Bubba Smith, the NFL star who subsequently found fame in the Police Academy films, was found dead at his Los Angeles home yesterday. Smith (66) is believed to have died of natural causes.
Before his screen career – he was also famous for his Miller Lite beer commercials in which he ripped the tops off beer cans – Charles Aaron Smith was a defensive linesman with the Baltimore Colts, the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers from 1967-76. But it was his role as the gentle giant, Moses Hightower, in Police Academy (1984), and its five sequels, that made Smith an international star. (see clip here)
The six-foot-seven-inch actor also starred in the short-lived TV series Blue Thunder and was a regular on such small screen fare as Semi-Tough, Open All Night and Half Nelson.
