OJ Simpson: the complicated cultural legacy of a fallen star

The death of the once-loved NFL star and actor leaves a trail of wreckage from his tabloid notoriety as double murder suspect

Fri, 12 Apr, 2024 - 12:59

Andrew Lawrence

Before he was the world’s most infamous murder suspect, OJ Simpson did not have a reputation for killer performances. David Zucker, the director of the 1988 comedy classic The Naked Gun, only hired the Buffalo Bills great for the ironic potential. Which is to say he was a big celebrity who could be had for cheap.

Zucker’s hope was that Simpson would prove to be at least as serviceable as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had been in their previous film, Airplane!, which saw the basketball legend lean even further into his acerbic streak. But Simpson proved to be so much more as Detective Nordberg, a Wile E Coyote figure in a live-action cartoon.

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