Csonka, Butkus, Mack, Faison on The Six Million Dollar Man

[Evan]

Does anyone remember how big a deal this was when it happened on Nov. 2, 1975? I know NFLers had been guest stars on prime-time shows for years (probably most famously Joe Namath on the Brady Bunch), but I always get a kick out of the ensemble cast of NFL stars in a TV show or movie, a la The Black Six.

From IMDB: On Nov. 2, 1975, Larry Csonka guest-starred on ABC’s The Six Million Dollar Man alongside Lee Majors, in the only episode of the series directed by Majors.

Csonka played a character named Larry Bronco in an episode titled “One of our running backs is missing.” Other NFL players who guest-starred on that episode included Dick Butkus, Carl Weathers, Les Josephson, Earl Faison, Mike Henry, and Tom Mack. Csonka’s wife Pamela also appeared.

One user review on IMDB calls the episode "Great and Terrible". For a three-minute clip with an awesome action sequence in which Tom Mack collides with Carl Weathers as Steve Austin bionically eludes them, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ZsKw1SQg8

And you can watch the whole episode at https://www.nbc.com/the-six-million-dol ... ng/3762485. The Internet is an amazing place.

Csonka had made his prime-time debut on Sept. 14, 1974 when he guest starred on an episode of NBC’s Emergency! as a painter named Al who was intoxicated by paint fumes. He can be seen wearing one of his Super Bowl rings as he fights with Tim Donnelly's character, Chet Kelly.

[Rupert Patrick]

I'm sure you've heard where when Elvis Presley (who was a huge football fan) had a football team with some of his Memphis Mafia buddies played on, but you might not know would often play against teams of young Hollywood actor friends of the King, and Lee Majors was one of the actors who sometimes participated, along with Max Baer Jr. and Bill Bixby and others. I've read in one of his various books that these games were often held in a park or a high school football field Elvis would rent for a couple hours somewhere in the Hollywood area, and to keep it from becoming a security problem due to thousands of people showing up, these were held in the middle of the night, which is probably why there are never any photographs of these games.

[Evan]

Rupert, that is awesome stuff, thank you so much for contributing that anecdote. I had not heard of any of that.

I can only imagine that perhaps in these middle-of-the-night games, some less-than-sober folks perhaps stumbling home from a bar might have overheard or caught a glimpse of the action, and could only conclude that their drinks must have been spiked to account for the hallucinations of Elvis pouncing on a fumble while Bill Bixby dove at him in pursuit.

[JuggernautJ]

I have family in Memphis.
We visited last year and, at the insistence of the wife, went to Graceland.
(I enjoy Elvis' music [upon occasion] but have no desire to ever visit such a tourist trap again.)

While on the tour I was surprised to see, amongst the pink Cadillacs and leather jump suits, a small collection of football helmets. Other than to say Elvis played in high school there was no documentation on the football memorabilia.
Why was it there?

Now I know...
(Thanks Rupert!!)

[Rupert Patrick]

I have family in Memphis.
We visited last year and, at the insistence of the wife, went to Graceland.
(I enjoy Elvis' music [upon occasion] but have no desire to ever visit such a tourist trap again.)

While on the tour I was surprised to see, amongst the pink Cadillacs and leather jump suits, a small collection of football helmets. Other than to say Elvis played in high school there was no documentation on the football memorabilia.
Why was it there?

Now I know...
(Thanks Rupert!!)

Elvis was a big football fan, his favorite team was the Cleveland Browns and his favorite player was Jim Brown. He used to purchase games from the NFL (whether it was game film or highlights, I don't know) and would draw up his own plays on paper. A few years back, one of his hand-drawn football plays went up for auction, but I cannot find either the article or a picture of the play, which I've seen and comes with a long written explanation of how it works.

I found an article that discusses Elvis playing touch football touch other Hollywood actors, about halfway down the page:

https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis- ... ayer.shtml

[JuggernautJ]

Great article!
I guess it should come as no surprise that Elvis got to play QB...
(Glory Hog)

[Todd Pence]

Joe Kapp also appeared on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, in a non-football related role.

[JuggernautJ]

I remember actually going to the theatre (a big thing for our family) to see The Undefeated with Roman Gabriel and some guy named John Wayne.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0300276/med ... 4089261056

[JohnTurney]

http://nflandhollywood.blogspot.com/

[BD Sullivan]

Elvis was supposedly buddies with Gene Hickerson, given their Mississippi roots.

From a 2007 Cleveland Plain Dealer article:

"When Hickerson came to the Browns as a "future" pick in the 1957 draft, he already enjoyed a friendship with a fellow Memphis resident named Elvis Presley. As his football career took off, Hickerson would send Presley coaches film of Browns games. Presley, whom Hickerson referred to as "Eli," became a fan of the team and was fascinated with the ability of Jim Brown."