Arguably one of the best running backs in NFL history, Simpson gained celebrity carrying the ball for the Buffalo Bills. With a broad handsome face and winning smile, his transition from sports hero to performer was a natural one. Simpson began his off-field assignments by hosting segments of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" and popping up in movies such as "The Klansman", opposite Richard Burton, and "The Towering Inferno" (both 1974), opposite everybody. He became less enchanted with football and more interested in showbiz though he continued to play the game until 1979. Simpson became best known to the general public as the spokesman for the Hertz car rental company in a series of popular TV ads which began airing in 1975. He was featured performing his patented broken-field running style--in a business suit--en route to a departing plane. These commercials soon became the hallmark of the company and kept Simpson in the public eye.
After his retirement from football, Simpson ventured fulltime into broadcasting and acting, working as a commentator for ABC's "Monday Night Football" and NBC's "NFL Live" pre-game show. In 1986 he joined the cast of HBO's football sitcom, "1st & Ten" as fictional former running back great T.D. Parker, a part he played for five years. Simpson returned to features with a supporting role as the accident-prone officer Nordberg in "The Naked Gun--From the Files of Police Squad!" (1988) and its two sequels.
In June 1994, Simpson was detained and questioned by the LAPD regarding the murder of his estranged wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. This occurred five years after Simpson pleaded no-contest to beating his wife, serving 200 hours of community service and paying a nominal fine. On July 17, 1994 Simpson was arrested and charged with two counts of murder after leading the LAPD on televised car chase throughout Los Angeles. On the Monday following his arrest Simpson pleaded not guilty to both murders, and the subsequent murder trial received a staggering amount of international publicity from the news and mass media. After a brief deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" on October 3, 1995. Two years later, however, a civil jury found him liable for damages in the murders.
- Also Credited As:
'The Juice', O.J. Simpson, Orenthal James Simpson
- Born:
July 9, 1947 in San Francisco, California
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Job Titles:
Actor, Sports commentator, Football player
Significant Others
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Companion: Christie Prody. dated in 1999; made claim in September 2000 that Simpson broke into her house but did not file formal complaint; later made claims that Simpson had described in detail the murders of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, charges Simpson vehemently denied
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Companion: Paula Barbieri. no longer together
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Wife: Nicole Simpson. born on May 19, 1959; married on February 2, 1985; ; sued Simpson for divorce February 1992; divorce finalized in October 1992; murdered outside her Brentwood, California home on June 13, 1994
Education
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City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 1964-66
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University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 1968
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Galileo High School, San Francisco, California
Milestones
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1969 Played for the Bills for nine years
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1969 Became one of the highest paid football players in history when signed to a $400,000 four-year contract
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1969 Signed to the Buffalo Bills as number one draft pick
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1973 Broke the previous all-time record held by Jim Brown for yards run in a season with 2,003 yards
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1974 Feature acting debut, "The Klansman"
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1976 Signed a three-year contract with the Bills for $2.5 million over three years
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1977 First leading role, the TV-movie "A Killing Affair"
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1977 TV acting debut, "Roots"
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1977 TV debut (non-football related), "Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes"
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1979 Retired from pro football
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1979 TV producing debut (as executive producer), "Goldie and the Boxer"
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1988 Returned to features after a four-year absence with a supporting role in the hit comedy "The Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad!" and its two sequels
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1989 Ordered to take psychiatric counseling and put on two years' probation after pleading no-contest to beating his wife Nicole
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1994 Charged and arrested in the double murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, June 17
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1994 Detained and questioned following the murder of his wife Nicole and her associate Ron Goldman
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1994 Led the LAPD on a car chase around Los Angeles for several hours before turning himself in, June 17
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1994 Pleaded not guilty to the charges of double murder, June 20
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1995 Acquitted of the double murder of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman, October 3
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1997 Found guilty of the murder of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman by civil jury, February 4
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Joined the cast of HBO's football series "1st & Ten"
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Raised in Potrero Hill section of San Francisco
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Signed a six-figure deal as spokesman for car rental company, Hertz Corp.; Made commercials and advertisements for the company
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Traded to the San Francisco 49ers
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Worked as a commentator on Monday Night Football
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Worked as an anchor on ABC's "Wide World of Sports"