While some reviewers and historians claim he could have been a more well-known and cast minority actor if not for his size and physically strong appearance, more along the lines of Sidney Poitier, a near contemporary, Hollywood of the past and present still has few positive roles outside of the stereotypical for ethnic males. Woody Strode weighed 205 lbs (92 kg) when playing. The film takes place at that turning point in the West when the rule of force gave way to the rule of law, and when literacy began to gain a foothold. John Ford and John Wayne together created much of the mythology of the Old West we carry in our minds. The others were Bill Willis and. 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. He was 80 years old. He decided to stay in Europe. The film was based upon the 1959 novel Comanche Captives by Will Cook . This man was the definition of a renaissance man, keep reading this article and you will understand exactly why. The closing credits dedicate the film to Strode, who died shortly before its release. He was also a professional wrestler, wrestling the likes of Gorgeous George. 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. Strode also played the powerful gladiator who does battle with Kirk Douglas in Spartacus (1960). 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. "They suffered on the field. The ban collapsed when the Rams, founded in Cleveland, uprooted to Los Angeles in 1946. When World War II broke out, Strode was playing for the Hollywood Bears in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League. Im glad you made it.. When a meeting is held to vote on statehood, Pompey sits outside on the porch. Woody Strode was born in California. Strode and teammate Kenny Washington were among the best-known college football players in the nation. [23], He did The Italian Connection (1972), for which he was paid $150,000. "Never used it, but I could walk into the White House with it now. And on occasion, he was even known to actually physically attack them when he was not playing his patented sadistic practical jokes on them, or when he wasnt on one of his regular drinking binges, which would last for days. I never got a close up in Hollywood, and Sergio framed me on the screen for five minutes. Which is sort of remarkable, because they love each other. Dnde ver La diligencia? Being married with two children, he needed steady work. Woody Strode was born in 1914 in Los Angeles. The character was named after Woody Strode, the legendary Spartacus actor who starred in numerous Westerns throughout the 1960s and 1970s. 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. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Of course being a director from what is still called The Golden Age of Hollywood and despite the fact that Ford considered himself a political progressive (though he was close friends with actors he worked with who were often right wing reactionaries, like John Wayne and James Stewart), his films were not above dealing in negative racial stereotypes often. But Strode (who started his career in the early 1940s after a legendary athletic record at UCLA as a decathlete and a football star, and who died in 1994) is perfectly cast in the lead role as Rutledge and gives a powerful performance in one of the very few lead roles he ever played, among the 90+ films he appeared in, playing mostly supporting roles, sometimes even uncredited, during the early years of his film career. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Look instead at a debate that continues between the lawyer and the farmer about guns. After his football career, he went on to . [3], In 1941, Strode had dabbled for several months in professional wrestling. [11] UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson would go on to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball (in fact, Robinson, Strode, and Washington had all played in the semi-professional Pacific Coast Professional Football League earlier in the decade). Who was Woody Strode, Hollywood star who broke the NFL color barrier? 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. 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. 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.. And he was dressed in blue overalls, a blue work shirt and boots. The tall, confident Woody Strode appeared in five Ford pictures, all the way from "Stagecoach" to Ford's final film, "7 Women" (1966). ", - IMDb Mini Biography By: On a road game in Chicago, hotel management gave he and Washington $100 each to find another hotel in the Black section of town. The result was a few films in which he seemed to be, in a way, making an apology for the wrongs he committed in terms ofhis distorted portrayals of people of color in his previous films. He wrestled intermittently, once defeating Gorgeous George. He was billed as the Pacific Coast Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and the Pacific Coast Negro Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in 1962. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. He was in 87 movies over the length of his career, though Strode . 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. Ford discovered Wayne, then Marion Morrison, when the latter was a University of Southern California student with a summer job on a studio lot. So why would actors put up with him? He later said his salary in Italy went up to $10,000 a week. There's a lot in the film if we care to notice. The Legend of Woody Strode. What a cast! | Strode last appeared on screen posthumously in 1995. He wasan outstanding athlete before his entry into movies. "Sergeant Rutledge" boosted Strode's profile but didn't catapult him to superstardom, the Times wrote in 1971, surmising "he and the film, with its sympathies strongly on the side of the Black man, were ahead of their time." While making Pork Chop Hill he became a close friend of director John Ford. 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. He did 1,000 push-ups, sit-ups, and knee bends daily. 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) Strode also played the powerful gladiator who does battle with Kirk Douglas in Spartacus (1960) ." Born July 25, 1914 Died December 31, 1994 (80) Add to list Awards 2 wins & 3 nominations Photos 37 The role set his Hollywood career in motion. "Visually, he is a tower of strength and also a tower of endurance," film historian Donald Bogle said about Strode in a Turner Classic Movies segment a couple of years ago. Acting wasnt his first passion, however, as football at Jefferson High School and UCLA brought him initial fame. Strode gave the Hollywood establishment what they demanded and appeared in some of the best and the worst of what they offered him. Often typecast as a physical specimen, commentators tended to dwell on Strode's athleticism and chiseled figure, ignoring his acting prowess, the film scholar Frank Manchel once wrote in the Journal of Black Studies. As we got out of the L.A. area we found these racial tensions. He was always magnificent with a no-nonsense style and quiet intellect that no athlete-turned actor has ever surpassed. He signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946 alongside Kenny Washington, an electrifying rusher and college teammate at UCLA. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, unloading bombs in the Pacific. Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments (1956) as a slave at $500 a week for five weeks. Fortunately the DVD made-to-order Warner Archive specialty label is bringing back Rutledge at a lot lower price, starting next week. It was the only picture I did with Sergio Leonethe close ups were great, Strode said. We also meet Link Appleyard (Andy Devine), the drunken town marshal; Doc Willoughby (Ken Murray), the drunken town doctor, and Dutton Peabody (Edmond O'Brien), the editor of the paper. . As they were preparing to shoot, Ford came up to Stewart and asked, What do you think of Woodys costume?. Broken ribs and an ailing shoulder spurred Strode to retire in 1949. Legacies. 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. "Race is not a factor in the world market," he said in 1981. His magnificent Western landscapes are always there, but as environment, not travelogue. In a long flashback involving most of the film, Ford recalls the events leading up to that day. Ford gave Strode the title role in Sergeant Rutledge (1960) as a member of the Ninth Cavalry, who is greatly admired by the other black soldiers in the unit and is falsely accused of the rape and murder of a white woman. Strode was in Storyville (1992), and Posse (1992), working with director Mario Van Peebles. (1979), and an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). "I have the world market on my side even if I don't have the American market.". Otherwise, we would have been inMonument ValleyorBrackettvilleand we would have had colour stock. I'd do that if I could. Woody played for the Los Angeles Rams after their move from Cleveland. Berlinale 2023 Highlights, Part Two: Reality, Manodrome, The Adults, Inside, Golda, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson Feted at SBIFF 2023, Revisiting Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Tragically Common: Jamie Dack, Lily McInerny and Jonathan Tucker on Palm Trees and Power Lines. Strode landed a major starring role as an expert archer and soldier of fortune in the 1966 Western The Professionals. In an interview given before he died, Stewart once described the toll that Fords meanness took on Wayne. In director John Fords Sergeant Rutledge (1960), a western where he depicted a soldier on trial for two murders and the rape of a white woman, when Strode bared his chest to a white woman (actress Constance Towers), even the movie audiences gasped. What is it whats the idea? And I said, I dont know!, And I didnt know, Stewart added. But Ford also effectively takes advantage of the physical, broad-shouldered, overpowering presence of Strode, shooting him often from a low angle to let him dominate the frame and the audience. Stoddard believes so firmly in the law that he is willing to lose his life for his principles. [24], In 2021, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. As for Sergeant Rutledge, it was at one time, a few years ago, available on DVD on Warner Home Video; but it has been out circulation for years, although you could buy an used copy of it for $35 or more on Amazon or Ebay if you wanted it. And it should be mentioned that Rutledge was also the first time in which a black man was seen as a cowboy, or an Army soldier, and not as a slave, a cook or a Pullman porter in aHollywood feature western. He portrayed an assortment of African chiefs and guards until Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments (1956), as the King of Ethiopia. Another well-known role was Pompey, John Waynes servant in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). "[3], Strode posed for a nude portrait, part of Hubert Stowitts's acclaimed exhibition of athletic portraits shown at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (although the inclusion of black and Jewish athletes caused the Nazis to close the exhibit). Integrating the NFL was the low point of my life. Draba wins the contest, but instead of killing Spartacus, he attacks the Roman military commander who paid for the fight. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from [email protected]. No black men had played in the NFL from 1933 to 1946. But Pompey won't drink. 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). 