Jim Brown — NFL G.O.A.T., Actor, Civil Rights Activist — Dies at 87

Jim Brown, the all-time NFL great whose career took him into social activism and acting, died at 87 Thursday night.

His wife, Monique Brown, shared on Instagram Friday, "It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my husband, Jim Brown. He passed peacefully last night at our LA home. To the world he was an activist, actor, and football star. To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken..."

In an email sent by the NFL to "Extra," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, "On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Monique and their family. Jim Brown was a gifted athlete — one of the most dominant players to ever step on any athletic field — but also a cultural figure who helped promote change."

“During his nine-year NFL career, which coincided with the Civil Rights Movement here at home, he became a forerunner and role model for athletes being involved in social initiatives outside their sport," he went on. "He inspired fellow athletes to make a difference, especially in the communities in which they lived.”

Brown was considered by many to have been arguably the finest athlete in American history.

Born February 17, 1936, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, he moved with his family to Manhasset, New York, where he established himself as a local legend on his high school's football and basketball teams.

His athleticism continued to amaze when he attended Syracuse University, where he set multiple records on his way to being drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns in 1957.

Nine years later, he was the league leader for single-season and career rushing, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns overall, and all-purpose yards.

After retiring in 1966, Brown was able to spend more time working on a burgeoning acting career that had started with the 1964 western "Rio Conchos."

His second film, the 1967 classic "The Dirty Dozen," established his acting ability and was an enormous hit under his belt.

Other work included in "The Split" (1968), "Riot" (1969), "Ice Station Zebra" (1968), and "100 Rifles" (1969), in which his interracial love scene with the late Raquel Welch ignited a controversy.

Brown, a bona fide action star at a time when Black actors were often relegated to thankless supporting or background roles, appeared in a series of beloved blaxploitation hits, including "Slaughter" (1972), "Black Gunn" (1972), "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off" (1973), and "Three the Hard Way" (1974). He was so associated with blaxploitation roles he would later send up his image in the 1988 comedy "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," a parody of the genre.

Though his later work was mostly on TV, he made impressions in the Arnold Schwarzenegger hit "The Running Man" (1987) and in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" (1996), as well as the Oliver Stone gridiron film "Any Given Sunday" (1999).

Brown was never just one thing — along with his football and acting careers, he was one of the first celebrities to bare all in Playgirl in 1974, was a longtime color analyst for the NFL, and was identified with the Civil Rights Movement.

Threatening to tarnish his legacy, Brown was frequently the subject of complaints over allegedly violent behavior, including a 1965 arrest for assault and battery (he was acquitted), an assault rap in 1968, and many other incidents, among them a 1999 conviction for damaging his wife Monique's car.

In 2018, Brown surprised some observers by meeting with newly elected President Trump, along with Trump devotée Kanye West. Brown insisted he was there on behalf of his Amer-I-Can Foundation to help inner-city youth.

"This is the President of the United States," Brown said, swatting away criticism. "He allowed me to be invited to his territory, he treated us beautifully, and he shared some thoughts, and he will be open to talking when I get back to him. That's the best he could do for me."

Brown is survived by Monique, his second wife, to whom he had been wed since 1997. He is also survived by their son Aria, their daughter Morgan, and his children Kim, Kevin, and James Jr. from his first marriage.