O.J. Simpson, Ex-Football Player and Acquitted Murder Suspect, Dead at 76

Rebecca Iannucci
·3 min read
4
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson, the former football player and actor whose legacy was defined by an infamous murder trial, has died. He was 76.

Simpson’s family shared the news of his passing Thursday in an X post, which read, “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

More from TVLine

Simpson’s prostate cancer diagnosis was first reported in February, at which point he was said to be undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Simpson first rose to fame as a standout football player, winning the Heisman Trophy during his time on the University of Southern California Trojans team. He was later drafted to the NFL, where he enjoyed an accomplished career with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. During that time, Simpson also worked as an actor, appearing in several movies and episodes of Roots, Cade’s County and Ironside, among others.

But Simpson’s football and acting careers were ultimately overshadowed when he was accused in 1994 of murdering ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, who were found stabbed to death outside Brown’s home in June of that year. The subsequent pursuit and trial of Simpson became some of television’s most-watched events of all time, beginning with a now-infamous car chase in which police pursued Simpson’s white Ford Bronco for nearly an hour.

Coverage of Simpson’s trial preempted daytime TV for months, and is widely considered to have disrupted daytime soap opera viewership habits to an extent that several sudsers fell by the wayside, leaving us with just four today.

oj-simpson-tv-impact-car-chase-acting-football
oj-simpson-tv-impact-car-chase-acting-football

O.J. Simpson on TV: The Notorious Star’s Influence on the Small Screen

View List

Simpson was ultimately — and, to many, surprisingly — acquitted of the criminal charges against him, but during a civil lawsuit brought against him in 1997, Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death of Goldman and battery against Brown. Simpson encountered many other legal troubles in the years following his acquittal; in 2008, he was tried for and found guilty of multiple felony counts after his involvement with a Las Vegas robbery. Though Simpson was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison, he was released on parole in 2017, then released early from parole in 2021 due to good behavior.

Simpson’s criminal trial left an indelible mark on popular culture, and has been the subject of several miniseries, TV-movies and documentaries over the years. Most notable was FX’s The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson. The acclaimed limited series was nominated for more than a dozen Emmys in 2016, with Sarah Paulson (as prosecutor Marcia Clark), Courtney B. Vance (as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran) and Sterling K. Brown (as co-prosecutor Christopher Darden) among that year’s winners.

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter