MADRID, April 11 (CultureLeisure) –
Former American football player and actor James O.J. Simpson has died at the age of 76 due to cancer. The star, considered one of the great players in the history of the NFL, participated in films such as The Burning Colossus, Capricorn One or the comedy saga Grab It As You Can and in series such as Roots, Ironside or Sam Cade.
“On April 10, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect his wishes for privacy and grace,” says the family in a statement published on social networks.
Simpson’s prostate cancer diagnosis was first reported in February, at which time he was said to be undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice,’ broke records as a college and professional football player. Already during his career as an NFL star he expanded his fame and fortune as a sports commentator, film and television actor and advertising figure.
But beyond the playing fields and filming, Simpson’s career was marked by the infamous trial for the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, whose bodies were found stabbed outside the her house in June 1994.
The controversial case (with a live chase included in which the police chased Simpson’s white Ford Bronco for almost an hour) and the high-profile judicial process, in which despite the evidence that incriminated him of the double murder, a popular jury declared Simpson innocent, was recounted in the acclaimed miniseries American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson. Cuba Gooding Jr. gave life to the former athlete in this production that won five Emmy Awards and which, created by Ryan Murphy, included John Travolta, Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, Connie Britton and Jordana Brewster in its cast.
A few years later, a civil lawsuit filed against Simpson in 1997 found him liable for the wrongful death of Goldman and the assault of Brown. Simpson faced many other legal problems in the years following his acquittal. Thus, in 2008 he was tried and found guilty of multiple felonies after his participation in a robbery in Las Vegas.
Although Simpson was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison, he was paroled in 2017 and then released early in 2021 due to good behavior.
