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NFL all-pro and 'Webster' star Alex Karras, dead at 77

By April MacIntyre Oct 10, 2012, 15:33 GMT

Alex Karras, an All-Pro defensive lineman for the NFL who made a successful career on American television, died Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home. He was 77.

Alex Karras, an All-Pro defensive lineman for the NFL who made a successful career on American television, died Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home. He was 77.

Karras reportedly was surrounded by family.  The former Detroit Lion had been suffering from dementia, and his kidneys were failing according to the Associated Press.  He was part of a group of players suing the NFL for health-related injuries.

Karras was an All-Pro Detroit Lion who became an actor, appearing on classic TV series like “M*A*S*H” and “The Odd Couple”

But it was his role as the feared brute Mongo in the Mel Brooks' 1974 classic “Blazing Saddles” that set him apart as an actor who could pull off comedic moments, delivering the classic line, "Mongo only pawn in game of life."

In the 1980s, he played a sheriff in the film “Porky's” and starred as Emmanuel Lewis' adoptive father, George Papadapolis, in TV sitcom “Webster.”

The AP reported that the NFL star, drafted in 1958, was chosen 10th overall by the Detroit Lions in 1958 out of Iowa and was a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle over 12 seasons with the team.

Karras' wife, Susan Clark,  said earlier this year that her husband's mind had deteriorated to the point that he could no longer drive and couldn't remember recipes for some of the favorite Italian and Greek dishes he used to cook.

“This physical beating that he took as a football player has impacted his life, and therefore it has impacted his family life,” Clark told the Associated Press. “He is interested in making the game of football safer and hoping that other families of retired players will have a healthier and happier retirement.”