‘Early the next morning, I flew from Washington to San Francisco with one job to do: Knock on the front door at the home of Simpson’s sister to see if she might speak with me. I wasn’t feeling very optimistic about this, but we had to try.’
Archives for April 12, 2024
O.J. Simpson, legendary football player and actor brought down by his murder trial, dies at 76
‘Simpson earned fame, fortune and adulation through football and show business, but his legacy was forever changed by the June 1994 knife slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. He was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case, and then served nine years in prison on unrelated charges.’
10 things to remember about O.J. Simpson
‘She was a waitress at the trendy Beverly Hills restaurant, The Daisy. They met when he dined there and they quickly became inseparable. They married in 1985, had two children, Sydney and Justin, and divorced in 1992.’
Before murder charges tarnished his legacy, O.J. Simpson was one of the NFL’s greatest running backs
‘The Juice was the best running back of his era during an 11-year NFL career mostly played with the Buffalo Bills. He won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy in college and set records in the NFL. But Simpson’s accomplishments on the field were overshadowed and his image was forever ruined by charges that he killed his former wife and her male friend in 1994. Though he was acquitted of murder, Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case.’
Legendary athlete, actor and millionaire: O.J. Simpson’s murder trial lost him the American dream
‘He lived the American dream as a sports legend, movie actor, commercial pitchman and millionaire. With his wildly successful career, startling good looks and a gorgeous wife, he became an image of success for Black Americans and was embraced by people of all races. It was safe for everyone to love Simpson, who inhabited a world of glamour and privilege available to few.’
The OJ Simpson saga was a unique American moment. 3 decades on, we’re still wondering what it means
‘Simpson’s death Wednesday, almost exactly three decades after the killings that changed his reputation from football hero to suspect, summoned remembrances of an odd moment in time — no, let’s call it what it was, which was deeply weird — in which a smartphone-less country craned its neck toward clunky TVs to watch a Ford Bronco inch its way along a California freeway.’
Key events in OJ Simpson’s fall from sports hero and movie star
‘A beloved football hero in the 1960s and ’70s, he transitioned effortlessly to movie star, sports commentator and TV pitchman — roles he kept until the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend. A jury acquitted him, but many still believe he was responsible for the grisly slayings.’
OJ Simpson dead at 76, family says
‘Simpson was widely regarded as a legendary running back — and perhaps one of the best running backs of all time — but his fame was eclipsed by the double murder trial of his ex-wife and her friend.’
NFL community reacts after OJ Simpson, 76, dies following cancer battle
‘Several members of the NFL community took to social media with their reactions.’
Ten things to remember about O.J. Simpson
‘At the height of his football fame, polls indicated he was one of the top three most recognized faces in North America. In 1977, he became the first pro football player to make the cover of Rolling Stone. In 1978, he became the second professional athlete, after Fran Tarkenton, to host “Saturday Night Live.”‘
O.J. Simpson dies at 76: Pro Football Hall of Famer, once acquitted of double murder, was battling cancer
‘”On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” the family wrote. “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”‘
O.J. Simpson dies: Why NFL legend never got removed from Pro Football Hall of Fame despite his legal troubles
‘The trophy sold for $255,500 at auction in 1999 and those funds went to the Goldman family. Despite his legal troubles, the Heisman Trust never stripped Simpson of his trophy. Like the Hall of Fame, the Trust doesn’t have any bylaws in place that would allow it to rescind the award, so although Simpson doesn’t have the trophy anymore, he will hold the title of “Heisman winner” for the rest of time (Simpson’s trophy is now owned by a Nevada businessman, who bought it in 2019).’
O.J. Simpson dies at 76: A timeline of the controversial Pro Football Hall of Famer’s on- and off-field career
‘Here’s a look back at some of the most headlining moments of Simpson’s on- and off-field career…’.
O.J. Simpson’s Post-NFL Life Forever Destroyed the Athlete Fairytale
‘Here was an NFL legend, an omnipresent actor, broadcaster and pitchman fleeing from accusations that he murdered both his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Our inability to look away was capitalized upon, and life has never been the same.’
O.J. Simpson Was Proof We Don’t Really Know Celebrities
‘O.J. Simpson taught us how futile our journalism can be, how pointless our pontifications, how useless our observations. Even as we delved ever deeper into our subjects—in probing features, psycho-profiles, blanket coverage that ought to have revealed all—he showed us just how worthless this really was. If we didn’t know Simpson, one of the most accessible celebrities of our time, well, we didn’t really know anybody.’