Woody Strode facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Woody Strode
Strode in The Italian Connection (1972)
Born	Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (1914-07-25)July 25, 1914 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1994(1994-12-31) (aged 80) Glendora, California, U.S.
Alma mater	UCLA
Occupation	Actor, author, football player
Years active	1941–1994
Spouse(s)	Luukialuana Kalaeloa ​ (died 1980)​ Tina Tompson ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	2, including Kalai
Football career
No. 39
Position:	Offensive end
Personal information
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:	Thomas Jefferson (CA)
College:	UCLA
Career history
Hollywood Bears (1940–1942) Los Angeles Rams (1946) Calgary Stampeders (1948–1949)
Career highlights and awards
Grey Cup champion (1948) 2× CFL West All-Star (1948, 1949)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 10 Receptions: 4 Receiving yards: 37 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR
Military career
Service/branch	United States Army Air Corps

Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (born July 25, 1914 – died December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. He was a talented athlete who excelled in the decathlon and was a football star. He was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League after World War II.

After his football career, he became a successful film actor. He was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie Spartacus in 1960. Strode also served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.

Early Life and Sports Career

Woody Strode was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents came from New Orleans. His grandmother was African-American and also part Cherokee. His grandfather was an African-American who said his own grandmother was Creek.

High School and College Sports

Strode went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles. Later, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

He was a world-class decathlon athlete. He was very good at the shot put, throwing it over 50 ft (15 m). He could also high jump 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m).

In a 1971 interview, Strode said he studied history and education in college. He joked that he never used those subjects for work, but they gave him a good "cultural education."

College Football Success

In 1939, Strode, Kenny Washington, and Jackie Robinson were all stars on the UCLA Bruins football team. They were three of the four main players in the backfield. They became famous across the country as "the Gold Dust gang."

Along with Ray Bartlett, there were four Black American players on the Bruins team. This was a lot, as only a few dozen Black players were on other college football teams at the time. They played against the USC team, who were champions that year, in a game that ended in a tie. This game decided who would go to the 1940 Rose Bowl. It was the first time the UCLA–USC rivalry game had such a big impact nationally.

Early Acting Roles

Strode first appeared in a movie called Sundown in 1941. He played a native policeman. He had a small role as a chauffeur in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942). He also appeared briefly in No Time for Love (1943).

Professional Sports and War Service

When World War II started, Strode was playing for the Hollywood Bears in a professional football league. He was drafted into the military at age 27. He joined the United States Army Air Corps. During the war, he helped unload bombs in Guam and the Marianas. He also played on the Army football team at March Field in California.

Breaking Barriers in Football

After the war, Strode worked for the District Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. In 1946, Strode and Kenny Washington became two of the first African-Americans to play in the modern National Football League. Before them, no Black men had played in the NFL from 1933 to 1946. Their UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson would later break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Strode experienced racism for the first time when traveling with the team. He said he wasn't aware of it growing up in Los Angeles. He recalled, "On the Pacific Coast there wasn't anything we couldn't do. As we got out of the L.A. area we found these racial tensions."

In 1948, Strode played for the Calgary Stampeders in Canada. He was part of the team that won the Grey Cup Championship in 1948. He retired from football in 1949 because of an injury. He broke two ribs and a shoulder.

Professional Wrestling Career

In 1941, Strode tried professional wrestling for a few months. After his football career ended in 1949, he returned to wrestling part-time. He wrestled until 1962, sometimes against famous wrestlers like Gorgeous George.

In 1952, Strode wrestled almost every week in different cities in California. He was known as the Pacific Coast Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. He also teamed up with other wrestlers like Bobo Brazil and Bearcat Wright.

Acting Career Highlights

Woody Strode's acting career really took off when producer Walter Mirisch saw him wrestling. Mirisch cast him as an African warrior in The Lion Hunters (1951). This was part of the "Bomba the Jungle Boy" movie series.

They asked him to shave his head for the role. He didn't want to at first, but they offered him $500 a week. He said, "I was out in the world market with a bald head. Trapped for life. Finally, it became way of life.”

