Rosey Grier
|
|
Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Cuthbert, Georgia), is an American football player, actor, and Christian minister. One of twelve children, Grier was named after U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Actress Pam Grier is his cousin. Grier was well known in the 1970s for his hobbies of needlepoint and macrame, practices not normally associated with "macho" sports figures.
| Contents |
NFL career
After attending Penn State University, Grier began his professional football career in 1955. He was a National Football League defensive lineman with the New York Giants from 1955 to 1962 where he was named All pro defensive tackle in 1957.
Grier then played with the Los Angeles Rams from 1963 to 1966. He was part of the "Fearsome Foursome", often considered the best defensive line in football history.
A torn Achilles' tendon ended his football career in 1967.
Post-NFL career
Grier was serving as a bodyguard for his friend Robert Kennedy when Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968. Grier and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson subdued Sirhan Sirhan, with Grier jamming his thumb behind the trigger of the gun to prevent further shots from being fired.
Movies/Television
Grier has appeared in a number of films and television shows. One of the first football stars to successfully transition to acting, Grier starred in a handful low-budget features, including The Thing with Two Heads (1972). He made about 70 television guest appearances, and became a regular cast member on the series Daniel Boone, Make Room for Granddaddy, and The White Shadow.
Community service
Grier has also written a number of books, and now travels the United States as an inspirational speaker, and is cofounder of American Neighborhood Enterprises, an organization that works to help disadvantages city dwellers buy homes and receive vocational training.
Grier was ordained a Christian minister in 1983, and the next year he founded his nonprofit resource center for inner-city teens, developing spiritual and educational programs for disadvantaged youths.
External links
- Rosey Grier filmography (http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800036198&cf=gen&intl=us)
- Rosey Grier football statistics (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/GrieRo00.htm)