Enjoyable reminiscences of the black athlete and film actor who,
along with Kenny Washington, broke the color barrier to become the
first black to play in the NFL. Strode tells of growing up in L.A.,
then of being recruited by UCLA, where he and teammates Jackie
Robinson and Kenny Washington were known as the "Goal Dust Gang"
and, in 1939, led the Bruins to their first undefeated football
season. After a stint in the Army during WW II, Strode turned pro
as a member of the Rams - an experience he recalls with some
bitterness. Fired from the team after his second season, he played
for a while with the Calgary Stampeders. In the 1950's, he became
professional wrestling's first black star; his anecdotes about the
show-biz world of Gorgeous George and Barone Leone are amusingly
told here. From the half-nelsons to Hollywood was a short step, and
Strode was soon in demand for fight scenes with the likes of Johnny
Weissmuller and Kirk Douglas. Playing a gladiator opposite Douglas
in the Stanley Kubrick epic Spartacus, Strode was forced to crouch
during his fight scenes with the star; Douglas was five-foot-seven
or eight, while Strode stood six-feet-four. It was while making
Sergeant Rutledge for John Ford that Strode and the director became
longtime friends, a relationship the author celebrates with great
feeling. Strode also writes of his 40-year marriage with his
Hawaiian-born wife, Luana, and of the problems they encountered as
an interracial couple. When Luana died of Parkinson's disease,
Strode was devastated. Written with a simplicity that captures the
author's pride in his race and his accomplishments, this is a
worthwhile memoir of black life in America during the past seven
decades. (Kirkus Reviews)
Woody Strode's extraordinary career led him from football field to
wrestling ring to Hollywood. In 1939 Woody, Jackie Robinson and
Kenny Washington led UCLA to its first undefeated football season.
After World War II Woody and Kenny Washington became the first
blacks to play in the NFL. In 1950 Woody became pro wrestling's
first black star, After that it was a small step to Hollywood where
he appeared in such films as The Ten Commandments, Spartacus, and
The Cotton Club. Sam Young and Woody Strode met while working on a
televisions production. Their relationship grew until after three
years, countless hours of conversations and interviews, Goal Dust
was completed.
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