Dick Butkus, Hall Of Fame Linebacker And Classic Television Star, Has Died At 80
The list of things you can call "all-American" and not mean it in a bad way grows smaller and smaller as time marches ever onward, but today the title solemnly fits: we lost a true all-American star in Dick Butkus. The trailblazing football player and Hall of Fame inductee, widely considered one of the best linebackers who ever lived, has died at the age of 80. The Butkus family released a statement earlier today announcing that Butkus had passed "peacefully in his sleep overnight." George H. McCaskey, the Chairman of Butkus' career-long team, the Chicago Bears, released his own statement shortly after memorializing Butkus thusly:
"Dick was the ultimate Bear, and one of the greatest players in NFL history. He was Chicago's son. He exuded what our great city is about and, not coincidentally, what George Halas looked for in a player: toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership."
In their touching obituary, the NFL noted about a dozen of the stunning accomplishments Butkus racked up over the course of his storied tenure with the Bears. He only played for nine years, but in that time he was a five-time first-team All-Pro selection and an eight-time Pro Bowl honoree. He ranks second in the entire NFL for takeaways, was feared and revered as one of the most menacing linebackers in the league standing 6'3, and was named to Hall of Fame All-Decade Teams for the 1960s and 1970s, before earning his own personal spot in 1979.
Many of you may not be familiar with anything I just wrote, but still recognize the name Dick Butkus. If you've watched virtually any shows from TV's classic era all the way up through the '90s, you'll know him from his second career as a movie and TV star.
A icon of TV's golden age
Like a lot of athletes whose profiles begin to extend beyond the confines of the field or the court — think Dwayne Johnson, Jim Brown, etc. — Butkus began making cameo appearances as himself in various films and television shows. As his career in sports began to wind down, Butkus wisely began to tee up a lucrative second career through walk-on roles in series like "Emergency!," "McMillan & Wife," "The Six Million Dollar Man," and "The Rockford Files." You can tell just by the names of his characters ("Coach," "Dave The Animal," "Heavy") that he often played variations on his public persona as a gridiron bruiser.
But as time went on and Butkus became more confident in his screen persona, he began accepting larger parts on more acclaimed projects. Butkus appeared in a number of wonderfully received (though woefully hard to find in the digital age) TV movies during the peak of their popularity. That included the superbowl-themed crime drama "Superdome," "Cass Malloy," a groundbreaking story in which a homemaker replaces her late husband as sheriff of a small Indiana town, and his debut, the acclaimed "Brian's Song." And no one can forget his appearance in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," where he encounters the mutated vegetable gremlin, as seen at the top of the post.
Film and TV-wise, Butkus will perhaps best be remembered for his guest appearances on virtually every popular TV show that ran from the '70s through the '90s, including "Taxi," "Fantasy Island," "Magnum P.I.," "The Love Boat," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Night Court." But Butkus was also a series regular on the kind of proto-"Modern Family" sitcom "My Two Dads."
Butkus was as warm and sweet as he was gruff and intimidating. His kindly ways, familiar and beloved to many of us, will be missed.