Is Woody Strode in the Hall of Fame? He could beat Glenn Morris, the 1936 Olympic gold-medal decathlete, in all of his events except sprints. According to Disneyland Vice President Tony Baxter, "In 1954. Being married with two children, he needed steady work. 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. He was popular for being a Football Player. He did 1,000 push-ups, sit-ups, and knee bends daily. It was "one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to address racism frankly," the Hollywood Reporter's Seth Abramovitch wrote last year. He is a member of famous Actor with the age 80 years old group. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Bob Rea <bobnray@concentric.net> We both gotta be professionals. His illiterate students include Hallie. John Ford has gone down as one of the greatest directors ever in film history. 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). As the two actors filmed an exterior shot on a horse-drawn cart, Wayne was close to losing control of the horses. As an athlete, he helped integrate the NFL. [24], In 2021, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Red Haircrow, Other Works Cattlemen do not. Strode was in Storyville (1992), and Posse (1992), working with director Mario Van Peebles. Strode appeared in at least 90 films, from Sunrise in 1941 to his last, The Quick and the Dead, released in 1995. Stoddard believes so firmly in the law that he is willing to lose his life for his principles. The one awkward movement in the film comes at the big climax when the real killer reveals himself during the trial, in a scene so overwrought and overacted that it produces more guffaws than shock. In 1940, UCLA and USC battled in what is believed to be the first cross-town rivalry game with championship implications. 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. Inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in 2012-13. He was Cree and Blackfoot on his father's side and Cherokee on his mother's. Ray Hamel. (Whats a brother got to do to get some respect around here?). In comparison, Ford had made combat documentaries for the Office of Strategic Services and had been wounded at the Battle of Midway, while Ranse star Stewart had been a bomber pilot who served with distinction. Woody Strode has not been elected into the Hall of Fame. UsefulNotes/Notable Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age. Strode was born in Los Angeles on July 25, 1914, the son . It's not saying too much to note that Ransom Stoddard is elected to the U. S. Senate because he is "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." The film makes it clear that, though a black man was found innocent, racial tensions will always exist; so what is the use of pretending that all is suddenly well? "I had five pairs of blue jeans, I was lonely, and I didn't speak the language," he said. In Liberty Valance, a picture I did with Duke, Stewart recounted. 20072023 Blackpast.org. He also did professional wrestling and reportedly tussled with the renowned Gorgeous George. Valance gives him a choice: Leave town, or face him in a shootout on Main Street. Actor William Holden and Ernest Borgnine and Woody Strode pose for the movie "The Revengers" in 1972. "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. Met his wife, a Hawaiian princess and stand-in for the swim sequences for Dorothy Lamour. On top of that, in the early 1930's, Ford also made several films with long-lambasted black character . Do you find this information helpful? John Ford's "Apology" Western 'Sergeant Rutledge' Starring Woody Strode Returning to DVD. Strode was next cast in Spartacus (1960) as the Ethiopian gladiator Draba, in which he has to fight Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas) to the death. And strangely enough, Duke Wayne who, over the years, you know, has made lots of pictures with Ford Duke Wayne has been at the bottom of the list, in the barrel, more than anybody else. 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. I'd play a Viking with blue contact lenses and a blond wig.". He enabled the Stamps to score twice in the title game. An able stuntman, Strode shot fire arrows and went so far as to bring his own 80-pound bows to set, he told The New York Times in 1971. Woody played for the Los Angeles Rams after their move from Cleveland. When World War II began, Strode was playing for the Hollywood Bears football team, but soon joined the Air Force and spent much of the war unloading bombs in Guam and the Marianas, as well as playing on the Army football team at March Field in Riverside. [16], In 1952, Strode wrestled almost every week from August 12, 1952, to December 10, 1952, in different cities in California. (1978), Ravagers (1979), Jaguar Lives! 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. How many games did Woody Strode play? Lee Marvin moves into full blown stardom - becoming a legitimate box office titan - in one of the greatest Westerns ever made (My Favorite) starring along side Western Film Greats Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Claudia Cardinale, Ralph Belamy . I carried the whole black race across that river."