O.J. Simpson, a former football star turned actor who was cleared of all charges in a dramatic trial involving the murder of his ex-wife and her friend, passed away from cancer, according to his family. At his Las Vegas residence, he passed away on Wednesday at the age of 76.

How did Simpson die?

On April 10th, Orenthal James, our father, passed away from cancer, according to a post made by his family on his official X account. His children and grandkids encircled him. His family kindly requests that you honor their requests for discretion and privacy during this time of change.

He was found liable in a civil claim brought by the relatives of the victims three years after his criminal trial, despite the fact that he was not found guilty of the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Orenthal James, who was born in San Francisco, played football professionally for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, setting records and winning the Heisman Trophy while at USC.

O.J. Simpson career journey

Before turning pro as a football player, he began acting while still a student at USC, making appearances on “Medical Center.” While still playing in the NFL, he had appearances in television miniseries “Roots” and motion pictures like “The Towering Inferno,” “The Cassandra Crossing,” and “The Klansman.”

In addition to the comedy “Back to the Beach,” he starred in three “Naked Gun” films after quitting football. The project for NBC was abruptly halted due to his arrest after he finished a two-hour pilot for the adventure series “Frogmen.”

In 1994, on June 12, Nicole Brown Simpson, his former spouse, and her companion Ronald Goldman were discovered dead outside their Brentwood condominium. Charges were brought against him because he was thought to be a person of interest in the killings and had entered a plea of not guilty to a domestic abuse case against Nicole Brown during their marriage. He didn’t turn himself in; instead, as he tried to drive away in his white Ford Bronco and the police pursued at a leisurely speed, a media circus broke out. An estimated 95 million people watched the June 17 televised chase.

Following a circus-like trial, O.J was acquitted of the two murders. However, in 1997, Goldman’s family filed a civil lawsuit against O.J, and the latter was judged accountable for the death of Goldman, as well as for battery against Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. He was mandated to reimburse $33.5 million in losses.

In 2017, he was freed from prison after serving nearly nine years in prison for robbery, abduction, and other offenses related to a Las Vegas sports memorabilia conspiracy.

Hollywood has chronicled the infamous trial in films and docuseries, such as Fox’s 1995 film “The O.J. Simpson Story,” CBS’ 2000 film “American Tragedy,” Investigation Discovery’s 2014 film “OJ: Trial of the Century,” the 2016 Oscar winner “O.J.: Made in America,” and FX’s 2016 film “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” which stars Cuba Gooding Jr. In a memorable but unpleasant encounter, Sacha Baron Cohen tried to coerce a confession out of O.J while posing as him for his 2018 Showtime series “Who Is America?” his parole was early granted in 2021 due to his exemplary behavior.

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