Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017)[1] was an American actor, poet, visual artist and professional American football player.

Bernie Casey
refer to caption
Casey in 1964
No. 30, 25
Position:Flanker,
Halfback,
Tight end
Personal information
Born:(1939-06-08)June 8, 1939
Wyco, West Virginia, U.S.
Died:September 19, 2017(2017-09-19) (aged 78)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:East
(Columbus, Ohio)
College:Bowling Green
NFL draft:1961 / round: 1 / pick: 9
AFL draft:1961 / round: 9 / pick: 70
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:105
Starts:93
Receptions:359
Receiving yards:5,444
Touchdowns:40
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life and education

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Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey.[2] He graduated from East High School in Columbus, Ohio.[1] He then attended Bowling Green State University.

Career

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Athletics

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Casey was a record-breaking hurdler for Bowling Green State University[3] and helped the 1959 football team win a small college national championship.[4] Casey earned All-America recognition and a trip to the finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1960. In addition to national honors, he won three consecutive Mid-American Conference titles in the high-hurdles, 1958–60.[5]

Casey was the ninth overall selection of the 1961 NFL draft, taken by the San Francisco 49ers. He played eight NFL seasons (several positions, first five seasons mainly a halfback, last three seasons a flanker (setback wide receiver)): six with the 49ers and two with the Los Angeles Rams.[1] His best-known play came in 1967 for the Rams in the penultimate game of the regular season against the Green Bay Packers. The Rams needed to win to keep their division title hopes alive, but trailed 24–20 with under a minute to play. Facing fourth down, the Packers lined up to punt, but Tony Guillory blocked the Donny Anderson punt and Claude Crabb returned it to the Packer five-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Casey caught the winning touchdown pass from Roman Gabriel with under thirty seconds to play to give the Rams a 27–24 victory.[6][7] The Rams defeated the Baltimore Colts the following week to win the Coastal Division title at 11–1–2.[8][9][10][11]

Acting

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Casey began his acting career in the film Guns of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to The Magnificent Seven. Then he played opposite fellow former NFL star Jim Brown in the crime dramas ...tick...tick...tick... and Black Gunn. He played a leading role in the 1972 science fiction TV film Gargoyles. He also played Tamara Dobson's love interest in 1973's Cleopatra Jones.

 
Casey in 2014.

From there he moved between performances on television and the big screen such as playing team captain for the Chicago Bears in the TV film Brian's Song. In 1979, he starred as widower Mike Harris in the NBC television series Harris and Company, the first weekly American TV drama series centered on a black family. In 1980, he played Major Jeff Spender in the television mini-series The Martian Chronicles, based on the novel by Ray Bradbury.

In 1981, Casey played a detective opposite Burt Reynolds in the feature film Sharky's Machine, directed by Reynolds. The two reunited a few years later for the crime story Rent-a-Cop.

In 1983, he played the role of CIA agent Felix Leiter in the non-Eon Productions James Bond film Never Say Never Again. He appeared in Revenge of the Nerds and had a comedic role as Colonel Rhombus in the John Landis film Spies Like Us. Casey also appeared in the film Hit Man.

Also during his career, he worked with such well-known directors as Martin Scorsese in his 1972 film Boxcar Bertha and appeared on such television series as The Streets of San Francisco.

He played a version of himself, and other football players turned actors, in Keenen Ivory Wayans's 1988 comedic film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.[12] He played high school history teacher Mr. Ryan, in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, released in 1989. Casey appeared as a very influential prisoner with outside connections in Walter Hill's Another 48 Hrs.. In 1992, he appeared as a Naval officer on the battleship USS Missouri in Under Siege.

In 1994, Casey guest-starred in a two-episode story arc in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the Maquis leader Lieutenant Commander Cal Hudson, and in 1995 as a guest-star on both SeaQuest 2032 as Admiral VanAlden and Babylon 5 as Derek Cranston. In 2006, he co-starred in the film When I Find the Ocean alongside such actors as Lee Majors.