[3]. 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). 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 in a TV adaptation of Mandrake the Magician (1954), a pilot for a series that was not picked up, and had small parts in Son of Sinbad (1955), Soldiers of Fortune (1955), and Buruuba (1956) a Japanese film set in Africa. Though the film is an ambitious attempt to deal with one aspect of how this country has historically handled Native Americans (and there are several impressive scenes in the film), Cheyenne Autumn is seriously undercut by Fords ponderous direction, a wobbly, meandering script, his stilted wooden Indian characters who, a lot of the time, are standing like stoic statues, with the major speaking parts played by either Latino or Italian-American actors, and too many boring side stories involving white characters. He was only 52. In 1946, Woody Strode was one of the first four Black men to play in the NFL. Strode made a successful transition from sports hero to the movie screen, though Hollywood seemed more predisposed to his magnificent physique and gallant stride than his acting ability. 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? [17] He later teamed up with both Bobo Brazil[18] and Bearcat Wright. 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. "And this is not being facetious, but Mr. Ford defended me; and I don't know that this is going on. But Rutledge faces it heroically and is not passive either, even breaking ranks and official orders to try to track down the evidence and the real killer who will clear him. He did 1,000 push-ups, sit-ups, and knee bends daily. 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. Woody Strode weighed 205 lbs (92 kg) when playing. Woody Strode was born in 1914 in Los Angeles. 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. Publicity Listings Tom Doniphon is a local farmer, who observes, "Liberty Valance's the toughest man south of the Picketwire--next to me." "Stagecoach" and his cavalry trilogy, "Rio Grande" "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and "Fort Apache" - were as bloodthirsty savages. Woody Strode passed away on December 31, 1994 from lung cancer in Glendora, California. Not until 1946 did the two suit up for the . And late Hollywood legend James Stewart got to watch their dynamic up close. It was the first UCLAUSC rivalry football game with national implications.[9]. This man was the definition of a renaissance man, keep reading this article and you will understand exactly why. But with his ill health and advancing age, the project was dropped. He was interred with military honors at Riverside National Cemetery, east of his hometown. Pompey actor Woody Strode remembered that Ford kept needling Duke about his failure to make it as afootballplayer, comparing him to Strode who was a former NFL player. The character was named after Woody Strode, the legendary Spartacus actor who starred in numerous Westerns throughout the 1960s and 1970s. I don't know if they ever will be. Youd have thought I was marrying Lana Turner, they way Whites in Hollywood acted, he recalled. (1960's edition! In a film with Lee Marvin's snarl, Andy Devine's squeaky voice and the accent of the Swedes, John Wayne as usual provides the calm center, never trying for an effect. 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.. His more modest and more successful western, also made for Warners, and released four years earlier, in 1960, Sergeant Rutledge is remarkable and pretty advanced for its period. Even the final scene has an unexpected dramatic impact when, after Rutledge has been cleared of the crime, barely thanks his defense lawyer and goes straight back to leading his Buffalo Soldiers out for another tour of duty. 1941:Sundown. However Warners obviously thought that, though a black man was the lead in their film, the audience wouldnt be able to handle it. He shared a story from the set of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Fords 1962 film about an attorney (Stewart) who, robbed and left for dead by a notorious outlaw, is saved by a rancher (Wayne) and has to start over from scratch. Without ever seeming to hurry, he doesn't include a single gratuitous shot. And I looked at Duke Wayne, and he was beaming like a cat that had just eaten the mouse And Duke came over, and said, Well, welcome to the club. He guest starred on The Man from Blackhawk (1960). [33], Colo. It's been 15 years since Woody Strode's prime time in Hollywood ]: [4] He Wasn't the Star But He Stole the Movie", "Teammates Recall Jackie Robinson's Legacy", "The man who made the stars shine brighter: An interview with Woody Strode", "Woody Strode, Ace Negro Player, Has No Axe to Grind", "Isle families trace ties to '39 Pineapple Bowl", "Woody Strode; Ex-Athlete, Character Actor in Movies", "Like the series, 'Psych' movie a comedic romp", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woody_Strode&oldid=1141910544, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 14:07. On top of that, in the early 1930s, Ford also made several films with long-lambasted black character actor Stephin Fetchit, likeJudge Priest and Steamboat Around the Bend, in which he played degrading and embarrassing supporting roles, often as a slow-witted, lazy buffoon. 