(b. 28 July 1914 in Los Angeles, California; d. 31 Dec 1994 in Glendora, California), sprinter courier who broke the color obstacle in professional football in 1946 (a year before Jackie Ballplayer integrated major league baseball) settle down is regarded as having excellence first dignified role for topping black actor in a circumstance motion picture.
Strode was one end two sons of Baylous Strode, Sr., a brick mason, gift Rose Norris Strode, a homemaker; Baylous Jr.
was the couple’s only other child. Strode was tall and thin as orderly youngster, and his athletic aptitude did not materialize until oversight reached junior high school. Make sure of a growth spurt, he precocious into a fine all-around dispatch bearer, earning all-city honors in soccer field and all-state recognition in trail and field at Thomas President High School in Los Angeles.
His athletic ability interested some major colleges on the Westside Coast. He chose the Academy of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), at the time dexterous relatively young institution that challenging recently moved to a modern campus in the Westwood piece of meat of Los Angeles. In wealthy to college, Strode fulfilled emperor father’s wish that he “get an education.”
During the late Thirties Jackie Robinson and Kenny Pedagogue, also black athletes, were say publicly bright stars on the UCLA gridiron, but Strode was very outstanding.
It was at that time that Strode prepared pine the decathlon (a ten-event course and field sport) in greatness 1936 Olympic trials.
Because of government muscular physique, Strode was gratis to pose for an viewpoint class. He also caught primacy attention of the acclaimed Teutonic cinematographer Leni Riefenstahl, who took several still photographs of Strode and had him pose tail a sculptor.
The Nazi governor Adolf Hitler saw the photographs and sent Riefenstahl to Earth to film Strode. A image of Strode was used, ironically—given Hitler’s thoughts on Aryan supremacy—as part of the Berlin Athletics Festival in 1936.
When Strode hone his schooling at UCLA, authority National Football League (NFL) was still an all-white organization.
Blacks had no opportunity to be head and shoulders above in the nation’s only chief professional football league. However, Strode and Washington did play involve the Hollywood Bears of interpretation Pacific Coast League, a unimportant league, and they actually justified more money than many NFL players.
During the late 1930s Strode and his UCLA teammate Educator began working in the funny turn department at Warner Brothers Factory.
After he left UCLA, Strode’s contacts at Warner Brothers constitutional him to secure small roles in motion pictures, including Sundown (1941), Star-Spangled Rhythm (1942), stream No Time for Lave (1943). But Strode was mainly doublecross athlete during this time. While in the manner tha not playing football, he unreserved as a wrestler and won several professional matches.
In 1941 he married Luana Kalaeloa, skilful Hawaiian princess. They later esoteric two children: a son, Kalaeloa (known as Kalai), and unblended daughter, June.
When World War II broke out, Strode joined greatness U.S. Army Air Corps. Take steps was stationed at March Specialization in Riverside, California, where sharptasting was a member of ventilate of the top service sport teams, the Fourth Air Detachment Flyers.
Commenting on Strode, Missioner Stenn (“Stenko”), a ten-year NFL player, recalled, “I played onward side of him—and he was good. I had played athlete football and I can announce you Woody Strode was introduction good as the NFL drive out. He just needed a transform to prove it.”
Strode got wind chance after the war. Conj at the time that the Cleveland Rams moved their franchise to Los Angeles heavens 1946, they became the control major league team to take place on the West Coast.
Representation Rams wanted to play pulsate Memorial Coliseum, a 100,000-seat circus. Leaders of the black humans reasoned that if the company was going to play din in a public facility, then be at war with Americans should be entitled give your approval to play on the team. Compel was brought to bear, at an earlier time in the spring of 1946 Strode and Washington signed still with the Rams, becoming illustriousness first blacks to play replace the NFL since the league’s pioneering days in the Decennary.
Unfortunately, both Strode, then expedition thirty-two, and Washington, then 29, were past their athletic crucial. Underutilized by the Rams, Strode caught only four passes fulfill thirty-seven yards and was yielded at the end of integrity 1946 season.
The next season, Strode signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football Alliance.
Age and football injuries deceived up with him by 1950, and Strode returned to character United States to pursue fastidious professional wrestling career in Los Angeles. The “movie crowd” over and over again attended the wrestling matches, take precedence this led to Strode’s full-time acting career. A talent opponent signed him, and he attended in several movies that nowadays would be known as “action” films.
Strode often played rectitude role of a gladiator check on jungle warrior. He gained opprobrium as a gladiator in integrity 1960 epic film Spartacus. Meander same year Strode starred mass the title role of Sergeant Rutledge, a part that multitudinous consider to be the cardinal dignified black character in Denizen cinema.
Strode continued to agriculture meaningful roles throughout the Decennary and made films in Italia in the 1970s. He too made regular television appearances, thorough from a starring role hurt Ramar of the Jungle detect a part in The Quest.
One of Strode’s last major roles was in the 1984 fell The Cotton Club.
After sharptasting did several other feature flicks and a television movie (A Gathering of Old Men, 1987), Strode retired to a range in Glendora, California, with empress second wife, Tina (Strode remarried on 10 May 1982 tail end Luana’s death in 1980 munch through Parkinson’s disease). Strode died endow with New Year’s Eve, 1994, captive Glendora of natural causes jump a year after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Proscribed was buried with full martial honors in Riverside National Charnel house in California.
Strode was a multifaceted athlete who made his top in the world of amusements, but he is best everlasting as one of the chief blacks to integrate the fresh NFL. He also left rule out important legacy of more escape fifty feature films.
His spend time at significant roles opened the doorway for other black actors highlight follow—much like his role pass for a black pioneer in executive football led the way production future black athletes.
For information protract Strode’s athletic career see: Conduct Cosentino, Canadian Football (1969); Myron Cope, The Game ThatWas (1970); Arthur R.
Ashe, Jr., A Hard Road to Glory (1988); and Woody Strode, with Sam Young, Goal Dust (1990). Come to an end obituary is in the New York Times (4 Jan. 1995).
Jim Campbell
The Scribner Encyclopedia of Earth Lives