania, Survivor; TV cameos and roles include The A-Team, Search for Tomorrow, Dolly, Baywatch, Space Ghost Coast to Coast. |
|
|
| Alex Karras: | Entertainment Pursuits | | football tackle for the Detroit Lions (1958-71); 1956 Rose Bowl championship team with the Hawkeyes; Outland Trophy, 1957; 1957 inaugural class of Iowa Lettermen's Club Hall of Fame | Prominent actor in many U.S. made-for-TV films during the 1970s; films include Paper Lion (1968), The Great Lester Boggs (1974), Blazing Saddles (1974), FM (1978), When Time Ran Out... (1980), Porky's (1981), Nobody's Perfekt (1981), Victor/Victoria (1982), Against All Odds (1984); costarred in 1980s TV series Webster, mini-series Centennial (1978), Masada (1981). |
|
|
| Willie Mays: | Entertainment Pursuits | | baseball Hall of Famer; center fielder for the National League's New York/San Francisco Giants (1951-72) and New York Mets (1972-73); National League's Rookie of the Year (1951); National League's MVP (1954, 1965); first player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season: 3,283 hits, 660 career home runs, and .302 batting average; nicknamed "'Say Hey' Kid" | Films include When Nature Calls (1985), Michael Jordan to the Max (2000) Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years (2000); TV cameos include The Donna Reed Show, Bewitched. |
|
|
| Pelé: | Entertainment Pursuits | | Brazilian soccer legend; won three World Cup with his National Team (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970); scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches; scored more than 1,200 goals during career; International Peace Award (1978); NOC's Athlete of the Century in 1980; United States Soccer Hall of Fame (1998); nicknamed Perola Negra (Black Pearl) and "O Rei/El Rey" (The King) | American films include Victory (1981), Hotshot (1987); several Brazilian TV series, including História de Amor (1995) and host of sports commentary on Latin America sports channel Pan-American Sports Network (PSN); TV commercials include MasterCard. |
|
|
| Cathy Rigby: | Entertainment Pursuits | | Olympic gymnast; first U.S. Olympian to be nominated for Broadway's Tony Award | Starred in successful stage show and made-for-TV show of Peter Pan; made-for-TV films include The Great Wallendas (1978), Challenge of a Lifetime (1985), Perfect Body (1997); TV guest roles on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Ghostwriter. |
|
|
| Pete Rose: | Entertainment Pursuits | | baseball; all-time hits champion; banned from baseball for gambling | Made-for-TV films include Babe Ruth (1991), Savage Skies (1996), film series of Wrestlemania; TV cameos include Arli$$, Veronica's Closet. |
|
|
| Kurt Thomas: | Entertainment Pursuits | | gymnast; became first American in 46 years to win a gold medal at a World Championship, when he won the floor exercise title in 1978; became a three-time world champion (1979) when he defended his floor exercise title and added a high bar gold medal; missed going to the Olympics because of President Carter's boycott of 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow | Starred in one ill-fated film, Gymkata (1985). |
Author: Vicki McClure Davidson
|
|
|
