r.i.p.

Bernie Casey, Football Player and Revenge of the Nerds Actor, Dead at 78

Bernie Casey. Photo: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage

Bernie Casey, a professional football star turned poet, artist, and actor, died on Wednesday, reports the Los Angeles Times. He was 78. After playing for eight seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and then the Los Angeles Rams, Casey began his career in film with Guns of the Magnificent in 1969. His acting credits included parts in dozens of movies, including Boxcar Bertha, Never Say Never Again, and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and on television in Roots: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Murder She Wrote. He was particularly well known for his part in Revenge of the Nerds as the Lambda Lambda Lambda fraternity president U.N. Jefferson. After leaving football, he returned to his alma mater Bowling Green State University to receive his masters degree in fine arts. His paintings appeared in many galleries, and he published books of poetry. Clark received an honorary doctorate degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, where he served as chairman of the board.

Bernie Casey, Football Player and Actor, Dead at 78