Rosey Grier
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Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer,
After Grier's professional sports career, he worked as a bodyguard for Senator Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign. Grier was guarding Ethel Kennedy when Senator Kennedy was shot. Although unable to prevent the assassination, Grier took control of the gun and subdued the shooter, Sirhan Sirhan.
Grier hosted his own Los Angeles television show and made approximately 70 guest appearances on various shows during the 1960s and 1970s.
Grier is known for his serious pursuit of hobbies not traditionally associated with men.[1] Grier became an ordained Protestant minister in 1983 and travels as an inspirational speaker. He founded American Neighborhood Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that serves inner city youth.
Early life
Born in
Grier played football at Abraham Clark High School in Roselle, New Jersey, graduating in 1951.[3][4] At Penn State, he won the IC4A and Penn Relays shot put and discus, as well as qualifying for the javelin finals, and was a Track & Field All-American in 1954 and 1955.[5]
Professional football career
After playing
After eight seasons with New York, Grier was traded in July
Post-football career
Television
After his retirement, Grier hosted the Rosey Grier Show on KABC-TV, a weekly half-hour television show discussing community affairs in Los Angeles.[11]
Bodyguard
Grier served as a bodyguard for his friend,
USO
In December 1968, he accompanied
Acting
Grier has appeared in a number of films and television shows. One of the first football stars to successfully make the transition to acting, he made about 70 television guest appearances. They include a role as one of the security contingent in "The Brain Killer Affair" episode of
He appeared as a panelist on the television game show
Singing
Grier first released singles on the A label in 1960, and over the following twenty-five years he continued to record on various labels including Liberty, Ric, MGM, and A&M.
Politics
Grier spent his early life campaigning for Democrats before becoming a Republican in the early 80s.[citation needed] He appeared in the Democratic fundraiser "America Goes Public" on September 15, 1973 [16] and regularly attended the Democratic National Convention, including the conventions at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago on August 28, 1968 [17] and at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 11, 1980.[18]
Reagan
He was a featured speaker at the 1984 Republican National Convention; during its evening session on August 20, 1984, he endorsed President Ronald Reagan for re-election.[19]
OJ Simpson trial
In 1994 Grier visited O. J. Simpson in jail, who allegedly yelled out a confession to the crime.[20][21]
2018 gubernatorial bid
On January 5, 2017, Grier announced his intention to run for governor of California as a Republican in the 2018 California gubernatorial election.[22] He ended his candidacy in July 2018.[23]
Community service
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (May 2022) |
Grier has also written a number of books, and now travels the United States as an inspirational speaker. He is a cofounder of American Neighborhood Enterprises, an organization that works to help disadvantaged city dwellers buy homes and receive vocational training. Grier was ordained a Protestant minister in 1983, and the next year he founded his nonprofit resource center for inner-city teens, developing spiritual and educational programs for disadvantaged youths.
Grier is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is also on the Milken Family Foundation board of trustees and serves as its program administrator of community affairs.
He has been honored by Penn State as recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1974, and the Alumni Fellow Award in 1991. He was named to the NCAA's "List of the 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes" published to commemorate the NCAA's 100th anniversary. In 1997, he was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2017, he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Grier was well known in the 1970s for his hobbies of
Grier has a daughter from an early relationship named Sherryl Brown-Tubbs. He later married Bernice Lewis, who had one child, Denise, whom he adopted before he and Lewis divorced. He then married Margie Grier and had a son, Roosevelt Kennedy Grier, in 1972. He and Margie divorced in 1978 and remarried in 1980. Margie Grier died on June 10, 2011. He married
Bibliography
- Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men (1973)
- Rosey, an Autobiography: The Gentle Giant (1986)[28]
- Winning (1990)
- Shooting Star: Sometimes You Find What You Didn't Even Know You Were Looking For...: A Novel (1993)
- "Rosey Grier's All-American Heroes: Today's Multicultural Success Stories"(1993)[29]
- The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever (2008)
References
- Bitch Magazine(49): 17–18, 21.
- ^ McClellan, April D. (January 2, 1994). "Tackling trouble in the inner city Former NFL lineman Rosey Grier shifts his social work to Kansas City". The Kansas City Star. p. I1. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Hughes, Will (December 19, 2007). "Gentle Giant". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
Rosey never forgot his roots, often returning to his home town to run track with a local track hero named Bruce "Red Beard".
- ^ The Ultimate New Jersey High School Year Book. 1998.[full citation needed]
- ^ A ROUNDUP OF THE WEEK'S NEWS, Sports Illustrated, June 6, 1955. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ "Rosey Grier Statistics". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
- ^ Wallace, William (July 9, 1963). "Giants Trade Grier for Ram Tackle and High Draft Choice". The New York Times. p. 35. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-171659-1.
The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever.
- ISBN 978-0304368099.
- ^ "NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones dead at 74". Fox News. Associated Press. June 4, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Moritz, Charles (1975). Current Biography Yearbook: 1975. New York City: H. W. Wilson Company. p. 178.
- ^ Pilkington, Ed (January 13, 2007). "The night Bobby died". The Guardian. London. Retrieved January 7, 2007.
- ^ The VVA Veteran(November/December 2014): 28. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- ^ "Season 6 Episodes (1969-70)". Daniel Boone TV. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Roosevelt Grier biography at All Music Guide
- ^ KNBC-4 September 15, 1973 America Goes Public. Rare Broadcast.., retrieved December 8, 2022
- ^ "American decathlete Rafer Johnson , actress Shirley MacLaine, and..." Getty Images. January 13, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ "Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier attends the first day of the Democratic..." Getty Images. October 12, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ "Evening Session, Day 1 1984 Republican National Convention". C-SPAN. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ^ https://www.ocregister.com/2013/11/13/deputy-heard-oj-simpson-confess-maybe/
- ^ https://www.thewrap.com/christopher-darden-oj-simpson-confession-nicole-brown-simpson-ron-goldman/
- ^ Cagle, Kate (December 17, 2016). "Local football legend declares run for governor". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Wilton, Phil (July 31, 2017). "Former football star Rosey Grier takes a pass on the California governor's race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Katzowitz, Josh (July 1, 2013). "Other Hobbies: Rosey Grier loves his needlepoint While Rosey Grier once played on the much-feared Fearsome Foursome, he didn't let that stop him in his pursuit of needlepoint". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- Wichita Eagle. Archived from the originalon November 12, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0313311758.
- ^ Nowels, Michael; Simon, Alex (July 5, 2022). "5 things to know about new Sharks GM Mike Grier". The Mercury News. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0892744060.
Rosey an Autobiography: The Gentle Giant.
- ^ "Ebony Bookshelf". Ebony. May 1993. p. 142. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
External links
- Rosey Grier filmography
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Rosey Grier football statistics
- Needlepoint for Men by Rosey Grier (1973)
- Rosey Grier at IMDb
- Roosevelt Grier biography at All Music Guide
- Image of Roosevelt Grier shakes hands with children at the Watts Summer Festival, Los Angeles, California, 1971. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.