Defensive Linemen in the Movies: Rosey Grier

Rosey Grier is a dignified man. He was a political activist for civil rights, an ordained minister, like to needlepoint, was a helluva football player, a singer and an actor. In the late 1960s he had several roles in television serioes, to get a fuller list click here.

However, he did get to play one of the most undignified roles in football player-turned-actor movies, The Thing with Two Heads in which he played, well, Jack Moss, a man with two heads.

However, he played quite a few other roles and like Olsen, Ben Davidson, Jim Brown, he was a working actor for quite a long time. He played Big Jim in Carter's Army, a made-for-tv movie that is sometimes listed as Black Brigade.

He had a recurring role in Daniel Boone (TV Series) as Gabe Cooper, a part native American, part African slave who had been freed.

Another key role was as  Redwood Rosenbloom in Timber Tramps.

On the hit TV show McMillan & Wife Grier's role as as Bobo Johnson

On the TV show Kojak, he played Salathiel Harms, not unlike Huggy Bear on Starsky and Hutch

Before the Thing with Two Heads Grier was cast as Gary Brown in Skyjacked 

In 1975-76 Greier played Benjy or Fats on Movin' On, the TV series.

In 1981, on The White Shadow TV Series) he played Ezra Davis, a fictional Los Angeles Ram

In 1979 Grier played Virgil Plummer on The Love Boat 

Grier remained active in Hollywood from 1966 through the late-1990s. Not a bad run for a good man.