As you’ve likely heard by now, O.J. Simpson has passed away at the age of 76.
One of the most famous — and infamous — Americans of the modern era, Simpson was known for many things:
He was, of course, a world-class athlete, a standout at running back for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.
Later in life, he would become the center of the most high-profile murder trial of the 20th century,
And though he beat the charges under dubious circumstances, the lingering suspicion that Simpson murdered his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, would make him a pariah in the upper-crust social circles that had served as his comfortable domain for so many years.
But before O.J. ever earned a dime from professional football — before he was arrested for murder and before he served nine years in prison on unrelated robbery and kidnapping charges — he was a media personality who focused his considerable star power primarily on the world of television.
While Simpson was still negotiating his rookie contract with the Bills, he put in brief appearances on the popular dramas Dragnet (in an uncredited role) and Medical Center (in the series pilot).
In the early years of his NFL career, Simpson continued to make time for television, appearing in the second and third seasons of Saturday Night Live, and becoming the TV pitchman for Hertz, a job he would hold for nearly 20 years.
The latter gig opened the door for further acting work, but Simpson was selective about the roles he took on, revealing in one interview that he was careful to avoid being typecast as a lovable nice guy.
“I’ve got to tear down that picture of O.J. Simpson, the clean-cut athlete, to get believability into whatever part I happen to be playing,” he told AdAge in 1977 (in an interview the outlet later dubbed “darkly ironic”).
Indeed, while still at the height of his football fame, Simpson pursued more challenging roles, including that of Kadi Touray in the iconic miniseries Roots.
It was a wildly effective career strategy. In fact, as his NFL career came to a close, and O.J. shifted his focus to acting, he became one of the most sought-after young talents in Hollywood.
According to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Simpson was James Cameron’s first choice to play the title role in his 1984 sci-fi/action classic The Terminator.
The role, of course, wound up going to Schwarzenegger, but Simpson’s post-football career on screens both big and small was impressive nonetheless.
He avoided appearing in the blaxploitation films of the era, preferring instead to take second of third billing in more mainstream fare that would enable him to learn from seasoned actors such as Richard Burton and Lee Marvin (with whom he co-starred in The Klansman).
In the ’80s and ’90s, Simpson showed off his comedic chops with a recurring role as Detective Nordberg in the popular Naked Gun films starring Leslie Nielsen.
Post-football, he remained active in the world of television, launching a production company that churned out popular made-for-TV fare such as Goldie and the Boxer and doing cameo work in popular series like In the Heat of the Night, all while serving as a commentator on Monday Night Football.
Never shy about his ambitions, Simpson made it clear that his goal was nothing less than to dominate the worlds of TV and film as thoroughly as he had dominated the NFL.
“The Oscar or the Emmy says you’ve reached a level of competence in this business, and I would love to have one,” he once told the LA Times.
Life, of course, had other plans for O.J. Simpson.
In 2006, his reputation thoroughly sullied by the murder trial of the century, O.J. made a half-hearted attempt to return to television with a ridiculous Punk’d-style prank show called Juiced.
The following year, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas for stealing sports memorabilia at gunpoint and falsely imprisoning his victims.
He would make only two more major television appearances, one on the reality show Jail, in which he was seen being booked into Nevada’s Clark Country Detention Center, and the other as an unwitting dupe in the Sacha Baron Cohen mockumentary Who Is America?
The more unsavory details of Simpson’s life and times would inspire memorable depictions in both the fictionalized limited series American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson and the award-winning ESPN documentary O.J.: Made In America.
Seldom had so mighty a media figure fallen so far.
But then, as now, you won’t see much public sympathy for O.J. Simpson.
His was a life so bizarre, so debased by wretched behavior that even if he wasn’t guilty of double murder — a very big if — he was still not a man to be admired.
Even in his scandal-plagued final years, however, Simpson was unable to turn away from the spotlight entirely.
He continued to post short videos to Twitter in which he would share his views on football, golf, and occasionally the day’s top political issues.
Even now, these videos serve as uncomfortable reminders of the easy charisma and the undeniable camera presence that once made O.J. Simpson one of the most beloved media figures in America.
There may be a sociopathic quality to his charm in retrospect, but it’s not hard to see how Simpson managed to maintain such widespread appeal for so very many years.
What are your memories of O.J. Simpson and his very complex media legacy?
Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts.
Tyler Johnson is an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic and the other Mediavine O&O sites. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and, of course, watching TV. You can Follow him on X and email him here at TV Fanatic.