O.J. Simpson, a former football star who was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend in what became known as "The Trial of the Century," but who was then found liable for their deaths in a civil procedure, has died after a battle with cancer, his family said.
He was 76.
Simpson’s journey -- from football stardom to celebrity as an actor and broadcaster, and finally to criminal notoriety — made him, in the words of one of his lawyers, one of the most famous people on the planet.
His family announced his death on his X account, tweeting "On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."
Born Orenthal James Simpson, he grew up in public housing in San Francisco’s Portrero Hill neighborhood, going on to play running back for the University of Southern California. In 1968, his senior year, he won the Heisman Trophy.
After college, Simpson was drafted in the NFL as the No. 1 pick by the Buffalo Bills. He became the first running back to gain 2,000 yards in a season in 1973 and became a Hall of Famer. He spent 11 years in the league, mostly with the Bills, and was considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all time. He retired from the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979.
He then branched out from sports into entertainment and broadcasting, acting in movies like “The Naked Gun” trilogy. He also served as a Hertz rent-a-car pitchman and a football commentator.
Then, in 1994, Simpson was accused of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman at Simpson’s home in Brentwood, California. In what became known as “The Trial of the Century,” Simpson was acquitted of the double slayings. The trial itself was a spectacle, the focus of breathless gavel-to-gavel TV coverage, with Simpson represented by a legal “Dream Team” that included the late Johnnie Cochran Jr. and F. Lee Bailey.
Three years later, however, Simpson was found liable for the deaths by a California civil court jury and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families.
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In a separate case more than a decade later, Simpson was convicted by a jury in Las Vegas and sentenced to prison for leading five men, including two with guns, in a 2007 confrontation with two sports collectibles dealers in a cramped room at an off-strip Las Vegas casino hotel.
Simpson insisted he only wanted to retrieve personal mementoes and items stolen from him following his acquittal in the double killings.
After serving nine years in a Nevada prison for the armed robbery, Simpson was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole on Dec. 1, 2021. The then-74-year-old continued to reside in the gated Las Vegas community where he had moved after being granted parole. Simpson became a frequent poster to Twitter, now X, offering sports takes and photos from the golf course, where he spent much of his post-incarceration free time.
Early in 2024, it was reported that Simpson had been diagnosed with and was being treated for prostate cancer.
Simpson is survived by his five children: sons Jason and Aaren and daughter Arnelle from his first marriage; and son Justin and daughter Sydney from his marriage to Nicole Brown Simpson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
