At 6ft 9 and weighing 20st, John was an imposing presence and a hit with the ladies. Wiggin got into the ambulance with Matuszak and pounded on his chest until he came around, accomplishing what the paramedics could not. Though Matuszak survived, his career in Kansas City did not, and he was shipped off to the Washington Redskins. He was no fan of the press, as the press always fed on his exploits, leading to the perception that he was a real "bad dude." Matuszak was taken from his Los Angeles home to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank on Saturday night suffering apparent massive heart failure, said Hospital spokeswoman Terri G . He starred in a short-lived 1985 prime-time television series, "Hollywood Beat," playing George Grinsky, a huge gay informant whose business was used by undercover cops working in Hollywood. Mr. Griffith was a native of Washington and a graduate of George Mason High School in Falls Church. His first major role was in the 1979 movie North Dallas Forty as a football player. Matuszak was always big for his age, which became an advantage as a defensive lineman in football. "It was never his fault. In addition to his contract with the Oilers, he joined the Houston Texans of the World Football League (WFL), playing a total of seven plays before a restraining order was served to him during a game, barring him from playing for two teams at the same time. One other complication that was a factor in his death was that he had an enlarged heart, too big even for his massive frame. Matuszak knew he had an obsessive personality, and tried to fight it when he could. He then joined the Raiders as a free agent just before the second game of the 1976 season. That's right: The Tooz got nude. According to our Database, He has no children. Still, it was worth it, according to Tooz. Observers expected John Matuszak to be a much better player when he entered the NFL. Family tragedy followed by early fame set him on a course of self-destruction that ended in his sudden and unexpected death at the age of 38. And he couldn't make it. The. (1982),The Dukes of Hazzard(1984),The Fall Guy(1985),Benson(1985),1st & Ten: The Championship(1987),The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission(1988),Superboy(1989), among many others. Alabama guard John Hannah, selected fourth by the New England Patriots, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, his first year of eligibility, following a 13-year career, while quarterback Bert Jones (Baltimore Colts), offensive tackle Jerry Sisemore, tight end Charle Young (Philadelphia Eagles), and defensive tackle Dave Butz (St. Louis Cardinals) were all prominent throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s. John Matuszak was an American football defensive end in the National Football League who later became an actor.. She has been married to LeVar Burton since 3 October 1992. Father: Marvin Matuszak Mother: Audrey Matuszak Marital Status: Divorced Past Relationships: Our dedicated Editorial team verifies each of the articles published on the Biographyhost. He attended the University of Tampa and played for their football team. John Matuszak played 123 games over his career . At his funeral, his pastor noted that he'd often donated time to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As a result, as he put it, "painkillers are a way of life in the NFL." Matuszak also left the contents of his house in Franklin, Wis., to his sister, the boys mother, Christine Evancy. Matuszak was the only surviving son one of his brothers died at birth, while the other only lived two years. He started to devote a lot of time to working with kids and charities, and spent many hours with his beloved nieces and nephews as well. His net worth is USD $4 million (approx) in 2021. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'biographyhost_com-banner-1','ezslot_5',132,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-banner-1-0'); According toCelebrity Net Worth, Matuszak had an estimated net worth equivalent to $400 thousand when he died in 1990. He made sports page headlines when he violated team curfew by partying in New Orleans the night before the Raiders beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in the 1981 Super Bowl. He was a brawler, a partier, and a guy who didn't want to take responsibility for his actions, but he loved children and he was known for his generosity. And his next career was already in motion. Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. He played for the University of Missouri during college, and was drafted into professional football for two teams at once, the Houston Oilers in the NFL and the Houston Texans . 1 NFL draft pick in 1973, thus proving that it's okay to mess up someone's face as long as you didn't actually mean to mess up his face, and as long as you're really, really good at football. His castmates on Goonies remembered him as a "sweetheart. John Matuszak was born on October 25, 1950, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, United States He grew up there with his Family. Later, Matuszak celebrated with Chivas Regal and prescriptions, and then passed out. "When he arrived," coachJohn Madden told ESPN, "I wasn't about to talk to him about his past. Matuszak, 38, died in June at St. Josephs Medical Center in Burbank. His zodiac sign is Scorp He also belonged to the Scottish Rite, Kena Temple Shrine and the Royal Arch. Matuszak was the only one of the first six selections of the 1973 draft never to earn first-team All-Pro honors. Stephanie Cozart Burton. John Matuszaks income source is mostly from being a successful . Matuszak was born in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Still, what people mostly paid attention to were