He broke two ribs and a shoulder. 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. He also did professional wrestling and reportedly tussled with the renowned Gorgeous George. Strode had an excellent support part in The Last Voyage (1960) playing a heroic stoker, though he was only billed fifth. He is Tom's farmhand and seems to be his only confidant, a protective presence; he always has Tom's back. "I would have lost that role if I hadn't been in shape, and if I hadn't had a lot of experience as a wrestler," Strode told the Pittsburgh Courier after the film's release, according to Slam Wrestling. Not until 1946 did the two suit up for the . Publicity Listings An offensive end, Strode caught four passes for 37 yards and bowed out of the NFL after 10 games. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League in the postwar era. "I had a certain amount of crudeness that went back a hundred years, and that's what he liked. Strode worked in B-movies through the '70s and '80s and acted as the narrator for Mario Van Peebles' Black Western Posse in 1993. This past August in Canton, Ohio, family members accepted the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award on the players' behalf at the enshrinement gala that precedes the NFL season. Strode also had a brief career as a professional gridiron football player and was among the first African . Ransom Stoddard believes in the U. S. Constitution, the rule by law, the trust in government. 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. 20072023 Blackpast.org. "They suffered on the field. My dream is to play a Mexican bandit in the international market."[20]. He did 1,000 push-ups, sit-ups, and knee bends daily. There was nothing nice about it., It is believed that Strode made his film debut as early as 1939 as an unbilled extra in John Fords Stagecoach, but most work at the time saw him in blackface in jungle films. But it says a lot about them to be able to do what I would call something for the greater good," Johnson, reflecting on the Forgotten Four's feat, told CBS News this year. Valance gives him a choice: Leave town, or face him in a shootout on Main Street. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Strode was an athletic marvel in his prime. He was also in Key West (1973), Loaded Guns (1975), The Manhunter (1975), We Are No Angels (1975), Winterhawk (1975), Keoma (1976), episodes of The Quest (1976) and How the West Was Won (1977), Oil (1977), Martinelli, Outside Man (1977), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), Cowboy-San! But by 1946, Strode was 32 and the oldest member of the Rams as a rookie. 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. Then, when the steeds had halted, he tried to pick a punch up with his younger co-star. Kalaeloa, 19462014), and a daughter, June. ", 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.". 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). 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. The roles he was offered fell within those limited, though notable range. [citation needed], Strode's acting career was re-activated when producer Walter Mirisch spotted him wrestling and cast him as an African warrior in The Lion Hunters (1951), one of the Bomba the Jungle Boy series. United States. Because, in his very long career as a film director, starting in the silent era in 1917, until Seven Women (his final film in 1965), he made more than his fair share of classics which still stand the test of time, like The Informer, The Grapes of Wrath, The Quiet Man. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck contains one of the best-known lines of dialogue in any Ford movie, spoken to Stoddard years later by the town's new newspaper editor: "This is the West, sir. 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. He was only 52. One day Sir Laurence Olivier remarked he was a big fan of his football days, with Strode replying: I dont know what Im doing here in your business. Olivier said, Woody, what youre about to do, I could never do in reference to his upcoming fight scene with Kirk Douglas. Despite the lack of opportunities for actors of color in his era, Woody Strode left a legacy worth revisiting. Now, I don't know if Mr Stewart has a prejudice against Negroes, but I just wanted you all to know about it., Stewart later said he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole after that and Wayne told him: Well, welcome to the club. I'd do that if I could. DON'T MISSJohn Wayne: The Searchers set revelation that saw John Ford speechless[THE SEARCHERS]How the West Was Won: Idiot drunk producer, near-death and more[HOW THE WEST WAS WON]John Wayne: Why Elvis turned down Dukes offer to co-star in Western[ELVIS]. 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? However, cinematographer William H Clothier later said: There was one reason and one reason only Paramount was cutting costs. Integrating the NFL was the low point of my life. Strode made his first appearance in Sundown (1941) playing a native policeman. He appeared once on Johnny Weissmuller's 19551956 syndicated television series Jungle Jim and was in an episode of Private Secretary. Sam Raimi's Western "The Quick and The Dead," starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio, is dedicated to him. 1942: Star Spangled Rhythm. Woody Strode passed away on December 31, 1994 from lung cancer in Glendora, California. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. He broke this barrier with his teammate Kenny Washington and Cleveland Browns players Bill Willis and Marion Motley. 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. His regular portrayal of Native Americansin most of his western films like The Searchers, Stagecoach and his cavalry trilogy, Rio Grande She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and Fort Apache were as bloodthirsty savages. 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. Has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The character Woody from the "Toy Story" films is named after Strode, who had appeared in a number of classic Western films. 