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Woody Strode (1914-1994) Born July 28, 1914, in Los Angeles, California, Woody Strode (Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode) was first of the star football athletes to become a successful film actor. [11] UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson would go on to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball (in fact, Robinson, Strode, and Washington had all played in the semi-professional Pacific Coast Professional Football League earlier in the decade). Strode's performance in "Spartacus" as the gladiator Draba - who fells Douglas' titular character in a duel, but spares his life to defy the Roman elite - secured him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor. He is a member of famous Actor with the age 80 years old group. More info, The cantankerous and eccentric John Ford had filmed other Westerns with John Wayne in colour from The Searchers to She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. "It took skill to do that fight scene without actually hurting myself or hurting Douglas.". What is it whats the idea? And I said, I dont know!, And I didnt know, Stewart added. His wife is Tina Ellawee (10 May 1982 - 31 December 1994) ( his death), Luana Strode (14 October 1940 - 17 September 1980) ( her death) ( 2 children) Posed for one of two paintings commissioned by, Reportedly, his favorite film from his career was, Played college football for the UCLA Bruins, the most integrated collegiate team in the nation in 1939, which included future NFL running back. They reunited 20 years later when he played the title role in Ford's rather neglected 1960 western 'Sergeant Rutledge', as a black Cavalry officer unfairly tried for the rape and murder of a white women and her father. ), TCM Remembers 1995 in Chronological Order, American actors who appeared in spaghetti westerns. How much did Woody Strode weigh when playing? John Ford has gone down as one of the greatest directors ever in film history. Strode moved north and won the Grey Cup with the 1948 Calgary Stampeders, Canadian pro football's only undefeated team. There are different takes over why, including that he thought it was a better medium. He broke this barrier with his teammate Kenny Washington and Cleveland Browns players Bill Willis and Marion Motley. Pas : USA "La diligencia" pelcula de pelculas de vaqueros y accin producida en USA. Racial discrimination slowed their progress in the game. Strode's Associated Press obituary praised his work in Westerns and period dramas, but didn't mention the trail he blazed on the gridiron. Woody Strode played 10 games over his career. Meanwhile, Motley ran rampant as a Browns halfback and Willis was an All-Pro defensive tackle, which landed them Hall of Fame nods as players. Finally, it became way of life.[3], He had roles in Bride of the Gorilla (1951), African Treasure (1951) (another Bomba film), an episode of Dangerous Assignment (1952), Caribbean (1952), and Androcles and the Lion (1952), playing the lion, "the toughest job I ever had" he said later.[20]. In the 1940s, at the beginning of the "Golden Age" of professional wrestling on television, Strode entered the game, campaigning as a "Baby Face" (hero) as opposed to the "Heel" (villain). His parents were from New Orleans; his grandmother was African-American and "part Cherokee" and his grandfather was an African-American who claimed his own grandmother was Creek. Another well-known role was Pompey, John Waynes servant in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). It is made clear in "Liberty Valance" that segregation was the practice in the territory. "I once played a part written for an Irish prize fighter. As for Sergeant Rutledge, it was at one time, a few years ago, available on DVD on Warner Home Video; but it has been out circulation for years, although you could buy an used copy of it for $35 or more on Amazon or Ebay if you wanted it. Additionally, the director kept mocking Wayne for not enlisting in World War II, which made the star feel guilty in his later years. After football, he went on to become a film actor, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960. Yes, but there's more to it than that, and in John Ford's mind, gun ownership is very much an open question. I had the greatest Glory Hallelujah ride across the Pecos River that any black man ever had on the screen. At the time Ford yelled: Dont hit him Woody! Beginning with "Stagecoach" (1939), continuing from 1948 through 1950 with the Cavalry Trilogy ("Fort Apache," "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and "Rio Grande"), and finally to 1962 and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," together in 10 features they largely formed the templates of the Hollywood Western. Needless to say, the crime sets the townspeople aflame with hatred, and theres a lynch mob just itching to take matters into their hands. Farmers want statehood. In town, he's nursed back to health by Nora and Peter Ericson, two recent Swedish immigrants who run the local chowhouse. He was usually unbilled in films like Sundown (1941), Star-Spangled Rhythm (1942) and No Time for Love (1943). Waterfield laughs and says: You sons of bitches, youre living good., Strode by then was in his early 30s and his football days were numbered. Integrating the NFL was the low point of my life. And he said loudly, We have an actor here who objects to the costume on Woody Strode. He then proceeded to suggest that Stewart was prejudiced Strode, who also has since died, was African-American and added that he just wanted to share Stewarts objection to Strodes costume with the whole cast. "It had dignity. He had a small role in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), as a chauffeur of Rochester (Edward Anderson) and could be glimpsed in No Time for Love (1943). Played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League from 1948-49 before moving back to the US and beginning his film career. But he also was described once as a tough, two-fisted, hard-drinking Irish sonofabitch who was known to treat actors on his films horribly, by bullying, yelling and even mocking them. Caleb Williams: 'I'd probably go to the Dolphins' if given c LSU's Nabers won't face charges after weapon arrest, Willie Taggart hired as Ravens' RBs coach, Florida loses defensive coordinator Patrick Toney to NFL, LSU's Nabers charged with illegal carrying of a weapon, Revamped AAC releases 2023 slate with 6 new schools. But it must have made a real impact on Ford himself, since, in the early 1970s, he planned to come out of retirement with a new film about the life of the first black graduate of West Point, Henry Flipper. That he does this by mixing in history, humorous supporting characters and a poignant romance is typical; his films were complete and self-contained in a way that approaches perfection. He was also a professional wrestler, wrestling the likes of Gorgeous George. Cuenta con una puntuacin bastante buena en IMDb: 7.8 estrellas de 10. [17] He later teamed up with both Bobo Brazil[18] and Bearcat Wright. Tom Doniphon tells him that without a gun in his hand and the experience to use it, he will sooner or later certainly be killed by Valance. You ride horses.' He wrestled intermittently, once defeating Gorgeous George. Red Haircrow, Other Works And Ford, who was usually straightforward when it came to the visual aspects of his films, shows some real visual and dramatic creativity. Look instead at a debate that continues between the lawyer and the farmer about guns. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Woody Strode, byname of Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode, (born July 28, 1914, Los Angeles, California, U.S.died December 31, 1994, Glendora, California), American character actor who was part of director John Ford's "family" of actors, appearing in nearly a dozen of Ford's films. Born July 28, 1914, in Los Angeles, California, Woody Strode (Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode) was first of the star football athletes to become a successful film actor. I never got a close up in Hollywood, and Sergio framed me on the screen for five minutes. Indeed Hallie and Nora Ericson (Jeanette Nolan) are the only two noticeable women in town; little wonder Tom's love for Hallie is intense. After his football career, he went on to become a film actor, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960. . How tall was Woody Strode? We heard stories about Kenny Washington where he was just battered throughout the entire football game.". [19], They wanted him to shave his head. Western icon John Wayne had a legendary collaboration with director John Ford that lasted five decades and transformed both mens careers. We used to sit in the best seats at the Coconut Grove (a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel) listening to Donald Novis sing. Also, he appeared in several episodes of the 19521954 television series Ramar of the Jungle, where he portrayed an African warrior. Canton called this summer, feting Strode and the rest of the Forgotten Four at Johnson and Glauber's urging. Which is sort of remarkable, because they love each other. At UCLA he was a track star, a football phenomenon and a performer on the Royce stage. Never billed as a leading man in Hollywood, Strode moved to Rome in the late '60s to pick up prominent and lucrative roles in Spaghetti Westerns. He was drafted at age 27 and soon joined the United States Army Air Corps and spent the war unloading bombs in Guam and the Marianas, as well as playing on the Army football team at March Field in Riverside, California.