# Bernie Casey

Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet, visual artist and professional American football player.

## Early life and education

Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated from East High School in Columbus, Ohio. He then attended Bowling Green State University.

## Career
### Athletics

Casey was a record-breaking hurdler for Bowling Green State University and helped the 1959 football team win a small college national championship. Casey earned All-America recognition and a trip to the finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1960. In addition to national honors, he won three consecutive Mid-American Conference titles in the high-hurdles, 1958–60.
Casey was the ninth overall selection of the 1961 NFL draft, taken by the San Francisco 49ers. He played eight NFL seasons (several positions, first five seasons mainly a halfback, last three seasons a flanker (setback wide receiver)): six with the 49ers and two with the Los Angeles Rams. His best-known play came in 1967 for the Rams in the penultimate game of the regular season against the Green Bay Packers. The Rams needed to win to keep their division title hopes alive, but trailed 24–20 with under a minute to play. Facing fourth down, the Packers lined up to punt, but Tony Guillory blocked the Donny Anderson punt and Claude Crabb returned it to the Packer five-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Casey caught the winning touchdown pass from Roman Gabriel with under thirty seconds to play to give the Rams a 27–24 victory. The Rams defeated the Baltimore Colts the following week to win the Coastal Division title at 11–1–2.

### Acting

Casey began his acting career in the film Guns of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to The Magnificent Seven. Then he played opposite fellow former NFL star Jim Brown in the crime dramas ...tick...tick...tick... and Black Gunn. He played a leading role in the 1972 science fiction TV film Gargoyles. He also played Tamara Dobson's love interest in 1973's Cleopatra Jones.
From there he moved between performances on television and the big screen such as playing team captain for the Chicago Bears in the TV film Brian's Song. In 1979, he starred as widower Mike Harris in the NBC television series Harris and Company, the first weekly American TV drama series centered on a black family. In 1980, he played Major Jeff Spender in the television mini-series The Martian Chronicles, based on the novel by Ray Bradbury.
In 1981, Casey played a detective opposite Burt Reynolds in the feature film Sharky's Machine, directed by Reynolds. The two reunited a few years later for the crime story Rent-a-Cop.
In 1983, he played the role of CIA agent Felix Leiter in the non-Eon Productions James Bond film Never Say Never Again. He appeared in Revenge of the Nerds and had a comedic role as Colonel Rhombus in the John Landis film Spies Like Us. Casey also appeared in the film Hit Man.
Also during his career, he worked with such well-known directors as Martin Scorsese in his 1972 film Boxcar Bertha and appeared on such television series as The Streets of San Francisco.
He played a version of himself, and other football players turned actors, in Keenen Ivory Wayans's 1988 comedic film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. He played high school history teacher Mr. Ryan, in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, released in 1989. Casey appeared as a very influential prisoner with outside connections in Walter Hill's Another 48 Hrs.. In 1992, he appeared as a Naval officer on the battleship USS Missouri in Under Siege.
In 1994, Casey guest-starred in a two-episode story arc in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the Maquis leader Lieutenant Commander Cal Hudson, and in 1995 as a guest-star on both SeaQuest 2032 as Admiral VanAlden and Babylon 5 as Derek Cranston. In 2006, he co-starred in the film When I Find the Ocean alongside such actors as Lee Majors.

