Dick Butkus wasn't just a Chicago Bears legend. He became a busy actor after football.
Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkus is known for his Pro Football Hall of Fame resume as a linebacker, but his numerous acting credits are also worthy of a standing ovation.
Butkus, who died “peacefully in his sleep overnight” at the age of 80, appeared in dozens of movies, television shows and commercials following his nine-year playing career with the Chicago Bears from 1965-1973. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time Pro Bowler said football was "the thing I was supposed to do" and noted that acting didn't come as easy.
"Football for me was never work. If you love something, it's not work," Butkus told Sports Illustrated in 2004. In a 1998 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said that with acting, “I was worried about making a mistake, because people would say, ‘He’s just a football player,' so I was harder on myself to do it right."
That didn't discourage Butkus, a longtime member of the Screen Actors Guild, from embarking on his second act.
From his iconic Miller Lite commercials to his recurring role on the NBC sitcom "My Two Dads," here's everything you need to know about Butkus' acting legacy:
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Dick Butkus in movies
Dick Butkus made his acting debut in the 1971 film “Brian’s Song,” which chronicled the life of Brian Piccolo and his friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Gale Sayers. Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer while he was on the team. Butkus had an uncredited role in the made-for-television feature.
He returned to the silver screen in the 1990s, when he had several roles as himself. He appeared in “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” alongside former NFL standout Bubba Smith. The Hall of Famer also played himself in the 1991 crime drama “The Last Boy Scout” and the 2001 comedy “Teddy Bear’s Picnic.”
The linebacker was in the 1991 comedy “Necessary Roughness” as part of a prison team with fellow NFL stars Earl Campbell, Jim Kelly, Jerry Rice, Tony Dorsett, Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Herschel Walker. He also played a coach in the 1999 drama “Any Given Sunday” alongside Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz and fellow Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Lawrence Taylor.
Dick Butkus on TV
Butkus has dozens of small screen credits. He made his television debut in 1974, appearing on an episode each of “Emergency!” and “McMillan & Wife,” playing minor characters. He started getting recurring roles the next year when he appeared in two episodes of “Police Story” and “Joe Forrester.”
The Chicago native got the most air time on the NBC sitcom “Hang Time,” where he played high school basketball coach Mike Katowinski. He also had longer running roles in “My Two Dads,” “Half Nelson” and “Blue Thunder.”
He is part of the “MacGyver” legacy. In 1990 and 1991, he was in three episodes across seasons six and seven. He played Earl Dent, an ex-convict trying to turn his life around and provide for his daughter through boxing.
Butkus appeared on other hit shows, including “Magnum, P.I.,” “The Love Boat” and “The Bernie Mac Show.”
Dick Butkus in commercials
Butkus appeared alongside Smith in a series of Miller Lite ads in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Butkus said he gained a lot of insight into acting from the comedic ads.
“I learned from the Miller Lite commercials, ‘Who cares if you blow a line?’ It doesn’t matter if you do it in one take or 100 takes, if I can do it better each time,” he told the Chicago Tribune in 1998. “The end result is what people see. Working with Bubba (Smith), I was able to add things with facial gestures and stuff… I could play off him and add something. It didn’t matter if I got the laugh.”
He’s best known for his 1970 Super Bowl commercial for Prestone, an antifreeze company, where he used the tagline: “Because plugging holes is my business."
He also appeared in commercials for products ranging from Echo Tools, an outdoor power equipment company, to a Qwik-Cook Grill that uses “newspaper for fuel.”
Dick Butkus' legacy:Chicago Bears great was brutal, fierce and mean on the field. He was the NFL.
