History Creator / OJSimpson

* ''Series/AdventuresInWonderland'' (1 episode, 1994) {{as Himself}}

!!Notable acting roles:

* ''Film/TheKlansman'' (1974)
* ''Film/TheToweringInferno'' (1974)
* ''Film/TheCassandraCrossing'' (1976)
* ''Series/{{Roots|1977}}'' (1977)
* ''Film/CapricornOne'' (1978)
* ''Film/BackToTheBeach'' (1987)
* ''[[Film/TheNakedGun The Naked Gun Trilogy]]''

In 2016 an Creator/{{FX|Networks}} [[Series/ThePeopleVOJSimpson scripted series]] about the trial won several MediaNotes/{{Emmy|Award}} and UsefulNotes/{{Golden Globe|Award}} awards, while an Creator/{{ESPN}} [[Film/OJMadeInAmerica documentary series]] on his life won [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature an Oscar]].

An Creator/{{FX|Networks}} [[Series/ThePeopleVOJSimpson scripted series]] about the trial won several MediaNotes/{{Emmy|Award}}s and [[UsefulNotes/{{BAFTA}} Golden Globes]], and an Creator/{{ESPN}} [[Film/OJMadeInAmerica documentary series]] on his life won [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature an Oscar]].

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oj_simpson.jpeg]]

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson (July 9, 1947 - April 10, 2024) was a former American football player and actor.

Growing up in San Francisco, Simpson had a troubled upbringing but managed to turn his life around and went to the City College of San Francisco. Transferring to the University of Southern California, he participated in track and field and in UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball as a [[UsefulNotes/NFLRunningBacks running back]], earning the Heisman Trophy for college football's best player in 1968. Nicknamed "Juice" because of his shared initials with a certain fruit drink, the name soon became associated with his positively electric bursts of speed and power.

Drafted #1 overall in 1969 by the Buffalo Bills, he led the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague in rushing four seasons. Most famously, he put up the NFL's first ever 2,000-yard rushing season in the 14-game 1973 season. This was arguably the greatest single season any running back has ever had; while seven other running backs have since passed his total record, they each had an extra two games in their efforts and none even came close to his per-game average of 143.1 yards. That performance made him one of only a few people to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player while on a non-playoff team.[[note]]O.J. played in only one playoff game during his pro career.[[/note]] Simpson would later set a single-season TD record in 1976 (since passed) as well as a record for most 200-yard rushing games (6, only since tied by Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry).

Simpson's football career was cut somewhat short by injury, and he retired in 1979 after a brief stint with the 49ers. After he retired from football, Simpson became a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a broadcaster for ''Series/MondayNightFootball'', the [[CelebrityEndorsement celebrity spokesman]] for Hertz car rental, and co-starred in ''Film/TheNakedGun'' film trilogy.

[[OvershadowedByControversy Of course, you probably don't know him for that.]]

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson (July 9, 1947 - April 10, 2024) is a former American football player and actor.

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson (born July 9, 1947) is a former American football player and actor.

Growing up in San Francisco, Simpson had a troubled upbringing but managed to turn his life around and went to the City College of San Francisco. Transferring to the University of Southern California, he participated in track and field and in UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball as a running back, earning the Heisman Trophy for college football's best player in 1968. Nicknamed "Juice" because of his shared initials with a certain fruit drink, the name soon became associated with his positively electric bursts of speed and power.

* ''Film/OJMadeInAmerica'' (2016)

An Creator/{{FX|Networks}} [[Series/ThePeopleVOJSimpson scripted series]] about the trial won several UsefulNotes/{{Emmy|Award}}s and [[UsefulNotes/{{BAFTA}} Golden Globes]], and an Creator/{{ESPN}} [[Film/OJMadeInAmerica documentary series]] on his life won [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestDocumentaryFeature an Oscar]].

->''"O. J. like -- 'I'm not black, I'm O. J.' ''[[{{Beat}} (beat)]]'' Okay."''

