John Matuszak

During his first professional "life," Wisconsin-born John Matuszak was a football player. Actually, that's an understatement: as Houston's number one pick in the 1973 NFL draft, as a wildly unpredictable defensive lineman for the Raiders, and as a veteran of two Super Bowls, Matuszak was a FOOTBALL PLAYER. Like many of his calling, Matuszak decided to try the movies, beginning with a good part in the football-oriented North Dallas Forty (1979). In his case, acting "took," and Matuszak became a successful film and TV performer after his 1982 retirement from professional sports, playing character roles in fantasy films like Ice Pirates (1984) and Goonies (1986) and making regular appearances on the TV series Hollywood Beat and First and Ten. Sadly, John Matuszak died suddenly in 1989 at the age of 38. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide