Woody Strode

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Honored in 1993

Woodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode (July 25, 1914 - December 31, 1994) was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering African American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960. He served in the US Army during World War II.

Strode made his screen debut in 1941 in Sundown, but became more active in the 1950s, eventually in roles of increasing depth. He played an African warrior in The Lion Hunters in Monogram's Bomba the Jungle Boy series in 1951. Also, he appeared in several episodes of the 1952-54 television series "Ramar of the Jungle", where he portrayed an African warrior. He played dual roles (billed as "Woodrow Strode") in The Ten Commandments (1956) as an Ethiopian king as well as a slave, and in 1959 portrayed the cowardly Private Franklin in Pork Chop Hill. He appeared once on Johnny Weismuller's 1955-1956 syndicated television series Jungle Jim.

 

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