Bernie Casey

The Man Who Didn't Need to Shout

Bernie Casey left American football in 1968. He was at the top with the Los Angeles Rams and was only 30 years old. It was a blunt decision that nobody in the locker room fully understood, since he still had plenty of gas in the tank.

And that's how it all began.

Unlike other athletes who turn to film for the money, Casey wanted to paint and write. His arrival on the big screen was no publicity accident. In 1969 he made his debut in Guns of the Magnificent Seven and proved that his physical presence was as imposing as his silent gaze.

During the 1970s he moved comfortably through exploitation cinema. He worked with Martin Scorsese on Boxcar Bertha in 1972. The film was a fast and gritty shoot in which Casey played a union organizer who ends up crucified on a railroad car.

But his big moment of global visibility came with espionage. In 1983 he stepped into the shoes of Felix Leiter for Never Say Never Again. He became the first Black actor to play James Bond's ally in the official or unofficial series.

Casey brought a calm presence that contrasted with the histrionics of the era. He never needed theatrics to fill the frame, because his six-foot-three frame did the heavy lifting for him.

From Nerds to Canvas

Many viewers remember him for his role as U.N. Jefferson in Revenge of the Nerds from 1984. He played the leader of the Black fraternity who ends up taking in the marginalized protagonists. It was a supporting role, but his natural authority gave the comedy real weight.

And the gamble paid off.

His career was not just a series of film shoots. Casey devoted much of his free time to the visual arts. He published several poetry books, and his paintings were exhibited in prestigious galleries in cities such as London and Hamburg.

He used to say that art was his true voice.

In 1988 he appeared in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. It was a brilliant parody of the genres he had helped build years earlier. He poked fun at his own image with a grace few action stars allow themselves in the Hollywood industry.

Bernie Casey died on September 19, 2017 at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 78 years old and suffered a stroke after a brief illness. His private art collection remains a subject of study for collectors interested in African American expression in the twentieth century.