Personal life and death

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Casey enjoyed painting and writing poetry. Look at the People, a book of his paintings and poems, was published by Doubleday in 1969.[13] He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on September 19, 2017, after a stroke.[14][15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1969 Guns of the Magnificent Seven Cassie
[16]
1970 ...tick...tick...tick... George Harley Crime drama film directed and co-produced by Ralph Nelson [17]
1971 Black Chariot The Drifter Blaxploitation drama film written and directed by Robert Goodwin [18][19]
1972 Boxcar Bertha Von Morton
[20][21]
Black Gunn Seth Neo-noir blaxploitation film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis [22]
Hit Man Tyrone Tackett
[23][24]
1973 Cleopatra Jones Reuben Masters Blaxploitation action film directed by Jack Starrett [25]
Maurie Maurice Stokes Semi-biographical film directed by Daniel Mann [26]
1975 Cornbread, Earl and Me Officer Larry Atkins
  • Loosely based on Ronald Fair's novel Hog Butcher
  • Drama film directed and co-produced by Joseph Manduke
[27][28][29]
1976 Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Pride
[30][31]
The Man Who Fell to Earth Mr. Peters [32][33]
1977 Brothers David Thomas Drama film directed by Arthur Barron and produced by Edward Lewis and Mildred Lewis [34]
1981 Sharky's Machine Detective Arch Driscoll
[35][36]
1983 Never Say Never Again CIA Agent Felix Leiter
[37][38]
1984 Revenge of the Nerds U.N. Jefferson Comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew [39]
1985 Spies Like Us Colonel Rhombus
1987 Steele Justice Detective Tom Reese
Amazon Women on the Moon Major General Hadley
Rent-A-Cop Lemar
1988 Backfire Clinton James
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka John Slade
1989 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Mr. Ryan
1990 Another 48 Hrs. Kirkland Smith
1991 Chains of Gold Sergeant Falco
1992 Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation U.N. Jefferson Television film
Under Siege Commander Harris
1993 The Cemetery Club John
Street Knight Raymond
1994 Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love U.N. Jefferson Television film
The Glass Shield James Locket
1995 In the Mouth of Madness Robinson
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored Mr. Walter
1997 The Dinner Good Brother
2001 Tomcats Officer Hurley
2002 Jim Brown: All-American Himself
On the Edge Rex Stevens
2006 When I Find the Ocean Amos Jackson
2007 Vegas Vampires Bloodhound Bill Final film role

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1971 Brian's Song J.C. Caroline
[40][41]
1972 Cade's County Patrick Episode: "Slay Ride"
Longstreet Ray Eller Episode: "Field of Honor"
The Streets of San Francisco Richard Episode: "Timelock"
Gargoyles The Gargoyle Television film directed by Bill L. Norton [42]
1974 The Snoop Sisters Willie Bates Episode: "Fear Is a Free-Throw"
Panic on the 5:22 Wendell Weaver Television film directed by Harvey Hart and produced by Quinn Martin [43][44]
1975 Police Story Duke Windsor Episode: "Company Man"
1976 Joe Forrester Cleveland Episode: "The Answers"
1977 Police Woman P.J. Johnson Episode: "Once a Snitch"
Police Story Hamilton Ward Episode: "The Six Foot Stretch"
Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night Dave Williams Television film directed by Allen Reisner [45][46]
It Happened at Lakewood Manor Vince
[47]
1978 Ring of Passion Joe Louis Television film directed by Robert Michael Lewis [48]
Love Is Not Enough Mike Harris Television film directed by Ivan Dixon [49]
1979 Roots: The Next Generations Bubba Haywood
[50][51]
Harris and Company Mike Harris Short-lived drama series [52][53]
1980 The Martian Chronicles Major Jeff Spender
[54][55][56]
1981 The Sophisticated Gents Shurley Walker
[57][58]
1982 A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion Slave Television film directed by Stan Lathan [59]
Trapper John, M.D. Thornie Thornberry Episode: "Love and Marriage"
Hear No Evil Inspector Monday Television film directed by Harry Falk Jr. and written by Tom Lazarus [60][61][62]
1983–1984 Bay City Blues Ozzie Peoples
  • Short-lived Sitcom
  • Canceled after four episodes and four burned off in July 1984 for a total of 8 episodes
[63][64]
1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Calvin Hudson Episode: "The Maquis"
1995 seaQuest 2032 Admiral Vanalden Episode: "Chains of Command"
1995 Babylon 5 Derek Cranston 2 episodes [65][66]
2000 Just Shoot Me Himself 1 episode
2005 Girlfriends Judge Edward Dent Episode: "Judging Edward"

References

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Citations

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  3. ^ "Mid-American Conference Men's Track and Field History" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  4. ^ Washington Post Staff (September 23, 2017). "Bernie Casey, football star-turned-actor, dies at 78". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: WP Company LLC (Nash Holdings LLC). Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
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  6. ^ "Packers pull fat out of Green Bay fire". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 10, 1967. p. 1B.
  7. ^ Maule, Tex (December 18, 1967). "A real wowser for the Rams". Sports Illustrated. p. 12. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "Gabriel outshines Unitas in 34-10 Ram win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). AP, UPI. December 18, 1967. p. 1C.
  9. ^ "Unitas watches Roman carnival from turf". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 18, 1967. p. 26.
  10. ^ "Rams swamp Colts, gain play-off, 34-10". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. December 18, 1967. p. 17, part 2.[permanent dead link]
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  12. ^ Barnes, Harper (July 20, 1984). "Revenge of the Nerds Archived 2022-09-03 at the Wayback Machine". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 12C.
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Sources

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