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. Without ever seeming to hurry, he doesn't include a single gratuitous shot. In 1940, UCLA and USC battled in what is believed to be the first cross-town rivalry game with championship implications. Strode had an excellent support part in The Last Voyage (1960) playing a heroic stoker, though he was only billed fifth. It is made clear in "Liberty Valance" that segregation was the practice in the territory. "I'll continue to work in Europe because I'm a star there," Strode said in 1982, per TCM. The 5/6/70 issue of "Variety", in the Italian Films Shooting column, lists the movie "Violence" filming in Morocco, director. Nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his. You ride horses.' Strode had difficulty maintaining the momentum of these roles. If you're a nice guy, you can walk into a room anywhere in the world. Strode was in City Beneath the Sea (1953) directed by Budd Boetticher, and The Royal African Rifles. Ray Hamel. All Rights Reserved. He stayed in Europe to make another Western The Unholy Four (1970) and went back to Hollywood to do a TV movie Breakout (1970) and two Westerns The Deserter (also known as "The Devil's Backbone") (1971), and The Gatling Gun (1971). As an athlete, he helped integrate the NFL. And I did it myself. Three men stand at the center of the story: Stoddard, Doniphon, and Valance. He could beat Glenn Morris, the 1936 Olympic gold-medal decathlete, in all of his events except sprints. Two Rode Together is a 1961 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring James Stewart, Richard Widmark, and Shirley Jones. 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]. Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox, UCLA hires D'Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator, Harbaugh: Michigan good place to be despite challenges, Georgia's Dumas-Johnson charged with reckless driving. "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. He became part of Hollywood lore after meeting director John Ford and becoming a part of the Ford "family," appearing in four Ford motion pictures. 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. But even worse is the poster for the film (above) on which Strode appears, although his name is listed fourth and in tiny letters even smaller that the third person billed actress Billie Burke, who has a small supporting role with just a few lines. [2], He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in South East Los Angeles and college at UCLA, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. His 1968 starring role as a thinly-disguised Patrice Lumumba in Seduto alla sua destra (released in the U.S. as Black Jesus) garnered Strode a great deal of press at the time, but the film is largely forgotten now. [16], In 1952, Strode wrestled almost every week from August 12, 1952, to December 10, 1952, in different cities in California. "It was like I had fought Joe Louis," he recalled. 1952: African. 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 . The supporting cast includes Linda Cristal, Andy Devine, and John McIntire. Indeed Hallie and Nora Ericson (Jeanette Nolan) are the only two noticeable women in town; little wonder Tom's love for Hallie is intense. [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. Additionally, the. 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. However, by the early 1960s, when Ford was in his late 60s and nearing the end of his long career, the director seemed to have mellowed with age, discovering and exploring a more humanist side to himself. Strode was born in Los Angeles on July 25, 1914, the son . 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. 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. Woody Strode (1914-1994) 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. Race is not a factor in the world market," Strode said. In a few characters and a gripping story, Ford dramatizes the debate about guns that still continues in many Western states. "I once played a part written for an Irish prize fighter. Finally, it became way of life.[3], He had roles in Bride of the Gorilla (1951), African Treasure (1951) (another Bomba film), an episode of Dangerous Assignment (1952), Caribbean (1952), and Androcles and the Lion (1952), playing the lion, "the toughest job I ever had" he said later.[20]. His world-class decathlon capabilities were spearheaded by a 50ft (15m) plus shot put (when the world record was 57ft (17m)) and a 6ft 5in (1.96m) high jump (the world record at time was 6ft 10in (2.08m)). 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. He graced the screen alongside Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, and John Wayne, plus Joe Namath when the Jets quarterback toyed with acting in the afterglow of his Super Bowl triumph. (1978), Ravagers (1979), Jaguar Lives! And according to the actor, Ford froze, then walked away. Ford used him again in Two Rode Together (1962) but it was only a small part, as an Indian. Donald Bogle, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks (New York: Continuum, 1992); Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) title search by key word; Woody Strode,; The Timeout Film Guide, edited by Tom Milne, Penguin Books, 3rd Edition, 1992. 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. Born in Los Angeles in 1914, Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode died at age 80 on New Year's Eve 1994. But they should be.". You can unsubscribe at any time. Woody lived in a modest home overlooking Glendora and the San Gabriel Valley, north east of Los Angeles about 25 miles. United States. Sergeant Rutledge is a 1960 western film from Warner Brothers and the director John Ford. Woody Strode was 6-3 (190 cm) tall. Inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum and Hall of Fame in 2012-13. An offensive end, Strode caught four passes for 37 yards and bowed out of the NFL after 10 games. It asks the question: Does a man need to carry a gun in order to disagree or state an opinion? 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? 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