John Matuszak

Five Hours of Glue and Latex

Five hours a day in makeup isn't for everyone. John Matuszak arrived on the set of The Goonies in 1985, long before the rest of the cast, so technicians could reshape his face. This man, six feet six and 130 pounds of pure muscle, accepted that no one would see his real face in the role that would make him a pop culture icon.

This man was a physical anomaly.

And Sloth wasn't just a silicone costume. Matuszak moved one eye mechanically by remote control while the other stayed hidden beneath a heavy prosthetic. But beneath that mask beat the heart of a guy who had been the first overall pick in the NFL Draft in 1973. His time with the Houston Oilers and the Kansas City Chiefs was just the prelude to a life lived on the edge.

In the Oakland Raiders locker room, they called him Tooz. He won two Super Bowls in 1977 and 1981, but his reputation as a wild party animal sometimes outshone his performance on the field. He drank vodka like it was water and mixed painkillers to endure the pain of a back that was starting to fail.

Nobody recognized him on the street.

From the NFL to the Muck of Hollywood

His move into movies wasn't a calculated career play by a visionary agent. In 1979, he made his debut in North Dallas Forty, playing a football player. It was an easy role because he only had to be himself. The film worked, and producers saw in him a giant capable of inspiring both fear and tenderness.

But Hollywood is a dangerous place for someone prone to excess. While filming Caveman in 1981, he met Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach. Matuszak was the guy who lit up every party, but his athlete's body was starting to present invisible bills.

And the gamble paid off.

He appeared in TV series such as M*A*S*H, The A-Team and The Dukes of Hazzard. In 1984 he starred in The Ice Pirates, a sci-fi film with a budget of $9 million that is remembered today for its bizarre aesthetic. Matuszak filled the screen effortlessly. He didn't need big dialogue because his physical presence was the main message of every scene.

The Price of Being Too Big

Matuszak's life story can't be understood without chronic pain. In 1987, he published his autobiography, Cruisin' with the Tooz, in which he confessed to his drug addiction. He tried to get clean several times, but the pressure of maintaining that image of an indestructible giant was too much to bear.

His last on-screen appearance was in the film One Man Force, shot in 1989. In it, he played a police officer seeking revenge for the death of his partner. The tone of the film was dark and reflected quite well the state of mind of an actor who was watching his health deteriorate by the day.

On June 17, 1989, John Matuszak died in Burbank at age 38. The autopsy revealed an overdose of propoxyphene, a powerful painkiller, combined with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A heart that was simply too big and just stopped beating in an apartment in California.

His death certificate also indicates traces of cocaine in his blood.