Posted on 10/09/2012 2:03:05 PM PDT by drewh
Former Detroit Lions standout and National Football League great, Alex Karras, who later became a TV star, is reportedly near death, following recent kidney failure.
The 77-year-old former defensive tackle has been given only a few days to live, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Karras was drafted by the Lions 10th overall in 1958, and he played for the team for his entire NFL career. Following his retirement from football in 1970 at the age of 35, Karras took up acting, playing Mongo in the Mel Brooks movie "Blazing Saddles" and lovable dad George Papadapolis on the ABC series "Webster."
Karras' former team is already extending its sympathies to the All-Pro defensive lineman. Lions President Tom Lewand said in a statement released late Monday night that the "entire Detroit Lions family is deeply saddened to learn of the news regarding one of our all-time greats.
"Perhaps no player in Lions history attained as much success and notoriety for what he did after his playing days as Alex," the statement read. "We know Alex first and foremost as one of the cornerstones to our Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the 1960s. Many others across the country came to know Alex as an accomplished actor and as an announcer during the early years of Monday Night Football."
His wife, Susan Clark, who also played his wife on "Webster," told the Associated Press earlier this year that Karras had had symptoms of dementia for years
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Actually, my mind’s eye had a different picture associated with that quote. The camera was on the ground looking up the length of a bareheaded Otis (hands on hips) so that he looked to be about 12 feet tall.
But I’m gettin’ old, so I could be wrong.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.