Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine " Woody " Strode ( July 25 , 1914December 31 , 1994 ) was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering African American film actor . He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in " Spartacus " in 1960 . He served in the US Army during World War II . Early life and athletic career . Strode was born in Los Angeles , California . He attended college at UCLA , where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity . His world - class decathlon capabilities were spearheaded by a plus shot put ( when the world record was ) and a high jump ( the world record at time was ) . Strode posed for a nude portrait , part of Hubert Stowitts ' s acclaimed exhibition of athletic portraits shown at the 1936 Berlin Olympics ( although the inclusion of black and Jewish athletes caused the Nazi s to close the exhibit ) . Strode , Kenny Washington and Jackie Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team , in which they made up three of the four backfield players . Along with Ray Bartlett , there were four African - Americans playing for the Bruins , when only a few dozen at all played on other college football teams . They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0 – 0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line . It was the first UCLA – USC rivalry football game with national implications . Strode and fellow UCLA alumnus Kenny Washington were two of the first African - American s to play in major college programs and later the modern National Football League , playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 1946 . No blacks had played in the NFL from 1933 to 1946 . UCLA teammate Jackie Robinson would go on to break the color barrier in Major League baseball ( in fact , all three had played in the semi - professional Pacific Coast Professional Football League earlier in the decade ) . He played two seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union in Canada where he was a member of Calgary ' s 1948 Grey Cup Championship team before retiring due to injury in 1949 . Professional wrestling career . In 1941 , Strode had dabbled for several months in professional wrestling . Following the end of his football career in 1949 , he returned to wrestling part - time between acting jobs until 1962 , wrestling the likes of Gorgeous George . In 1952 , Strode wrestled almost every week from August 12 , 1952 - December 10 , 1952 in different cities in California . Among his numerous victories for that year were over Pat Fraley ( 8 / 27 / 52 ) , Antone Leone ( 8 / 28 / 52 ) , Jerry Gold ( 10 / 25 / 52 ) and Ted Christy ( 12 / 10 / 52 ) . Also , in 1952 , Strode fought draws with Mr . X ( 8 / 12 / 52 ) , Brother Frank Jares ( 8 / 18 / 52 , Long Beach , California ) , The Golden Terror ( 9 / 23 / 52 ) and Kubla Khan ( 10 / 11 / 52 in Los Angeles ) . Some of his defeats in 1952 were to Baron Michele Leone ( 9 / 15 / 52 ) , Tom Renesto ( 9 / 18 / 52 ) , Krippler Karl Davis ( 9 / 30 / 52 ) , and Mystery Mike ( 10 / 28 / 52 ) . In 1956 , Strode scored impressive wins over Nick Nickovich on June 28 , 1956 in Long Beach , California , and Felipe Mendoza on September 13 , 1956 in Los Angeles . Strode was billed as the Pacific Coast Heavyweight Wresting Champion and the Pacific Coast Negro Heavyweight Wresting Champion in 1962 ( source : Ring Magazine , May 1962 , page 38 ) . In his 1962 , debut in Buffalo , New York , Strode defeated Dominick Bravo in 37 seconds on February 16th . ( source : Ring Magazine , May 1962 , page 37 ) . Next , Strode scored a victory over Ramon Lopez on February 10 , 1962 in Akron , Ohio . Strode also defeated Eric Pomeroy on March 2 , 1962 in Buffalo . In a tag - team match also in Buffalo , Strode and Bobo Brazil lost to Karol and Ivan Kalmikoff . However , in a Cleveland , Ohio match , Strode and Bearcat Wright defeated the Kalmikoff brothers in a non - title match before a then record breaking crowd of 7 , 261 . Acting career . As an actor , the 6 ' 4 " ( 1 . 93 m ) Strode was noted for film roles that contrasted with the stereotypes of the time . He is probably best remembered for his brief Golden Globe - nominated role in " Spartacus " ( 1960 ) as the Ethiopian gladiator Draba , in which he fights Kirk Douglas to the death . Strode made his screen debut in 1941 in " Sundown " , but became more active in the 1950s , eventually in roles of increasing depth . He played an African warrior in " The Lion Hunters " in Monogram ' s " Bomba the Jungle Boy " series in 1951 . Also , he appeared in several episodes of the 1952 - 54 television series " Ramar of the Jungle " , where he portrayed an African warrior . He played dual roles ( billed as " Woodrow Strode " ) in " The Ten Commandments " ( 1956 ) as an Ethiopia n king as well as a slave , and in 1959 portrayed the cowardly Private Franklin in " Pork Chop Hill " . He appeared once on Johnny Weismuller ' s 1955 - 1956 syndicated television series " Jungle Jim " . He became a close friend of director John Ford , who gave him the title role in " Sergeant Rutledge " ( 1960 ) as a member of the Ninth Cavalry falsely accused of rape and murder ; he appeared in smaller roles in Ford ' s later films " Two Rode Together " ( 1961 ) , " The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance " ( 1962 ) and " Seven Women " ( 1966 ) . Strode was very close to the director . During Ford ' s declining years , Strode once spent four months sleeping on the director ' s floor as his caretaker , and he was later present at Ford ' s death . Strode played memorable villains opposite three screen Tarzan s . In 1958 , he appeared as Ramo opposite Gordon Scott in " Tarzan ' s Fight for Life " . In 1963 , he was cast opposite Jock Mahoney ' s Tarzan as both the dying leader of an unnamed Asian country and that leader ' s unsavory brother , Khan , in " Tarzan ' s Three Challenges " . In the late 1960s , he appeared in several episodes of the Ron Ely " Tarzan " television series . Strode ' s other television work included a role as the Grand Mogul , in the " Batman " episodes " Marsha , Queen of Diamonds " and " Marsha ' s Scheme of Diamonds " Strode appeared in the third season of the " Daniel Boone " television series as the slave / wrestler Goliath in the episode of the same name . Strode played a heroic sailor on a sinking ship in the 1960 film " The Last Voyage " . In 1966 , he landed a major starring role in " The Professionals " , a major box - office success which established him as a recognizable star . Another notable part was as a gunslinger in the opening sequence of Sergio Leone ' s " Once Upon a Time in the West " ( 1968 ) ; after this , he appeared in several other spaghetti Western s of lesser quality . His starring role as a thinly disguised Patrice Lumumba in " Seduto alla sua destra " ( released in the U . S . as " Black Jesus " ) garnered Strode a great deal of press at the time , but the film is largely forgotten now . He remained a visible character actor throughout the ' 70s and ' 80s in such films as " Scream " ( 1981 ) , and has become widely regarded ( along with Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters ) as one of the most important black film actors of his time . His last film was " The Quick and the Dead " ( 1995 ) . Personal life . Strode was the son of a Creek - Blackfoot - black father and a black - Cherokee mother . His first wife was Princess Luukialuana Kalaeloa ( aka Luana Strode ) , a descendant of Liliuokalani , the last queen of Hawaii . They were married until her death in 1980 . In 1982 , he wed Tina Tompson , and they remained married until his death . Strode was a dedicated martial artist under the direction of Frank Landers in the art of SeishinDo Kenpo . Death . Strode died of lung cancer on December 31 , 1994 , in Glendora , California , aged 80 . He is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside , California . Toy Story . Main character Sheriff Woody of the Toy Story animated movies by Pixar is named after Strode .