Strode, Woody (1914–1994)

STRODE, WOODY (1914–1994). Actor, athlete. He was born Wood-row Wilson Woolwine Strode in Los Angeles, California. He became a top-notch decathlete and was a star football player at the University of California, Los Angeles. Strode got into acting after meeting famed director John Ford, who cast him in nearly a dozen of his Westerns, including the title role in Sergeant Rutledge , 1961. His television appearances include Ramar of the Jungle , 1952; How the West Was Won , 1977; and A Gathering of Old Men , 1987. Strode played many powerful black male roles throughout the 1960s, including a hard-working ranch hand in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , 1962, and a gunfighter in Once Upon a Time in the West , 1968. He is well remembered for his gladiator fight scene against Kirk Douglas in Spartacus , 1960.

Filmography: Pork Chop Hill , 1949; Spartacus , 1960; Sergeant Rutledge , 1960; The Last Voyage , 1960; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , 1962; The Professionals , 1966; Shalako , 1968; Once Upon a Time in the West , 1968; Black Jesus , 1968; Boot Hill , 1969; Ride to Glory , 1971; The Gatling Gun , 1972; Manhunt , 1973; Hit Men , 1973; Hired to Kill , 1973; Loaded Guns , 1975; Winterhawk , 1976; Kingdom of the Spiders , 1977; Oil , 1978; The Mercenaries , 1980; Kill Castro , 1980; Violent Breed , 1983; Vigilante , 1983; Scream , 1983; Jungle Warriors , 1984; Lust in the Dust , 1985; Super Brother , 1990; Murder on the Bayou , 1991; Storyville , 1992; Posse , 1993.