An athlete turned actor, Strode was a top-notch decathlete and a football star at UCLA. He became part of Hollywood lore after meeting director John Ford and becoming a part of the Ford "family", appearing in almost a dozen Ford westerns. Strode also played the powerful gladiator who does battle with Kirk Douglas in "Spartacus."


La collina degli stivali (1969): $75,000 for 10 weeks

Strode was one of the first four blacks who integrated major league pro football in 1946. The others were Bill Willis, Marion Motley of the Browns and fellow Ram Kenny Washington. Prior to 1946, Strode played semi-pro ball. Former pro football player. Reportedly, his favorite film from his career is Sergeant Rutledge (1960). According to John Capouya's biography of Gorgeous George, Woody paid him a visit late in 1963, and was shocked and saddened to see the extent of his old friend's decline.