Current:Home > StocksO.J. Simpson's Cause of Death Revealed-VaTradeCoin
O.J. Simpson's Cause of Death Revealed
View Date:2025-01-19 10:24:22
New details have emerged about O.J. Simpson's passing.
Two weeks after the former NFL player—who was better known later in life for his 1995 trial for the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman—died at age 76, his cause of death has been confirmed.
Simpson died after a private battle with prostate cancer, his attorney Michael Lavergne, confirmed to E! News.
Earlier this month, Simpson's kids—including Arnelle and Jason, from his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley, and Sydney and Justin, from his marriage to Nicole—announced he had passed away in a statement posted on their dad's social media accounts.
"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," the April 11 statement read. "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."
However, in the months ahead of his death, Simpson had refuted claims about his health, including rumors he was in hospice. "Hospice? Hospice? You talkin' 'bout hospice?" he said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, in February. "No, I'm not in any hospice, I don't who put that out there."
Following the news of Simpson's death, many involved in the 1995 murder trial—of which he was infamously acquitted of the charges—reacted with their thoughts on the former athlete and his legacy. (Simpson was later found liable for Brown and Goldman's deaths in civil court.)
Marcia Clark—the lead prosecutor during his 1995 trial— expressed in a statement to Entertainment Tonight, "I send my condolences to Mr. Simpson's family."
Meanwhile, Caitlyn Jenner—who was previously married to Nicole's close friend Kris Jenner—shared a simple, biting response to learning of Simpson's death, writing on X, "Good Riddance."
For more about Simpson's life, keep reading.
Simpson was born in 1947 and started his football career at the City College of San Francisco. After playing for two seasons and being named a junior college All-American, Simpson transferred and started playing for the University of Southern California's Trojans in 1967.
The following year, he won the Heisman Trophy.
Following his college football career, the running back entered the NFL and played for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977.
In addition to playing football, Simpson explored acting—including in the movie The Klansman. He later appeared in The Towering Inferno, Killer Force and The Cassandra Crossing.
Simpson attended the Cannes Film Festival with producer Patrick Wachsberger in 1975.
Simpson was married to Marguerite Whitley from 1967 to 1979. Together, they welcomed three children: Arnelle, Jason and Aaren. Aaren died following a drowning accident in 1979.
The family is pictured at their home in 1975.
Following his near-decade with the Bills, the athlete joined the San Francisco 49ers, where he played for a two seasons before retiring from football.
Simpson pictured here posing with his Ferrari at Warner Bros Studios.
After playing the game, Simpson became a sports analyst. Here, he can be seen covering a game for NBC in 1980.
Simpson married Nicole Brown in 1985, the same year they welcomed their first child together, Sydney, and Simpson was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Here, the pair is pictured at an Oscars viewing party in 1983.
Simpson and Brown also welcomed a son, Justin, in 1988. The couple divorced four years later in 1992.
Here the family is pictured at the Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult premiere in 1994—the same year that she was killed.
In June 1994, Simpson was accused of murdering Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. He took off in a white Bronco, and millions of people watched the televised police chase.
Simpson's 1994 mug shot after his arrest.
Simpson went to trial in 1995, and the case captured the nation. He pleaded not guilty and was acquitted on all counts.
He was found liable for Brown and Goldman's deaths in 1997 in a civil lawsuit filed by their families and was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages, according to The New York Times.
Simpson would make headlines again when he penned the book If I Did It. The Goldman family later obtained the rights to the manuscript as a way to help satisfy the amount Simpson owed them, CBS News reported, and the subhead Confessions of the Killer was added.
However, these wouldn't be Simpson's last trials. In 2008, he was found guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping and 10 additional charges that were in regard to a memorabilia robbery in Las Vegas, and he was sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison, per The New York Times. Simpson, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, served nine years in prison before he was released on parole.
Simpson speaking at a parole hearing.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (39453)
Related
- Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
- Pennsylvania Expects $400 Million in Infrastructure Funds to Begin Plugging Thousands of Abandoned Oil Wells
- Environmental Justice Advocates Urge California to Stop Issuing New Drilling Permits in Neighborhoods
- Mining Critical to Renewable Energy Tied to Hundreds of Alleged Human Rights Abuses
- How Saturday Night Live Reacted to Donald Trump’s Win Over Kamala Harris
- A Status Check on All the Couples in the Sister Wives Universe
- UN Adds New Disclosure Requirements For Upcoming COP28, Acknowledging the Toll of Corporate Lobbying
- Mining Critical to Renewable Energy Tied to Hundreds of Alleged Human Rights Abuses
- Mark Zuckerberg Records NSFW Song Get Low for Priscilla Chan on Anniversary
- Chicago’s Little Village Residents Fight for Better City Oversight of Industrial Corridors
Ranking
- Richard Allen found guilty in the murders of two teens in Delphi, Indiana. What now?
- James Hansen Warns of a Short-Term Climate Shock Bringing 2 Degrees of Warming by 2050
- In the Florida Panhandle, a Black Community’s Progress Is Threatened by a Proposed Liquified Natural Gas Plant
- Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra's Cutest Family Pics With Daughter Malti
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- Australian Sailor Tim Shaddock and Dog Bella Rescued After 2 Months Stranded at Sea
- Where There’s Plastic, There’s Fire. Indiana Blaze Highlights Concerns Over Expanding Plastic Recycling
- Citing ‘Racial Cleansing,’ Louisiana ‘Cancer Alley’ Residents Sue Over Zoning
Recommendation
-
South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
-
Citing ‘Racial Cleansing,’ Louisiana ‘Cancer Alley’ Residents Sue Over Zoning
-
Love is Blind's Lauren Speed-Hamilton Reveals If She and Husband Cameron Would Ever Return To TV
-
Revisit Sofía Vergara and Joe Manganiello's Steamy Romance Before Their Break Up
-
Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago Gives Birth, Welcomes Twins With Jesse Sullivan
-
Paris Hilton Celebrates 6 Months With Angel Baby Phoenix in Sweet Message
-
Record Investment Merely Scratches the Surface of Fixing Black America’s Water Crisis
-
Water, Water Everywhere, Yet Local U.S. Planners Are Lowballing Their Estimates