Rosey Grier – Biography, Family, Facts About The American Actor

Quick Facts

Rosey Grier is a former NFL player who was notable for his defensive skills when he played for teams like the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams. He was dealt a heavy blow when a leg injury shattered his football career but the resilient player picked himself up and delved into acting. As an actor, Grier has a couple of films to his name like The Desperate Mission, Carter’s Army, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Wild Wild West as well as Daniel Boone.

The multi-faceted Grier is also an accomplished writer who has penned down several books which include his autobiography titled ‘Rosey, an Autobiography: The Gentle Giant’. He was also made a Protestant minister and his humanitarian works are highly recognized.

Rosey Grier’s Biography

Roosevelt Grier who is popularly known as ‘Rosey’ was born on the 14th of July 1932 in Cuthbert, Georgia which was also where he was raised. He had his high school education at Abraham Clark High School located in New Jersey where he joined the school’s football team up until his graduation in 1951.

Upon his admission into Pennsylvania State University, Grier continued playing football and in no time, he came to be known for his skills. In the 1955 NFL draft, he was picked in the 3rd round as the 31st overall pick by the New York Giants where he won 2 Pro-Bowls in 1956 and 1960. Moreso, he was a 3-time All-Pro title holder for the years 1956, 1958 and 1959.

Rosie Grier’s was then traded off to the Los Angeles Rams in 1963 and there, he made a name as one of the alongside the likes of Lamar Lundy, Deacon Jones, and Merlin Olsen. However, his football career came to an abrupt end in 1966 when he sustained a leg injury and was not able to fully bounce back. Grier then looked for other means of earning a living and that landed him on screen – as a TV personality and actor.

The former NFL player did pretty well in films and this was a skill he improved on from shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. where he had a cameo role as well as The Wild Wild West and I Dream of Jeannie which was released in 1965. He has also featured in the film The Desperate Mission and had a recurring role in the sitcom Daniel Boone. Towards the end of the ’60s, the NFL player turned actor started his own show called The Rosey Grier Show but it was only aired between 1968 to 1970.

Rosey Grier was later seen in ’70’s productions like Skyjacked, The Thing with Two Heads, The Timber Tramps, Carter’s Army and a couple of others. He appeared as a participant in the show, The Celebrity Bullseye between 1981 to 1982 and he was last seen in the film Reggie’s Prayer which was released in 1996.

Besides his works on screen, Grier was made a Protestant minister in 1983 and is notable for helping the poor especially young people who are underprivileged. Moreso, the multi-faceted Rosey Grier is an accomplished writer who has to his name an autobiography as well as books like ‘Shooting Star’  ‘Rosey Grier’s Needlepoint for Men’ and ‘Rosey Grier’s All-American Heroes: Multicultural Success Stories’ among several others.

Family

The former NFL player was born to parents Joseph Grier and Ruth Grier who raised him alongside eleven other children. His family is African-American but no further details are available about their personal lives.

Grier has a couple of kids which include a daughter from his dalliance with a lady identified as Sherryl Brown-Tubbs. When he married Bernice Lewis, he also adopted her son named Denise but their union ended in a divorce and not too long after, he got married again to Margie Grier, who bore him Roosevelt Kennedy Grier. However, this marriage also ended in divorce in 1978. They reconciled two years later in 1980 and lived happily until Margie’s demise in June 2011.

About 2 years after Margie’s death, Rosey Grier got married a third time to Cydnee Seyler a school teacher at Wichita School. The couple has been living a blissful life since 2013 and there are no marital issues between the pair that has been made public.

Other Facts About The American Actor

Grier loves embroidery especially needlepoint and macramé.

He was a one-time bodyguard for the US senator, Robert F. Kennedy and he was the one who disarmed the assassin that killed the senator.

Rosey Grier was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the former Governor of New York City and one-time U.S president.

During his NFL career, he was among the ‘Fearsome Four’ made up of Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, and Deacon Jones.

Grier was made a member of New Jersey’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He also earned a spot in New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2017 for his contribution to the society.

He made known his intentions of running for Governor in California State back in January 2017 but withdrew from the race in July 2017.

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