Actor and NFL wide receiver Bernie Casey passed away on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. According to his representative, he passed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 78 years old.

During the ’70s, Casey starred in several blaxploitation movies, including Black Chariot, Cleopatra Jones, and Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde. Casey starred in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again as Felix Leiter in 1983, was in Revenge of the Nerds a year later, and played Mr. Ryan in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure in ’89.

Casey was born on June 8, 1938 in Wyco, West Virginia then raised in Columbus, Ohio. He got a football scholarship to Bowling Green and returned years later to earn a Master’s Degree in fine arts. A very talented athlete, he was named to the Little All-American team and competed in high hurdles for the U.S. Olympic trails in 1960.

He played for the San Francisco 49ers from ’61 to ’66 as the primary receiver for quarterback John Brodie. This was followed by two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, but he surprised everyone by retiring before the 1969 season.

After retiring from the NFL, he made his screen debut in Guns of the Magnificent Seven in ’69, then he appeared in the 1971 movie Brian’s Song as Chicago Bears player J.C. Caroline. He did several episodes of Bay City Blues, was in Spies Like Us, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Another 48 Hrs., Under Siege, did episodes in ’90s sci-fi hits like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, SeaQuest 2032, and Babylon 5.

Casey wrote, directed, starred in, and produced The Dinner in ’97 about three black men who discuss race and several other topics. His final acting credit came in 2007’s Vegas Vampires. He was also a published poet and a painter whose work has been displayed all over the world.