NFL Hall of FamerDick Butkushas died. The legendarysportsstar and actor passed away in his sleep, according to a statement provided by his family (per theChicago Bears official X, formerly Twitteraccount). Unlike many other athletes who have the privilege to go pro, Butkus enjoyed the luxury of playing in his home state of Illinois during both his collegiate and professional careers.
Butkus was born on June 09, 2025, in Chicago. And, as fate would have it, he ended up being drafted out of college by his hometown Chicago Bears. Due to injuries, Butkus was limited to only playing nine seasons (1965-1973), but he participated in a total of eight Pro Bowls. And he was inducted to both the College Football Hall of Fame (1983) and the NFL Hall of Fame (1979). The Chairperson of the Chicago Bears, George McCaskey, spoke about Butkus’ distinguished legacy on behalf of the Bears organization via X:
Butkus went on to become a regular fixture as a color commentator and analyst covering the Bears from 1985 until 1987 and again from 1992 until 1994. One of his more memorable moments came when Butkus' on-air reaction came across more like a genuine Bears' fan than an impartial color man, as then Chicago linebacker Wilber Marshall scooped up a fumble and returned it all the way for a touchdown (below):
For all his athletic accomplishments on the gridiron and insights as a Bears broadcaster, Butkus’ connection to the Chicago Bears eventually started him down the path to becoming quite the prolific actor — and a damn good one at that.
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Dick Butkus Dies at 80
Dick Butkusnever won a Super Bowl, but he accomplished everything else possible on the football field. And in 1971, he appeared as himself in the television movieBrian’s SongstarringBilly Dee Williamsand James Caan as Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo respectively. Butkus was famously a rookie linebacker on the same 1965 squad that featured the renowned running backs Piccolo and Sayers.
Like so many before him, Butkus was bitten by the acting bug. And the former linebacker showed up in a slew of high-profile television series in the 1970s includingThe Six Million Dollar Man, The Rockford Filesand even a one-episode shot onWonder Womanin 1979. Heck, Butkus even got the chance to rough up Rodney Dangerfield a little bit in one of the many Miller Lite commercials he did over the years. Check out Butkus paying Dangerfield zero respect below:
As the 1970s closed out, Butkus found his name being used by a very popular sports figure on the big screen: Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) had a dog named Butkus. Eventually, the football player bumped into the actor who portrayed the Italian Stallion, and Butkus revealed that he was flattered but shocked that his name had been used by Stallone. Butkus said in an interview withWGN:
When I was at Universal Studios one day, I saw Stallone. And I says, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ And he says, ‘Hey, he’s [the dog] in one more movie.’ I said, ‘Oh good – there’s no residuals, right?’ He started laughing.
In the 1980s, after appearances onMatt Houston, Simon & Simon and The Greatest American Hero, Butkus landed the role of Ski Butowski onBlue Thunder,which also featured another football legend, Bubba Smith.Now, the 1980s were good to Butkus as an athlete turned actor (The Love Boat, Night Court, Matlock, Growing Painsand another recurring role onMy Two Dads) However, if you didn’t know who Dick Butkus was before the 1990s, and you were aSaturday Night Livefan, you were about to find out.
In January of 1991, the unforgettable Chicago Bears-inspired skitBill Swerski’s Superfansdebuted onSNL. Every Saturday night, fans could tune in to see comedy legends Mike Myers, Chris Farley and Robert Smigel portray “Da Bears” superfans with whoever happened to host the show that particular week. And invariably, since he was a Chicago Bears icon, Dick Butkus' name came up during their heated and hilarious discussions. Check out one of these classicSNLsketches below:
Butkus' acting career continued through 2014 with roles in movies and television projects, includingGremlins 2: The New Batch, Necessary Roughness,The Last Boy ScoutandAny Given Sunday. Butkus also appeared as himself in a couple of episodes of the football-centric hit seriesCoachstarring Craig T. Nelson and Jerry Van Dyke. In 2014, Butkus made his final credited appearance, as himself, on the Disney DramedyI Didn’t Do It.
Butkus is survived by his wife of 60 years, Helen, and they have three children: Matt, Richard and Nikki. The future Hall of Famer and his wife began their romance as high school sweethearts and ended up jumping the broom while they were still students at the University of Illinois in 1963.
