O.J. Simpson Dies, Former NFL Star and Actor Acquitted of Murder, Was 76

O.J. Simpson (Credit: Shutterstock)

O.J. Simpson, an NFL Hall of Famer who was accused and eventually acquitted of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, has died. He was 76.

Simpson’s family shared news of his death on social media, saying he passed away on Wednesday, April 10.

“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,” the family’s statement read.

Simpson’s attorney told TMZ he died in Las Vegas.

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O.J. Simpson Murder Trial (Credit: YouTube)
Johnnie Cochran and other famed lawyers represented Simpson in his murder trial. (Credit: YouTube)

The fallen football hero revealed he had cancer in a video he posted on X, formerly Twitter, in May 2023.

“I unfortunately caught cancer, so I had to do the whole chemo thing,” he said in the video, without giving specifics on the type of cancer he had. Several media outlets later reported he was suffering from prostate cancer.

Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco on July 9, 1947.

Nicknamed “The Juice,” he played football for the USC Trojans and was a star college athlete. He won the Heisman Trophy as a senior and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 1969 National Football League draft.

He played in the NFL for 11 seasons, and is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time.

After leaving football, Simpson became a sportscaster, an actor with dozens of credits on films and TV shows, and a pitchman for Hertz rental cars.

The once popular entertainment figure’s media career suddenly ended when he was accused of killing his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

On June 12, 1994, Nicole and Ron were brutally stabbed to death outside her home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Within days of the killings, police identified Simpson as a suspect.

Before surrendering, Simpson was involved in a low-speed, televised police chase in a white Ford Bronco through Los Angeles. His longtime friend Al Cowlings was behind the wheel and Simpson was in the back seat with a handgun, threatening to take his life.

Simpson turned himself in to police and stood trial for the murders. In October 1995, he was acquitted in a trial that was televised daily and followed by breathless media coverage.

He was found liable for both killings in a civil lawsuit in 1997.

Over a decade later, Simpson was arrested in 2007 after leading a group of men into a Las Vegas hotel and casino at gunpoint, to take what he said was his own stolen sports memorabilia.

Simpson was charged with a string of felonies, including kidnapping and armed robbery. The following year, he was found guilty and sentenced to up to 33 years in prison.

He spent nine years behind bars in Nevada before he was released in 2017.


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