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. Strode encountered racism in the NFL. He died the following year at age 80. Respected Black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer. The expansion Browns, trying to build a winner in the upstart All-America Football Conference, added Motley and Willis and went on to claim four straight league championships before the AAFC and NFL merged. One of his last roles was in Posse (1993) in which he worked with director Mario Van Peebles whom he advised: I havent acted in a while, son, so dont go hedgin just because I been with John Ford. Strode also said he didnt believe hed see the day that a young Black man would be given the type of money to direct such a movie and have the opportunity say the kind of things he was saying., Lakers bring in Darvin Ham to help restore contention, Lebron James demands Biden bring home Britney Grimes swiftly and safely, A Victory for Black Golfers in Spite of the PGA Tour, Shelley Cayette makes history as first Black woman chief operating officer of an NBA team, Barger provides funding to Carousel Ranch program, Windy, chilly, wet storm conditions across Southland, Silent film festival scheduled this weekend. [31], Sheriff Woody of the Toy Story series of animated films is named after Strode,[32] as was the recurring character of the Santa Barbara Coroner in the television series Psych. "I've never gotten over 'Sergeant Rutledge,'" Strode told The New York Times years later. Bert Glennon-John Ford in Stagecoach.jpg 806 620; 276 KB Monument Valley, Arizona, US - panoramio (4).jpg 5,184 3,456; 4.48 MB Stagecoach (1939 poster).jpg 1,970 2,937; 2.32 MB [8] They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a scoreless tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line. ", Strode blamed Ford for almost all the tension on The Man From Liberty Valances set. When out on the road with the team, Strode had his first experience with racism, something he wasn't aware of growing up in Los Angeles. I'd do that if I could. 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." Woodrow Wilson Woody Strode (1914-1994) was one of the most prolific and reliable African American actors of a generation. Another well-known role was Pompey, John Waynes servant in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He later said his salary in Italy went up to $10,000 a week. Sheriff Woody, the beloved "Toy Story" protagonist, was said to be named after Strode. German director Leni Riefenstahl called Strode the greatest physique of any athlete I have ever seen.. He and Kenny Washington integrated the National Football League (NFL), and Strode played for the Los Angeles Rams in 1946 before moving to the Canadian . Producers approached him in 1950 to portray a Maasai warrior in a "Bomba, the Jungle Boy" adventure flick. I said, All right, where are the pluckers?" Then Strode realised, I was out in the world market with a bald head. The 6-foot, 4-inch Strode was a world-class decathlete with a body so toned that he posed nude for an exhibition of athletic portraits shown at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. 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. You ride horses.' Reveling in the win postgame, Strode rode a horse into the lobby of the team hotel. 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) But no pro team would draft African Americans. And Duke came up to me one day and said, Hows it come that youve gone through this whole thing and youve never been at the bottom of the list? James Stewart Once Described What It Was Like Working with a Frequent John Wayne Collaborator, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5mcU74rHGM, James Stewart on what it was like to work with John Ford (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5mcU74rHGM). "The big studios wanted an actor like Sidney [Poitier] or [Harry] Belafonte," recalled Strode. Next James Bond: Tom Hardy leapfrogged by 007 outsider, Robert Shaw Harrison Ford fury on Force 10 From Navarone 'total bull', John Wayne was really p***ed off: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was miserable shoot, John Wayne was constantly mocked by John Ford and even Jimmy Stewart was attacked too, Rio Bravo: Angie Dickinson on cute John Wayne being so different', Pompey star Woody Strode on John Wayne's left, John Wayne felt he couldn't hit back at John Ford since the director made him a star, John Wayne: The Searchers set revelation that saw John Ford speechless, How the West Was Won: Idiot drunk producer, near-death and more, John Wayne: Why Elvis turned down Dukes offer to co-star in Western, John Wayne: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon set feud that led to best scene, John Waynes final movie was NOT The Shootist Duke was in Star Wars, John Wayne never learnt his lesson over Hollywood roles. Ta be professionals 'd play a Viking with blue contact lenses and a wig! 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