Growing up in San Francisco, Simpson had a troubled upbringing but managed to turn his life around and went to the City College of San Francisco. Transferring to the University of Southern California, he participated in track and field and in UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball as a running back, earning the Heisman Trophy for college football's best player in 1968. Nicknamed "Juice" because of his shared initials with a certain fruit drink, the name soon became associated with his positively electric bursts of speed and power. Drafted #1 overall in 1969 by the Buffalo Bills he led the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague in rushing four seasons. Most famously, he put up the NFL's first ever 2,000-yard rushing season in the 14-game 1973 season. This was arguably the greatest single season any running back has ever had; while seven other running backs have since passed his total record, they each had an extra two games in their efforts and none even came close to his per-game average of 143.1 yards. That performance made him one of only a few people to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player while on a non-playoff team.[[note]]O.J. played in only one playoff game during his pro career.[[/note]] Simpson would later set a single-season TD record in 1976 (since passed) as well as a record for most 200-yard rushing games (6, only since tied by Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry).

What followed would be called the "Trial of the Century". In the lengthy, high-profile trial, Simpson was controversially acquitted on two counts of murder in October 1995. The verdict wound up splitting public opinion and would go on to become an infamous episode in American history due to the complete media circus that surrounded it. In spite of the outcome (or perhaps even because of) the trial's outcome, Simpson's carefully tailored public image as a NiceGuy was irrevocably damaged, and afterwards he was basically a pariah without much left in the way of friends, influence, or job opportunities, with the steep fees for his expensive legal team having eaten up the lion's share of his personal funds.

Also in 2006, Simpson attempted to release a ghost-written book about the murders, titled ''If I Did It'', which he claimed was a work of "complete fiction", which described the infamous crime from his point of view. For this project, Simpson briefly managed to get the media conglomerate News Corporation aboard as publishers and even convinced them to make a TV special to promote the book, though they jettisoned the project after complaints from the Brown and the Goldman families. Furthermore, as Simpson was still heavily in outstanding legal debt to the Goldmans, they managed to successfully sue him for the content of book as a way of working towards paying off said debt. The book eventually saw a release in September 2007 under the title, ''[--If--] I Did It: Confessions of the Killer'', with the word "If" greatly reduced in size compared with the other words and placed inside the word "I".

In June 1994, his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman were found stabbed to death in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood. Simpson was named a person of interest, but he refused to turn himself in, instead leading police on a bizarre and infamous low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco owned by his friend, Al Cowlings, before turning himself in after arriving at his Brentwood residence.

-->--n'''Music/JayZ''', "The Story of O. J."

->''"O. J. like -- 'I'm not black, I'm O. J.' [{{beat}}] Okay."''
-->--'''Music/JayZ''', "The Story of O. J."

In 2007, Simpson was back in the spotlight when he was arrested for armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas.[[note]]Full story: He had given most of his valuable possessions to trusted friends for safekeeping to avoid them being seized as payment for the civil suit he lost to the Goldmans (the parents of his wife's friend whom he killed), but as time went on and friends became increasingly doubtful of his innocence, loyalties shifted and those possessions began to be sold. The robbery was Simpson's attempt to recover some of these items, though the items turned out not to have been his and he attempted to steal them anyway.[[/note]] Convicted in 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. He would go on to serve the minimum amount of less than nine years, before being released on parole on October 1, 2017. He was subsequently released from parole early for good behavior on December 14, 2021.

Growing up in San Francisco, Simpson had a troubled upbringing but managed to turn his life around, and went to the City College of San Francisco. Transferring to the University of Southern California, he participated in football and track and field, earning a Heisman Trophy in 1968. He soon went professional, playing for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977, and the San Francisco 49ers from 1978 to 1979. Over the course of his career, he set several records, becoming the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season in 1973, and the only player to ever rush for over 2,000 yards when the NFL still used its 14-game regular season.

