James Bond actor and former NFL player Frank McRae dead at 80
“License to Kill” and “Rocky II” actor Frank McRae, who appeared in dozens of roles following a brief NFL career, died last month at age 80.
A daughter-in-law confirmed to Variety that McRae died after suffering a heart attack.
He died last Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif.
McRae appeared primarily in movies throughout the course of an acting career that kicked off in the early 1970s and continued into the mid-2000s.
His earliest roles included playing a bank robber who helps infamous outlaw John Dillinger during his attempt to escape prison in 1973′s “Dillinger,” and Meat Foreman in “Rocky II” in 1979.
He portrayed a retired boxer in the 1987 sci-fi flick “Batteries Not Included,” before playing Sharkey, a friend of 007, in 1989′s “License to Kill,” which starred Timothy Dalton as James Bond.
McRae also repeatedly played police officials during his career, including portraying a captain in the 1993 action comedy “Last Action Hero,” which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.
On the TV side, McRae appeared on series such as “Wonder Woman” and “ER.”
The star, who was born in Memphis, attended Tennessee State University before making it to the NFL as a defensive tackle. He played in six games with the Chicago Bears in 1967.
McRae’s final listed acting credit came in 2006 with the drama “Love’s Abiding Joy.”
