| Woody Strode |
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Strode and fellow UCLA alumnus Kenny Washington were two of the first African-American s to play in the National Football League , playing for the Los Angeles Rams . After a few years, he moved to the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League . He also spent a few years in Professional Wrestling , wrestling the likes of Gorgeous George . As an actor, he made his screen debut in 1941 in ''Sundown'', but became more active in the 1950s in roles that required little more than his physical presence, such as dual roles in '' The Ten Commandments '' (1956) as an Ethiopia n king as well as a slave. He became a close friend of director John Ford , who gave him his the title role in ''Sergeant Rutledge'' (1960) as a member of the Ninth Cavalry falsely accused of rape and murder; he would later appear in smaller roles in Ford's later films, '' Two Rode Together '' (1961) and '' The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance '' (1962). However, he is probably best remembered for his brief role in '' Spartacus '' (1960) where he fights Kirk Douglas to the death. In 1966 he landed a major starring role in '' The Professionals '', with Lee Marvin , Burt Lancaster , and Robert Ryan , a major box-office success which (almost) established him as a major star. Another notable part was as a gunslinger in the opening sequence of Sergio Leone 's '' Once Upon A Time In The West '' (1968). Strode died of Lung Cancer on December 31, 1994, in Glendora, California . He is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, Calif. TRIVIA
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