[10]. "I once played a part written for an Irish prize fighter. Ford isn't making an anachronistic statement on racism, but he's being sure we notice it. He was only 52. We need him!, In the end, Wayne told Strode: We gotta work together. United States. Woody Strode Tuesday, 28th July 1914 - Saturday, 31st December 1994 Los Angeles CA USA. Bit of a game changer." Though Woody usually means well, he's not always the . Strode also played the powerful gladiator who does battle with Kirk Douglas in Spartacus (1960). While making Pork Chop Hill he became a close friend of director John Ford. On a road game in Chicago, hotel management gave he and Washington $100 each to find another hotel in the Black section of town. He was the African antagonist in Tarzan Fights for Life (1958) and an Apache chief who took on Sean Connery in the western, Shalako (1968). In the article below independent historian Clarence Spigner analyzes Sergeant Rutledge and the other major films of the college football star, early National Football League player, and actor Woody Strode.. [29] He is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California. Strode takes it up from there: Bob Waterfield and some guys came looking for us because theyd made arrangements for us back at the hotel, he explained. Two Rode Together is a 1961 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring James Stewart, Richard Widmark, and Shirley Jones. When a meeting is held to vote on statehood, Pompey sits outside on the porch. I'd play a Viking with blue contact lenses and a blond wig.". The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City last year enshrined him in the Hall of Great Western Performers. I couldn't do it. This page was last edited on 28 July 2021, at 02:45. Never thought of them as brothers though. Ford had to accept those terms or not make the film.. And it should be mentioned that Rutledge was also the first time in which a black man was seen as a cowboy, or an Army soldier, and not as a slave, a cook or a Pullman porter in aHollywood feature western. As played by Jimmy Stewart, Stoddard spends much of the film wearing an apron and washing dishes in the restaurant, sending a hardly ambiguous message about a man who doesn't wear a gun. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Of course being a director from what is still called The Golden Age of Hollywood and despite the fact that Ford considered himself a political progressive (though he was close friends with actors he worked with who were often right wing reactionaries, like John Wayne and James Stewart), his films were not above dealing in negative racial stereotypes often. Acting wasn't his first passion, however, as football at Jefferson High School and UCLA brought him initial fame. He guest starred on The Man from Blackhawk (1960). Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. And he was dressed in blue overalls, a blue work shirt and boots. (1969) and supported Terence Hill and Bud Spencer in Boot Hill (1969) shot in Italy. But they should be.". "[3], Strode posed for a nude portrait, part of Hubert Stowitts's acclaimed exhibition of athletic portraits shown at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (although the inclusion of black and Jewish athletes caused the Nazis to close the exhibit). With a strong presence in the screen, he. There were of course a few black westerns made during the race film era of the 1940s, such as The Bronze Buckaroo and Harlem Rides the Range, but it took until 1960 for a Hollywood studio feature western that featuredblack cowboys in the old west, during the mid to late 19th century to early 20 the century. Halfway through filming, Duke even asked Stewart why he wasnt being targeted by Fords insults too, which other members of the cast and crew had noticed. [26][27][28] In 1982 at the age of 68, he wed 35-year-old Tina Tompson,[28] and they remained married until his death of lung cancer on December 31, 1994, in Glendora, California, aged 80. Often typecast as a physical specimen, commentators tended to dwell on Strode's athleticism and chiseled figure, ignoring his acting prowess, the film scholar Frank Manchel once wrote in the Journal of Black Studies. His composition is classical. Legacies. The result was a few films in which he seemed to be, in a way, making an apology for the wrongs he committed in terms ofhis distorted portrayals of people of color in his previous films. He served in the United States Army during World War II. This is fascism against democracy: the tyranny of the strongman over the ordinary people. In an interview given before he died, Stewart once described the toll that Fords meanness took on Wayne. All Rights Reserved. The ban collapsed when the Rams, founded in Cleveland, uprooted to Los Angeles in 1946. Strode was in City Beneath the Sea (1953) directed by Budd Boetticher, and The Royal African Rifles. Strode also served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore. He was interred with military honors at Riverside National Cemetery, east of his hometown. ", Also online in my Great Movies Collection: John Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath," "Stagecoach," "The Searchers," "Rio Bravo" and "My Darling Clementine," and John Wayne in Howard Hawk's "Red River.". Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. Strode had difficulty maintaining the momentum of these roles. As James Stewart explained it, Woody Strode, the actor who was playing Wayne's character's best friend, was part of the scene. Opponents from the Deep South resented having to share the field with Black men, the producer of a documentary film about the Forgotten Four, Ross Greenburg, told the UCLA newsroom in 2014. He was 80 years old. And he was dressed in blue overalls, a blue work shirt and boots. He graced the screen alongside Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, and John Wayne, plus Joe Namath when the Jets quarterback toyed with acting in the afterglow of his Super Bowl triumph. Smith Goes to Washington, did not escape Fords sadism unscathed. And during the trial sequences, Ford frequently dims the courtroom lights, leaving only Rutledge lit, alone in the witness chair surrounded by darkness alone and helpless as many black men on trial have felt, accused of a crime they did not commit. In a long flashback involving most of the film, Ford recalls the events leading up to that day. As the film opens, U. S. Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) arrives in Shinbone by the new railroad with his wife Hallie (Vera Miles) to attend the funeral of a man named Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Fortunately the DVD made-to-order Warner Archive specialty label is bringing back Rutledge at a lot lower price, starting next week. He was in 87 movies over the length of his career, though Strode . Strode hauled in a pass while a teammate lay on the grass at the far sideline, which left that receiver wide open on the next snap. He arranges his characters within the frame to reflect power dynamics--or sometimes to suggest a balance is changing. Woody Strode was born in California. And so the studio actually tried to trick audiences into thinking that the film was about the white characters. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Strode, the six-foot-four pioneering athlete turned movie star, was born in 1914, in South Central Los Angeles, to Black and Native American parents. [7], With her he had two children, television director Kalai (a.k.a. Acting wasnt his first passion, however, as football at Jefferson High School and UCLA brought him initial fame. Local sportswriter Halley Harding, a retired Negro Leagues shortstop, led a civic campaign that pressured the Rams to integrate as a condition of playing in the publicly funded L.A. In 1967 he attempted to produce his own film, The Story of the Tenth Cavalry but it was not made. Strode was very close to the director. Draba wins the contest, but instead of killing Spartacus, he attacks the Roman military commander who paid for the fight. He had many murders on his conscience, and much enjoyed using a leather bullwhip. Producers approached him in 1950 to portray a Maasai warrior in a "Bomba, the Jungle Boy" adventure flick. Strode had begun his association with Ford back in 1939, with an uncredited role in his classic western 'Stagecoach'. Do you find this information helpful? In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. "I have the world market on my side even if I don't have the American market.". When he walks into a bar to fetch Tom, the bartender won't serve him, and Tom slams hard on the bar: "Give him a drink." "The ban mirrored the status of Black Americans at the time: separate, unequal, and living in a de facto apartheid state via Jim Crow in the South and a patchwork of exclusionary laws and customs everywhere else," Patrick Hruby has written at The Guardian. It deals with a black U.S. Calvary sergeant of a regiment of black troops played by Woody Strode (who appeared in several later Ford films, including his last film Seven Woman playing a Chinese warlord) who is court-marshaled for raping and killing a white woman and her father as well. He could beat Glenn Morris, the 1936 Olympic gold-medal decathlete, in all of his events except sprints. His name was the only one of the four "professionals" that was left off of the movie poster; nevertheless, the film was a major box-office success that established him as a recognizable star. Even when Ford later directed the passing drama Pinky in 1949 for Fox, which told the story of a blackwoman passing for white, Fox studio head Darryl Zanuck replaced Ford with director Elia Kazan after the first week of shooting, because Zanuck, in seeing the footage that Ford shot, felt his depiction of the black characters in the film was so offensive that he couldnt allow him to continue directing the rest of the film. The supporting cast includes Linda Cristal, Andy Devine, and John McIntire. When Ford cast Strode in Sergeant Rutledge (1960), the actor remembers the legendary director telling him: You know, Woody, its pretty rough to make a star out of you, but Im going to make you a character actor and youll make some money.. Then, when the steeds had halted, he tried to pick a punch up with his younger co-star. Pompey/Strode physically carries and thereby saves a drunken, suicidal John Wayne from his burning home. [8] They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a scoreless tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line. Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox, UCLA hires D'Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator, Harbaugh: Michigan good place to be despite challenges, Georgia's Dumas-Johnson charged with reckless driving. Strode was in Storyville (1992), and Posse (1992), working with director Mario Van Peebles. The film was based upon the 1959 novel Comanche Captives by Will Cook . BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. The Cleveland Browns brought aboard Marion Motley and Bill Willis that same year. "Never used it, but I could walk into the White House with it now. (1960's edition! Strode made his first appearance in Sundown (1941) playing a native policeman. [3], "I got a cultural educationmajored in history and education," he said in a 1971 interview. M, Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 14:07, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, Pacific Coast Professional Football League, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, "Woody Strode (19141994) Find A Grave Memorial", "Woody Strode? In 1946, Woody Strode was one of the first four Black men to play in the NFL. Theyre like father and son.. He was popular for being a Football Player. John Ford and John Wayne together created much of the mythology of the Old West we carry in our minds. He was Cree and Blackfoot on his father's side and Cherokee on his mother's. Without ever seeming to hurry, he doesn't include a single gratuitous shot. The closing credits dedicate the film to Strode, who died shortly before its release. But by 1946, Strode was 32 and the oldest member of the Rams as a rookie. Boston Globe December 20, 1981: 1. Strode is perhaps best remembered as the stoic slave gladiator in Spartacus (1960) who tells Kirk Douglas: I dont want to be your friend. "[7], "That was a classic," he later said. The pioneering Black character actor relocated from the United States to Europe for a while to pursue bigger and more interesting roles. This is all to be seen: The role of a free press, the function of a town meeting, the debate about statehood, the civilizing influence of education. Professional Football Player, Actor. In the film, Strodes character recites the Declaration of Independence but apologizes for forgetting the phrase all men are created equal, a poignant line for the 1962 audience. It takes place in the town of Shinbone, in an unnamed territory that is moving toward a vote on statehood. "To me, it's truly the beginning of more awareness of who they were, what they did, and why they were so important," Glauber told The New York Times ahead of the Canton ceremony in August. As a showdown between Stoddard and Valance Ford begins to seem inevitable, Ford creates considerable tension. Supplied by UCLA, Corbis Historical / Sunset Boulevard / Getty Images. I'm glad you made it.. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/WoodyStrode. After his football career, he went on to . But hes eventually taken in by his own men to face trial. The narrative structure is told mainly in a series of flashbacks in which information is revealedin bits, leaving us guessing as to what really happened. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. He appeared once on Johnny Weissmuller's 19551956 syndicated television series Jungle Jim and was in an episode of Private Secretary. Stoddard believes so firmly in the law that he is willing to lose his life for his principles. Born in Los Angeles in 1914, Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode died at age 80 on New Year's Eve 1994. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Robinson played college football at UCLA before he shifted to baseball full time and made history. 1941:Sundown. Tom has long considered Hallie "my girl," and is adding a room to his farmhouse that has a nice porch with a rocking chair, in preparation for the day he has no doubt she will marry him. In the twilight of his film career, Woody Strode reflected on the opportunities he was denied and others he seized. Years ago Shinbone was held in a grip of terror by the sadistic Liberty Valance (played by Lee Marvin in a performance evoking savage cruelty). Keeping to one side, Tom Doniphon observes everything but is slow to act; his strength is silently coiled. Strode appeared in at least 90 films, from Sunrise in 1941 to his last, The Quick and the Dead, released in 1995. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Language. On top of that, in the early 1930's, Ford also made several films with long-lambasted black character . Liberty Valance cannot abide anyone standing up to him, and the shingle is an affront. Whistlin' Dan: 1932: Stagecoach Man in saloon : 1939: Sundown Tribal Policeman: 1941: Star Spangled Rhythm Rochester's motorcycle chauffeur: 1942: Bride of the Gorilla Nedo - Policeman: 1951: Lion Hunters Walu: 1951: In 1964, there was his penultimate work, the nearly three-hour-long roadshow western epic Cheyenne Autumn, complete with an intermission, a70MM Super Panavision print, released by Warners, which told the true story of a Cheyenne tribe who travel by foot across 1,500 miles back to their ancestral hunting grounds, while US Army troops are ordered to send them back by force if necessary. Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments (1956) as a slave at $500 a week for five weeks. In 1946 he was one of the first blacks to play in the National Football League. Dnde ver La diligencia? He wrestled professionally before rapt audiences. Subscribe to our newsletter for new stories, tips & events. Woody Strode Height, Weight & Measurements At 80 years old, Woody Strode height is 6' 4" (1.93 m) . "I know Gus well." "Shawn." "Him too. We both gotta be professionals. 1952: African. Bob Rea
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