OJ Simpson is dead: the controversial star was 76

First a US football legend then a star actor before ending up behind bars, he died yesterday of cancer.

He will go down in history as a legendary figure in American pop culture. OJ Simpson died of prostate cancer announced at the beginning of the year. He was 76 years old.

His family shared the news of his death on the networks: “This 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, her family asks that you respect their wishes for privacy and grace.“

With OJ Simpson, it is a part of American History at the end of the 20th century that disappears. Because the man was a legend in the 1970s. Running back for the Buffalo Bills, he had a string of spectacular seasons, making him a star on the field. But the one we nicknamed “The Juice” wanted to be a movie star!

While he runs the yards with ball in hand, he makes a few appearances, in his spare time, on film sets. We come across him in the legendary series Roots (1971) which tells about slavery in the United States. Then he appears facing Steve McQueen And Paul Newman In The Infernal Tower (1974) before filming Capricorn One of Peter Hyams (1978). At the end of his playing career, OJ Simpson landed his most notable role, that of Nordberg, Frank Drebin's clumsy and unlucky teammate in the very popular saga Is there a cop? A zany and comical role that he will reprise in three films.

On the highway to glory, he was then stopped short by the famous bloody affair of the summer of 1994, when his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, her new companion, were found murdered in front of their home. What follows is the most incredible chase in the history of American TV, at the wheel of his white Ford Bronco. Then the most publicized trial of the time!

So significant for America in the 90s, that cinema and television will seize the phenomenon on numerous occasions, mocking OJ, pastiching the incredible story of gloves that are too small and recounting the fact at length and back. various the craziest in modern American History. Until the most successful adaptation, that of Ryan Murphythe praised American Crime Storywith Cuba Gooding Jr. in the main role.

Never convicted criminally for the double murderOJ Simpson will still be found guilty, in civil proceedings, of the death of Ronald Goldman, of assault and battery on Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown. He will then be ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.

Forever branded by this sordid affair, OJ Simpson will finally change in September 2007: the former star is arrested in Las Vegas for armed robbery and kidnapping. Sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2008, he will be released in 2017, after serving 9 years behind bars.