John Matuszak (1950-1989)
American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) who later became an actor.
John Matuszak (25.10.1950 - 17.06.1989)
Matuszak was the first overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft and played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders until he retired after winning his second Super Bowl in 1981.
He participated in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition, where he placed ninth. As an actor, Matuszak played in both films and television, appearing first as O. W. Shaddock in North Dallas Forty (1979) followed by Tonda in Caveman (1981) and the deformed Sloth in The Goonies (1985).
His biography, Cruisin' with the Tooz, written with Steve Delsohn, was published in 1987.
Matuszak died on June 17, 1989, as a result of acute propoxyphene intoxication, an accidental overdose of the prescription drug Darvocet, according to the findings of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.He was 38 years old. The report also said that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and bronchopneumonia had been contributing factors in his death. There were also traces of cocaine found in his bloodstream.