## Personal life and death

Casey enjoyed painting and writing poetry. Look at the People, a book of his paintings and poems, was published by Doubleday in 1969. He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on September 19, 2017, after a stroke.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Guns of the Magnificent Seven | Cassie | A Zapata Western, the second sequel to the classic 1960 western action film, The Magnificent Seven, itself based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). Directed by Paul Wendkos and produced by Vincent M. Fennelly. |
| 1970 | ...tick...tick...tick... | George Harley | Crime drama film directed and co-produced by Ralph Nelson |
| 1971 | Black Chariot | The Drifter | Blaxploitation drama film written and directed by Robert Goodwin |
| 1972 | Boxcar Bertha | Von Morton | Loosely based on Sister of the Road by Ben L. Reitman Crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese |
| 1972 | Black Gunn | Seth | Neo-noir blaxploitation film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis |
| 1972 | Hit Man | Tyrone Tackett | Based on the Ted Lewis' novel Jack's Return Home Crime film directed by George Armitage |
| 1973 | Cleopatra Jones | Reuben Masters | Blaxploitation action film directed by Jack Starrett |
| 1973 | Maurie | Maurice Stokes | Semi-biographical film directed by Daniel Mann |
| 1975 | Cornbread, Earl and Me | Officer Larry Atkins | Loosely based on Ronald Fair's novel Hog Butcher Drama film directed and co-produced by Joseph Manduke |
| 1976 | Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde | Dr. Henry Pride | Loosely inspired by the novella, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Blaxploitation horror film directed by William Crain |
| 1976 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Mr. Peters | Based on Walter Tevis' The Man Who Fell to Earth Science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg |
| 1977 | Brothers | David Thomas | Drama film directed by Arthur Barron and produced by Edward Lewis and Mildred Lewis |
| 1981 | Sharky's Machine | Detective Arch Driscoll | Drama–thriller film directed and starring Burt Reynolds Based on William Diehl's 1978 novel Sharky's Machine |
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again | CIA Agent Felix Leiter | James Bond spy film directed by Irvin Kershner, produced by Jack Schwartzman, and written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. with uncredited additional co-writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, from a story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming Second adaptation of Fleming's Thunderball, which was previously adapted as the 1965 film of the same name. |
| 1984 | Revenge of the Nerds | U.N. Jefferson | Comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew |
| 1985 | Spies Like Us | Colonel Rhombus | |
| 1987 | Steele Justice | Detective Tom Reese | |
| 1987 | Amazon Women on the Moon | Major General Hadley | (segment "The Unknown Soldier") Uncredited |
| 1987 | Rent-A-Cop | Lemar | |
| 1988 | Backfire | Clinton James | |
| 1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | John Slade | |
| 1989 | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure | Mr. Ryan | |
| 1990 | Another 48 Hrs. | Kirkland Smith | |
| 1991 | Chains of Gold | Sergeant Falco | |
| 1992 | Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation | U.N. Jefferson | Television film |
| 1992 | Under Siege | Commander Harris | |
| 1993 | The Cemetery Club | John | |
| 1993 | Street Knight | Raymond | |
| 1994 | Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love | U.N. Jefferson | Television film |
| 1994 | The Glass Shield | James Locket | |
| 1995 | In the Mouth of Madness | Robinson | |
| 1995 | Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored | Mr. Walter | |
| 1997 | The Dinner | Good Brother | |
| 2001 | Tomcats | Officer Hurley | |
| 2002 | Jim Brown: All-American | Himself | |
| 2002 | On the Edge | Rex Stevens | |
| 2006 | When I Find the Ocean | Amos Jackson | |
| 2007 | Vegas Vampires | Bloodhound Bill | Final film role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | Brian's Song | J.C. Caroline | Based on the autobiography I am Third by Gale Sayers and Al Silverman Television film directed by Buzz Kulik and written by William Blinn |
| 1972 | Cade's County | Patrick | Episode: "Slay Ride" |
| 1972 | Longstreet | Ray Eller | Episode: "Field of Honor" |
| 1972 | The Streets of San Francisco | Richard | Episode: "Timelock" |
| 1972 | Gargoyles | The Gargoyle | Television film directed by Bill L. Norton |
| 1974 | The Snoop Sisters | Willie Bates | Episode: "Fear Is a Free-Throw" |
| 1974 | Panic on the 5:22 | Wendell Weaver | Television film directed by Harvey Hart and produced by Quinn Martin |
| 1975 | Police Story | Duke Windsor | Episode: "Company Man" |
| 1976 | Joe Forrester | Cleveland | Episode: "The Answers" |
| 1977 | Police Woman | P.J. Johnson | Episode: "Once a Snitch" |
| 1977 | Police Story | Hamilton Ward | Episode: "The Six Foot Stretch" |
| 1977 | Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night | Dave Williams | Television film directed by Allen Reisner |
| 1977 | It Happened at Lakewood Manor | Vince | Television film directed by Robert Scheerer Also known as Ants! |
| 1978 | Ring of Passion | Joe Louis | Television film directed by Robert Michael Lewis |
| 1978 | Love Is Not Enough | Mike Harris | Television film directed by Ivan Dixon |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Bubba Haywood | Miniseries directed by John Erman (Ep. 4) and written by Ernest Kinoy Based on Alex Haley's Roots: The Saga of an American Family First sequel to the 1977 miniseries |
| 1979 | Harris and Company | Mike Harris | Short-lived drama series |
| 1980 | The Martian Chronicles | Major Jeff Spender | Miniseries directed by Michael Anderson and written by Richard Matheson Based on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles |
| 1981 | The Sophisticated Gents | Shurley Walker | Miniseries directed by Harry Falk, teleplay by Melvin Van Peebles, and story by Phyllis Minoff Based on the novel The Junior Bachelor Society by John A. Williams |
| 1982 | A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion | Slave | Television film directed by Stan Lathan |
| 1982 | Trapper John, M.D. | Thornie Thornberry | Episode: "Love and Marriage" |
| 1982 | Hear No Evil | Inspector Monday | Television film directed by Harry Falk Jr. and written by Tom Lazarus |
| 1983–1984 | Bay City Blues | Ozzie Peoples | Short-lived Sitcom Canceled after four episodes and four burned off in July 1984 for a total of 8 episodes |
| 1994 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Calvin Hudson | Episode: "The Maquis" |
| 1995 | seaQuest 2032 | Admiral Vanalden | Episode: "Chains of Command" |
| 1995 | Babylon 5 | Derek Cranston | Episode: "Hunter, Prey" |
| 2000 | Just Shoot Me | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Girlfriends | Judge Edward Dent | Episode: "Judging Edward" |