his wild antics and his being a maniac on the football field. He was stricken at his home and was taken by paramedics to the hospital, where he died at 9:39 p.m., a hospital spokesman said. The joke at the time was that you didnt have to be a convicted felon to play for the Raiders, but it helped. Maybe because Matuszak fit in with this team full of screw-ups and misfits, he finally buckled down and began to perform up to his potential. By the time he became a professional athlete, Matuszak stood 6ft 8in (2.03m) and weighed over 280lb (130kg). and as recognizable as Indiana Jones. Raiders 24 -Steelers 7. The reason for his death was an overdose of a prescription painkiller called Darvocet, which led to his heart failure. The report also said that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) and bronchopneumonia had been contributing factors in his death. Matuszak's character Sloth wears an Oakland Raiders shirt in some scenes. He is most remembered for His best known role was as the deformed Sloth in . Discover John Matuszak's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Also, during his stint with the Raiders, Matuszak enjoyed a breakfast of bagels and Cheez Whiz, and also drugs. After the coroner's report was released, his parents admitted that their son used prescription and illegal drugs to try to cope with chronic back pain. Matuszak actually met John Belushi five days before Belushi died, and saw how bent out of shape he was. A former girlfriend who talked to John Matuszak last Friday said the football player-turned-actor had tried hard in recent years to overcome widely publicized drug and alcohol problems. He prayed to stop growing, but he only grew taller. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 39 years old? John Matuszak is a member of the following lists: American film actors, American television actors and 1950 births. In 1974, while he was still playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, he upset his wife, so she tried to run him over with their Cadillac convertible. College football was the next logical step for Matuszak, but his 1.7 GPA wasn't good enough for his dream school, Iowa. Matuszak acted professionally in the 1980s, making appearances in feature films and on television, often portraying football players or gentle giants. Cause of Death. Later that year, as a free agent, Matuszak signed with the Raiders. The Tragic Life Of Goonies Actor John Matuszak Revealed, Man Finds Old Buried Chain, His Gut Then Tells Him To Keep Pulling, Homeless Man Sues Burger King For a Million Dollars, Over 3 Months Spent In Jail Without Proof, She Looked Like She Was Pregnant With 30 Puppies, Then Vet Gives Mom The X-Ray, 10-Year-Old Boys Sentenced To Life In Prison After Child Goes Missing, Daughter Wakes Up To Serial Killer Sitting at The End Of Her Bed, Woman In Coma for 3 Weeks Wakes Up To Learn Her Family Pulled the Plug on Her, Missing Alabama Mother Found In The Woods After Sister Discovers Her Car, NFL Star Murders Girlfriend After Heated Argument Then Pulls Trigger on Himself. John Daniel Matuszak was once a scrawny, awkward kid from the Midwest. His second wife, Patricia Beaumont Stetter, died in 1987. His teammates tried to rouse him, but he was unresponsive. ; two sisters, Gertrude Robey of Alexandria, and Thelma Rogers of Winchester, Va.; and six grandchildren. He didn't know what was happening at the time and wanted to avoid confrontation. His second season in Houston ended before it ever started. If you go through those things in your mind, you can do them. In between these early acting gigs, he found time to unwind and undress for Playgirlin 1982. 1 seed for Division 1 baseball playoffs, High school tennis: Southern Section playoff pairings. His next role was in 1981's Caveman, opposite Ringo Starr, which no critic"confused [with]Gone With The Wind." John Matuszak was in a relationship with Stephanie Cozart Burton (1980 - 1989).. About. It was a minor separation of his shoulder, but Matuszak played through it, the Oilers were then the worst team in the NFL, it didn't exactly turn out to be a KC masterpiece, seeing Muhammad Ali on TV after Ali's career had taken a physical toll. He is currently single. Survivors include his wife, Louise B. Griffith of Alexandria; a son, E. Wayne, of Leesburg; a daughter, Earlene L. Walton of Arlington, Tex. Another Golden Flashes senior, future six-time national championship coach Nick Saban, suffered a season-ending injury in October. "I ordered a cake," said Cozart. 50 of the Order of the Eastern Star, the McLean chapters of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees and the American Association of Retired Persons, the Department of Defense garden and antique clubs and the Annapolis Lioness Club. New Orleans isn't the easiest place to be free of distractions, and while most players resisted the city's temptations, the Tooz just couldn't help himself and partied himself into unconsciousness. But it's also true that it wasn't just the pain that led to their son's struggles with illegal and legal substances years of hard partying and drug abuse had steered him too far down a path that was extremely difficult to come back from. The man who was once teased as a gawky beanpole in grade school was now a 6'8", 280-pound menace who helped get the Raiders to a 13-1 record in '76. We won't really ever know because he never got a chance to grow older and wiser. In 1986 a male dancer accused him of assault and sued him for $1.5 million. