|
John Matuszak
| |
|
| |
|
Miami Vice Character
|
|
|
Born
|
October 25, 1950, Rochester, Wisconsin
|
|
Died
|
June 17, 1989, Burbank, California (age 38, heart failure)
|
|
Active (Football)
|
1973-1982
|
|
Active (Actor)
|
1979-1989
|
John Daniel "Tooz" Matuszak (October 25, 1950 - June 17, 1989) was an American football player and an actor who appeared as Lascoe, one of Reb Brown's Violator gang in the episode "Viking Bikers from Hell" of the series Miami Vice.
Football Career[]
Matuszak played his college football at the University of Tampa, and was so highly prized as a defensive lineman he was the number one draft pick of the entire 1973 National Football League (NFL) draft, picked by the Houston Oilers. After one season, Matuszak jumped to the rival World Football League (WFL), intending to play for the Houston Texans, but was still under contract to the Oilers and was restrained from playing for both, so the Oilers traded Matuszak (because he tried to leave) to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1974, where he stayed until the end of the 1975 season. In 1976, Matuszak went to the Oakland Raiders, where he enjoyed his most success, winning two Super Bowls (XI and XV) before retiring after the 1982 season. Matuszak's reputation for hard partying and drug use was legendary, and in 2005 he was named one of the Top 5 "Bad Boys" of the NFL by Sports Illustrated.
Acting Career[]
Realizing the need for life after football, Matuszak got into acting, making his debut in the 1979 movie North Dallas Forty, later appearing in Caveman, The Ice Pirates (with Ron Perlman), as The Sloth in The Goonies, One Crazy Summer, and his final movie role, in Down The Drain. In 1987 Matuszak wrote his autobiography, Crusin' With The Tooz.
His TV roles included his debut in M*A*S*H, followed by Trapper John, M.D., Matt Houston, Hollywood Beat, Amen, and his final TV role, in Heartbeat.
Death[]
Matuszak died of heart failure on June 17, 1989, in Burbank, California at the age of 38. The cause of death was from a combination of an overdose of the painkiller Darvocet, use of cocaine, and possible pneumonia.