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. Acting wasnt his first passion, however, as football at Jefferson High School and UCLA brought him initial fame. An athlete turned actor, Strode was a top-notch decathlete and a football star at UCLA. How many games did Woody Strode play? Strode moved north and won the Grey Cup with the 1948 Calgary Stampeders, Canadian pro football's only undefeated team. Three men stand at the center of the story: Stoddard, Doniphon, and Valance. Pompey/Strode physically carries and thereby saves a drunken, suicidal John Wayne from his burning home. Woody Strode was born in 1914 in Los Angeles. 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. Strode is perhaps best remembered as the stoic slave gladiator in Spartacus (1960) who tells Kirk Douglas: I dont want to be your friend. Trapped for life. What a cast! Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 1941:Sundown. Draba wins the contest, but instead of killing Spartacus, he attacks the Roman military commander who paid for the fight. The filmmaker would ask his Western star: How rich did you get while Jimmy was risking his life?, According to Michael Munns John Wayne The Man Behind The Myth, Strode said that the directors constant ridiculing really p***ed Wayne off, but he would never take it out on Ford., The reason being that the filmmakers movies had made him a Hollywood star and the Pompey actor claimed: He ended up taking it out on me.. Ford's view of women is interesting. Who was Woody Strode, Hollywood star who broke the NFL color barrier? But no pro team would draft African Americans. Cuenta con una puntuacin bastante buena en IMDb: 7.8 estrellas de 10. [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. But with his ill health and advancing age, the project was dropped. If someone said, 'there's a Negro over there,' I was just as apt as anyone to turn around and say 'Where? I'd do that if I could. " [20], Strode was in Che! He died the following year at age 80. Strodes best known role was the gladiator Draba in Stanley Kubricks Sparticus (1960). by Merdies Hayes July 21, 2016 Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Strode (1914-1994) was one of the most prolific and reliable African American actors of a generation. At the time Ford yelled: Dont hit him Woody! In 1967 he attempted to produce his own film, The Story of the Tenth Cavalry but it was not made. Director John Ford Writers James Warner Bellah (novel) Willis Goldbeck Stars Jeffrey Hunter Woody Strode Constance Towers See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video Nationality: American. Though he made films in every genre, from dramas to historical epics, romances and even comedies, Ford has been justifiably associated with the western film and is considered one of the greatest and most influential directors in that genre, directing so many that Ford once said of himself, My Name is John Ford. Stoddard has come to town with a satchel full of law books, and hangs out his shingle at the newspaper office. Strode's later appearances included Cuba Crossing (1980),The Dukes of Hazzard (1980), Scream (1981), Fantasy Island (1981), Vigilante (1982), Invaders of the Lost Gold (1982), Angkor: Cambodia Express (1983), The Black Stallion Returns (1983), The Violent Breed (1984), Jungle Warriors (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), The Final Executioner (1984), Lust in the Dust (1985), On Fire (1987), and A Gathering of Old Men (1987). We used to sit in the best seats at the Coconut Grove (a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel) listening to Donald Novis sing. Filmography - 1939: Stagecoach. He enabled the Stamps to score twice in the title game. John Ford put classic words in my mouth You never seen a Negro come off a mountain like John Wayne before. 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). Strode, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, died of lung cancer in Los Angeles in 1994 at the age of 80. 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? You can unsubscribe at any time. Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore. In the late 1960s, he appeared in several episodes of the Ron Ely Tarzan television series. Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments (1956) as a slave at $500 a week for five weeks. lcula de 1939 dirigida per John Ford; Film von John Ford (1939); filme de 1939 dirigido por John Ford; film; ; film t 1939 fan John Ford; film din 1939 regizat de John Ford; , 1939; film de John Ford; cinta de 1939 dirichita por John Ford; 1939; 1939 film by John Ford; 1939; film uit 1939; 1939 ; filme de 1939 dirigit per John Ford; pelcula de John Ford; vuoden 1939 elokuva; filme de 1939 dirixido por John Ford; 1939 ; 1939 ; film frn 1939 regisserad av John Ford; Stagecoach; Hllenfahrt nach Santa F; ; Stagecoach; Stagecoach; Chevauche fantastique; ; De fantastische Rit, Monument Valley, Arizona, US - panoramio (4).jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Stagecoach_(1939_film)&oldid=577190049, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. No black men had played in the NFL from 1933 to 1946. Without ever seeming to hurry, he doesn't include a single gratuitous shot. Fortunately the DVD made-to-order Warner Archive specialty label is bringing back Rutledge at a lot lower price, starting next week. I make westerns.. While making Pork Chop Hill he became a close friend of director John Ford. How much did Woody Strode weigh when playing? His magnificent Western landscapes are always there, but as environment, not travelogue. 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. He was also a professional wrestler, wrestling the likes of Gorgeous George. [21], He had a support role in Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958) and a small part in The Buccaneer (1958). "It's heart and guts. 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. I'm glad you made it.. In a later tribute to Strode, the 'Sheriff Woody' character in the Toy Story movies was named after him. He was Cree and Blackfoot on his father's side and Cherokee on his mother's. Woody Strode Height, Weight & Measurements At 80 years old, Woody Strode height is 6' 4" (1.93 m) . 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). [24], In 2021, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. As we got out of the L.A. area we found these racial tensions. There are different takes over why, including that he thought it was a better medium. Sheriff Woody, the beloved "Toy Story" protagonist, was said to be named after Strode. He is a member of famous Actor with the age 80 years old group. 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