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Matuszak's other notable movies areOne Crazy Summer(1986),Ghost Writer(1989),The Princess and the Dwarf(1989), and many others. It was with the Missouri Tigers that he had his first real injury. But even with the success Matuszak found in this new chapter of his life, some aspects of his troubled past remained. and more from FamousFix.com, Heart failure (due to an accidental overdose of the prescription drug Darvocet), Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Cudahy, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA. Survivors include two children by his first marriage, Nancy Stetter Graham and Grant Hamilton Stetter, both of Falls Church; two stepsons, Navy Capt. Matuszak appeared in the movies Caveman, The Ice Pirates, One Man Force, and One Crazy Summer, but is frequently remembered as deformed captive Sloth in The Goonies, the make-up for which took five hours to apply. I knew him as Sloth, the nice, lovable giant.". -- these are the real bad boys of NFL lore", "Matuszak's Death Caused By Accidental Overdose", "Here is the Butt of Sloth from "the Goonies", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Matuszak&oldid=1146496367, Season 10 Episode 18 "Promotion Commotion", Season 7 Episode 5 "No More Mr. Nice Guy", This page was last edited on 25 March 2023, at 07:11. John Matuszak's net worth, height, age, weight, affair, relationship, family, movie update, and more are highlighted below. John Daniel Matuszak (October 25, 1950 - June 17, 1989) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) who later became an actor. He was an all-state defensive end his senior year of high school. As an actor, he played in both films and television, appearing first as O.W. The report also said that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) and bronchopneumonia had been contributing factors in Matuszak's death. None of those characters was more iconic than Sloth, the hulking, deformed, and mistreated little brother of the bad guys. Although there was a trace of cocaine in his system, thecause of death was an accidental overdose of the prescription drug, Darvocet a drug he was actually prescribed and took that very morning. John Daniel Tooz Matuszak was an American professional football defensive lineman in the National Football League and also an actor. In Matuszak's last college football game, Tampa defeated Kent State 21-18 in the Tangerine Bowl. He came to Washington in 1936 when he joined the FBI as a special agent. But he still ended up with a solid career. Matuszak also played for various NFL teams; his longest stint of six years having been spent with . Makeup Department: White Men Can't Jump. Matuszak, who played on two Super Bowl champions before turning to an acting career, was taken from his home in Los Angeles to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank on Saturday night, where he died after suffering massive heart failure. Unfortunately, though, for the real Sloth there was no happy ending. Paramedics attempted to perform CPR, but Matuszak's chest was so huge it was "like hitting a rock wall.". Unfortunately, he probably took too much of it precisely because it was "mild." He swiftly became a man in demand, appearing in a hodgepodge of '80s awesomeness likeM*A*S*H, Ice Pirates, The Dukes of Hazzard, Silver Spoons,The A-Team, Miami Vice, and Perfect Strangers. She had lived in Annapolis since 1988. He also couldn't have asked for a better coach either, as he finally found one he could respect and play even harder for: The one and only John Madden. At 6-foot-9, Mr. Matuszak, who played with the Raiders from 1976 to 1981, was an imposing sight on the field, staring down opponents with a black-bearded scowl before shooting off the defensive line with great speed for his 280 pounds. During World War II, he served with the Army Air Forces in England. The trade was a steal for Houston, where Culp became a Hall of Fame performer when coach Bum Phillips moved Culp to nose tackle in the 3-4 defense in 1975. His wild partying eventually landed him in court. But just because he was performing well on the field, it didnt mean that hed given up shenanigans all together. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. He even seemed to have kicked his drug habit, according to his 1987 autobiography Cruisin With the Tooz. In the CareUnit at Cedars-Sinai he left halfway through a one-month program and headed straight for a doctor's office, where he tried to obtain a prescription. ELIZABETH H. (BETTY) CLARK Defense Department Secretary Elizabeth H. (Betty) Clark, 66, a longtime Arlington resident who was a secretary with the Department of Defense for 30 years until she retired in the early 1970s, died of cancer June 17 at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. Ex-fiance Stephanie Cozart once told Matuszak that his undoing was his failure to accept responsibility for pretty much everything that happened in his life. Matuszak was enormously excited to work with Donner and producer Steven Spielberg, whom he called "the Al Davis of Hollywood.". John Daniel Matuszak was once a scrawny, awkward kid from the Midwest. In June of 1989, it appeared that John Matuszak did "go back.". if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,600],'biographyhost_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',164,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-medrectangle-4-0'); For formal education, his parents enrolled him at Oak Creek High School. FORMER GIRLFRIEND SAYS LIFESTYLE OF MATUSZAK, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), The new OrlandoSentinel.com: FAQs and more, DeSantis oversight board votes to sue Disney, FORMER GIRLFRIEND SAYS LIFESTYLE OF MATUSZAK WAS EXCESSIVE, Florida lawmakers agree to $116 billion budget in final week, Photos: Best and worst looks from the 2023 Met Gala, Florida man guilty in 2017 serial killings of 4 people, Seaweed mass hits record-breaking size in Caribbean as it heads to Florida and