Charles Smith, who won NFL's highest prize with the Baltimore Colts and had a second career acting, dies aged 66


Reuters in Los Angeles
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 August 2011 01.19 BST
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Bubba Smith as the (usually) gentle giant Hightower in Police Academy 2. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar/Cinetext

Charles "Bubba" Smith, an American football star who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Colts and had a second career acting in several Police Academy films, has died. He was 66.

Smith's body was found on Wednesday at his home in the Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, said a LA police spokesman, Gregory Baek.

The former NFL player is believed to have died of natural causes, but the coroner's office has not made a final determination, police said.

Smith played for Michigan State University and entered the NFL when he was drafted first overall by the Baltimore Colts in 1967.

Aside from winning a Super Bowl with the Colts in 1971, Smith also went on to play with the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers before he retired in 1976, after being twice selected to the Pro Bowl.

After his football career, Smith appeared in small television roles before he gained fame in Police Academy for playing Moses Hightower, a police recruit who was as soft-spoken as he was physically imposing.

Smith, who stood 6ft 7in, starred in the first six Police Academy films, and also appeared in several adverts over the years, including ones for Miller Lite in which he ripped off the tops of beer cans.