Following his retirement in 1979, he embarked on a somewhat-successful acting career, even founding his own television production company. He also worked as a commentator for ''Monday Night Football'' and ''The NFL on NBC'', as well as endorsing many brands and products, most notably Hertz.

What followed would be called the "Trial of the Century". In the lengthy, high-profile trial that followed, Simpson was controversially acquitted on two counts of murder in October 1995. The verdict wound up splitting public opinion, and would go on to become an infamous episode in American history. In spite of the outcome of the trial (or perhaps even because of it), Simpson's public image was irrevocably damaged, and afterwards he was basically a pariah without much left in the way of friends, influence, or job opportunities, with the steep fees for his expensive legal team having eaten up the lion's share of his personal funds.

From that point forward, Simpson kept a relatively low profile, though not for a lack of trying to make some sort of media comeback, as he desperately needed money to pay his outstanding legal debts to the Brown and the Goldman families. In 2000, he moved to Florida, as it's one of the few American states where assets like pensions and homes can't be seized for civil debts in other states. In 2006, he attempted to get the CandidCameraPrank show ''Juiced with O. J. Simpson'', which was [[FollowTheLeader clearly in the vein of]] ''Series/{{Punkd}}'', off the ground, but [[ShortRunners it only managed to last for a one-off TV special]].

Also in 2006, Simpson attempted to release a ghost-written book about the murders, titled ''If I Did It'', which he claimed was a work of "complete fiction", which described the infamous crime from his point of view. For this project, Simpson briefly managed to get the media conglomerate News Corporation aboard as publishers, and even had them convinced to make a TV special to promote the book. News Corporation eventually jettisoned the project after complaints from the Brown and the Goldman families. Furthermore, as Simpson was still heavily in outstanding legal debt to the Goldmans, they managed to successfully sue him for the content of book as a way of working towards paying off said debt. The book eventually saw a release in September 2007 under the title, ''[--If--] I Did It: Confessions of the Killer'', with the word "If" greatly reduced in size compared with the other words, and placed inside the word "I".

In 2007, Simpson was back in the spotlight when he was arrested for armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. Convicted in 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. He would go on to serve the minimum amount of less than nine years, before being released on parole on October 1, 2017. He was subsequently released from parole early for good behavior on December 14, 2021.

In 2007, Simpson was back in the spotlight when he was arrested for armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. Convicted in 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. He would go on to serve the minimum amount of less than nine years, before being released on parole on October 1, 2017.

* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' - "Animal Style" (2013 one-shot)[[note]]A sight gag with an AlternateUniverse version of Simpson's Ford Bronco as the CoolCar of "Juicetice", an alternate of OJ as a ''Series/TheGreenHornet'' pastiche superhero.[[/note]]

->''"O. J. like 'I'm not black, I'm O. J.' [{{beat}}] Okay."''

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' ("The Juice is Loose")

From that point forward, Simpson kept a relatively low profile, though not for a lack of trying to make some sort of media comeback, as he desperately needed money to pay his outstanding legal debts to the Brown and the Goldman families. In 2000, he moved to Florida, as it's one of the few states where assets like pensions and homes can't be seized for civil debts in other states. In 2006, he attempted to get the CandidCameraPrank show ''Juiced with O. J. Simpson'', which was [[FollowTheLeader clearly in the vein of]] ''Series/{{Punkd}}'', off the ground, but [[ShortRunners it only managed to last for a one-off TV special]].

->''"O.J. like 'I'm not black, I'm O.J.' [{{beat}}] Okay."''
-->--'''Music/JayZ''', "The Story of O.J."

Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson (born July 9, 1947) is a former American football player and actor.

Also in 2007, Simpson ended up back in the spotlight for other, even more infamous reasons, as he was arrested for armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. Convicted in 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. He would go on to serve the minimum amount of less than nine years, before being released on parole on October 1, 2017.

[[NeverLiveItDown Of course, you probably don't know him for that.]]

Of course, you probably don't know him for that.