Gulf, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. [3], Matuszak was the first pick of the 1973 NFL Draft, selected by the Houston Oilers. Matuszak was born in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. John Matuszak and Stephanie Cozart Burton were in a relationship for 9 years before John Matuszak died aged 38. After that, Matuszak was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, who traded him to the Washington Redskins, who cut him just two weeks later, at the end of the 1976 preseason. His career was indeed an endless stream of injuries. She is known for White Men Can't Jump (1992), In Living Color (1990) and The Talk (2010). Sloth was a 1980s icon, as beloved as E.T. June 19, 1989 12 AM PT. As he details in his 1987 autobiography, Cruisin' with the Tooz, Matuszak, who was born in Milwaukee, loved his hometown. It might as well have read, "Go ahead and rough up some more people because we think it's funny." if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'biographyhost_com-box-4','ezslot_3',131,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-box-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'biographyhost_com-box-4','ezslot_4',131,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-box-4-0_1');.box-4-multi-131{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. That's right: As Cohen describes it, the "shock and horror" on Chunk's face in that moment is real. Standing at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, Matuszak cut a commanding figure on his own, and, in fact, before he was an actor, he was a champion athlete. How many men get to work under the genius of both John Madden and Steven Spielberg? How many games did John Matuszak play? An article written for Sports Illustrated' s website in January 2005 named him one of the top five all-time "bad boys" of the NFL. Just as he was a hellion off the field, Matuszak was a devil on the gridiron. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Former Oakland Raider John Matuszak, the hard-hitting, hard-living football player who played in two Super Bowls before becoming an actor, died at age 38 of unknown causes, officials said Sunday. Matuszak did not know what was happening at the time and wanted to avoid confrontation. According to the LA Times, during his sophomore year in college, Matuszak played reserve tight end on a football scholarship at the University of Missouri, but his career there was short-lived. He said he had no plans to play in that game but requested to play after seeing about 25 men looking for him on the sidelines. The reason for his death was an overdose of a prescription painkiller called Darvocet, which led to his heart failure. In the LA Times' 1989 tribute to the deceased football star, she remembered the number of times he committed himself to rehab and then walked out before completing the program. As a kid, John Matuszak was still growing into his body. He had a three-episode stint opposite O.J. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Kentucky Derby draw finds favorite Forte in a nice spot in the middle, Lakers-Warriors series: Plenty of story lines, but LeBron vs. Steph is No. Tooz was a top pick, and the team was hoping he'd turn the moribund franchise around. The minor ones, which he called "hangnails," included "bruises, cuts, groin pulls, twisted ankles, dislocated fingers, pulled hamstrings and slightly fractured bones." His best known role was as the deformed Sloth in the 1985 movie The Goonies. In his book about sports heroes,John Schulian wrote that after the death of his 2-year-old brother, Matuszak, who was 12 or 13 years old at the time, took it upon himself to buy shoes for the child to be buried in because he heard his mother crying that her son's feet were too swollen to fit into the pair he already owned. After losing his brothers during his childhood, being around children was always a painful experience for Matuszak. By Michael Palan / April 8, 2021 4:39 pm EST. He was 38 years old. He prayed to stop growing, but he only grew taller. Then, when it was time to actually start playing, the pressure was almost too high for him to succeed. Seriously: The man used to order half a dozen eggs and half a pound of bacon for breakfast, in addition to his steady diet of Cheez Whiz smeared on bagels. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for Curley Culp and a No. She once tried to run him over in her car after a fight. An article written for Sports Illustrated's website in January 2005 named him one of the top five all-time "bad boys" of the NFL.[8]. Madden retired two years later, and was replaced with Tom Flores. John Matuszak. And just in case there wasn't already enough tragedy in this story, here's an extra helping of it for you football injuries require pain medication, and Matuszak was one human being who should have stayed as far away from pain medication as possible. Matuszak also played for various NFL teams; his longest stint of six years having been spent with the Oakland/Los . In the first four years of his professional career, Matuszak played for four different teams. In Matuszak's last college football game, Tampa defeated Kent State 21-18 in the Tangerine Bowl. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. There was also cocaine in his system but the amount was so small it was "not considered to have contributed to his death.". Survivors include his wife, Louise B. Griffith of Alexandria; a son, E . Yet he ended up calling his time in Houston his imprisonment. Instead of cracking down on the instigators, the Raiders decided to memorialize the incident by hanging the broken crutch on the wall with the label "'Biskie's Tooz Pick."
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