He appeared in other films like Bride of the Gorilla (1951) and African Treasure (1951). He also played the lion in Androcles and the Lion (1952), which he called "the toughest job I ever had."

Strode was in City Beneath the Sea (1953) and several episodes of the TV series Ramar of the Jungle. He played a gladiator in Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954).

Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments (1956). He played a slave and also the Ethiopian king.

Rising to Fame

Strode as Sergeant Rutledge

Strode gained more fame when he was cast in Spartacus (1960). He played Draba, an Ethiopian gladiator who fights Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas). Draba wins the fight but refuses to kill Spartacus. Instead, he attacks the Roman commander, which leads to his own death and sparks a gladiator rebellion.

He had another important role in The Last Voyage (1960) as a heroic stoker.

While filming Pork Chop Hill, Strode became good friends with director John Ford. Ford cast him in Sergeant Rutledge (1960), where Strode played the main character. This was a big deal because it was rare for a Black actor to have such a leading role in a Western.

Strode later said about the film, "It had dignity. John Ford put classic words in my mouth... You never seen a Negro come off a mountain like John Wayne before."

Strode continued to work with John Ford in other films. He had a small part as an Indian in Two Rode Together (1962). He had a bigger role in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) as Pompey, John Wayne's helper. In this movie, Strode's character recites the Declaration of Independence but forgets the line "all men are created equal." This was a powerful moment for audiences in 1962.

He also appeared in Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963) and Genghis Khan (1965). His last film with John Ford was 7 Women (1966). Strode was very close to Ford and even cared for him during his later years.

In the late 1960s, Strode appeared in several episodes of the Tarzan TV series. He also played the Grand Mogul in two Batman episodes.

Strode had a major role as an expert archer in the 1966 Western The Professionals. This movie was a big success and helped him become a well-known star.

Working in Europe

From 1968 to 1971, Strode lived and worked in Europe. He starred in Seduto alla sua destra (released in the U.S. as Black Jesus) in 1968.

He played an Indian in Shalako (1968). He also played a gunslinger in the famous opening scene of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). He decided to stay in Europe because producers told him, "Not necessary. You ride horses."

Strode appeared in Che! (1969) and Boot Hill (1969). He made more Westerns like The Unholy Four (1970) and The Deserter (1971). Strode said he didn't mind the scripts as long as "the money was right."

He continued making films in Europe, including Scipio the African (1971), The Last Rebel (1971), and The Revengers (1972). His salary in Italy went up to $10,000 a week. He earned $150,000 for The Italian Connection (1972).

Strode said that race was not a problem in the international film market. He said, "I once played a part written for an Irish prize fighter. I've done everything but play an Anglo-Saxon. I'd do that if I could."

He also appeared in many other films and TV shows throughout the 1970s, such as Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) and an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979).

Later Career and Recognition

Strode continued acting into the 1990s. He was in Storyville (1992) and Posse (1993). His very last film was The Quick and the Dead (1995), which starred Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie was dedicated to Strode, who passed away shortly before it was released.

In 1980, Woody Strode was honored by being inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was also inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Personal Life

Woody Strode's first wife was Princess Luukialuana Kalaeloa, also known as Luana Strode. She was a distant relative of Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii. They had two children: a son named Kalai (who became a television director) and a daughter named June. They were married until Luana's death in 1980.

In 1982, when he was 68, Strode married Tina Tompson, who was 35. They remained married until his death. Woody Strode passed away from lung cancer on December 31, 1994, in Glendora, California, at the age of 80. He is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

Strode was also dedicated to martial arts, studying Seishindo Kenpo.

Tributes

The character Sheriff Woody from the Toy Story animated films is named after Woody Strode. Also, a character in the TV series Psych, the Santa Barbara Coroner, was named after him.

Awards and Honors

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Iron Mike Mazurki Award (1992)

Selected Filmography

Author

• Strode wrote his life story in a book called Goal Dust (ISBN: 0-8191-7680-X).

See also

In Spanish: Woody Strode para niños