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| Birth Name(s) : Fred Williamson |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Full Fred Williamson Biography
During his time with the Chiefs, Williamson became one of football’s first self-promoters, coining the nickname “The Hammer” — because he used his forearm to deliver karate-style blows to the heads of opposing receivers. Prior to Super Bowl I, he garnered national headlines by boasting that he would knock Green Bay Packers starting receivers Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler out of the game, stating “Two hammers to (Boyd) Dowler, one to (Carroll) Dale should be enough”. His prediction turned out to be ironic, because Williamson himself was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter, his head meeting the knee of Packer running back Donny Anderson. Williamson finished his eight-season career in 1967 with 36 interceptions, which he returned for 479 yards and 2 touchdowns, in 104 games.
Following his retirement from football, Williamson had a career as an actor, much in the mold of star running back Jim Brown. Before Jim Brown did it in 1974, Fred posed nude for Playgirl magazine in the October 1973 issue. One of Williamson’s early television roles was a part in The Cloud Minders, an 1968 episode of Star Trek, playing Anka. He also played Diahann Carroll’s love interest in the sitcom Julia. In an interview for the DVD of Bronx Warriors, Williamson stated that the role in Julia was created for him when he convinced the producers that the Black community was upset that Julia had a different boyfriend every week.
Two of his early film roles were in well-received films of 1970, M*A*S*H and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. He also got to play, in 1973, an African-American mafioso in Black Caesar and its subsequent sequel, Hell Up in Harlem. After this he appeared as an actor in several films, most of which are considered to be of the “blaxploitation” genre.
In 1974, he was selected by the ABC television network as a commentator on Monday Night Football to replace Don Meredith, who had left (temporarily, as it turned out) to pursue an acting and broadcasting career at rival network NBC. Williamson was used on a few pre-season broadcasts, but was deemed unsuitable. He was relieved of his duties at the beginning of the regular season, becoming the first MNF personality not to endure for an entire season. He was replaced by fellow former player (and fellow Gary native) Alex Karras. |
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