O. J. Simpson
Known for: Acting
Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024) was an American football player, actor, and broadcaster. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills, and is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. Once a popular figure with the American public, Simpson's professional success was later overshadowed by his trial and controversial acquittal for the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. Simpson played college football for the USC Trojans, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected first overall by the Bills in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft. During his nine seasons with the Bills, Simpson received five consecutive Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections from 1972 to 1976. He also led the league in rushing yards four times, in rushing touchdowns twice, and in points scored in 1975. In 1973, he became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, earning him NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), and is the only NFL player to do so in a 14-game regular season. Simpson holds the record for the single-season yards-per-game average at 143.1. After retiring with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979, Simpson pursued an acting and broadcasting career. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. In June 1994, Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders of Brown and Goldman. He was acquitted in a lengthy and internationally publicized trial, but found liable for the deaths three years later in a civil suit from the victims' families. Prior to his death, Simpson had paid little of the $33.5 million judgment (equivalent to $64 million in 2023). In 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. In 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to 33 years' imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole. He served his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center near Lovelock, Nevada. He was granted parole in July 2017, released from prison in October, and granted early release from his parole in December 2021 by the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation. He died in 2024 at the age of 76 from prostate cancer. Description above from the Wikipedia article O. J. Simpson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self (uncredited)
1975
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
Late Night with David Letterman
Self
1982
Series
Ironside
Onlooker (uncredited)
1967
Series
Panorama
1953
Series
The Name of the Game
Gas Chamber Prison Guard (uncredited)
1968
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Series
Medical Center
1969
Series
Here's Lucy
O.J. Simpson
1968
Series
Dragnet
Potential Recruit (uncredited)
1967
Series
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Simms
1971
Series
Basketball: A Love Story
Self (archive footage)
2018
Series
Monday Night Football
Running Back
1970
Series
Dark Side of the Ring
2019
Series
Entertainment Tonight
Self
1981
Series
1st & Ten
T.D. Parker
1984
Series
It Takes a Thief
Airplane Passenger (uncredited)
1968
Series
Roots
Kadi Touray
1977
Series
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
Self (archive footage)
2017
Series
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
1971
Film
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Nordberg
1988
Series
The Wonderful World of Disney
Self
1954
Series
Adventures in Wonderland
O.J. Simpson
1992
Series
Tiger King
Self (archive footage)
2020
Series
Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Nordberg
1994
Film
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Nordberg
1991
Series
The Captain and Tennille
Self - Guest
1976
Series
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
The Towering Inferno
Jernigan
1974
Film
Capricorn One
Cmdr. John Walker
1977
Series
Ruby Wax Meets
1996
Series
When Ruby Wax Met...
Self (archive footage)
2021
Film
The Cassandra Crossing
Haley
1976
Series
American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson
Self (archive footage)
2025
Series
Killer Sally
Self - Acquitted of Double Homicide (archive footage)
2022
Film
Back to the Beach
Man At Airport (uncredited)
1987
Film
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
2016
Series
OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil
Self (archive footage)
2026
Film
Bamboozled
Self (archive footage)(uncredited)
2000
OJ Unseen: Exploitation of Evil
Self
2026
Series
The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson
Self (archive footage)
2024
Film
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary
Self
1989
Film
No Place to Hide
Allie Wheeler
1992
Film
O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?
Self (archive footage)
2018
Series
OJ25
2020
Superstunt II
Self
1979
Film
The Klansman
Garth
1974
Film
The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
Self
1980
Film
Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood
Joe Gallagher
1981
Film
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Self (archive footage)
1980
Film
C.I.A. Code Name: Alexa
Nick Murphy
1992
Film
Midnight Blue, Vol. 3: Celebrities Edition
Self (archive footage)
2006
Film
Cocaine and Blue Eyes
Michael Brennen
1983
Film
Student Exchange
Soccer Coach
1987
Film
A Killing Affair
Woodrow York
1977
Film
2012: Time for Change
Self (archive footage)
2010
Film
Firepower
Catlett
1979
Film
Richard Lewis: I'm Doomed
Self
1990
Film
Goldie and the Boxer
Joe Gallagher
1979
Film
Killer Force
Alexander
1976
Film
History of the Buffalo Bills
Self (archive footage)
2009
Film
Hambone and Hillie
Tucker
1983
Film
The Dream of Hamish Mose
1969
Film
Detour to Terror
Lee Hayes
1980
Film
Most Famous Murder: The O.J. Simpson Trial
Self (archive footage)
2024
Film
Wide World of Sports: 1970's A Decade in Review
(archive footage)
1979
Film
Elway
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
Juiced with O.J. Simpson
Himself
2006
Film
Mickey's 50
Self
1978
Film
O.J. Simpson: Juice on the Loose
Self
1974
Film
O.J. Simpson: Blood, Lies & Murder
Self
2023
Film
The Secret Tapes of the O.J. Case: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
2015
Film
Absolutely 100% Guilty
Himself
1999
Film
The Record Breakers
Self (archive footage)
1991
Film
Disposable Heroes: The Other Side of Football
Self
1985
Film
O.J. Fitness: Minimum Maintenance Fitness for Men
Himself
1994
Film
O.J. Speaks: The Hidden Tapes
Self (archive footage)
2015
Film
TMZ Presents | O.J.: How He Really Did It
Self (archive footage)
2024
Film
Murders of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
2003
Film
O.J. Simpson: The Interview
Self
1996
Fall from Grace: O.J.'s Last Run
Self (archive footage)
1994
Detective Tom Lange and the O.J. Simpson Case (Part 1)
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
O.J.: Guilty in Vegas
Himself (archive footage)
2017
Film
Why?
The Athlete
1973
Film
Nicole's Revenge
archive footage
1995
Film
Monday Night Madness
Self
1989