Javascript is not enabled.

Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.

Skip to content
Content starts here
CLOSE ×
Search
CLOSE ×
Search
Leaving AARP.org Website

You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Dick Butkus: NFL Legend and Ultimate Bear

The Chicago linebacker was later as well-known for his acting and TV commercials as his gridiron play


hall of fame chicago bears linebacker holding a football while posing for a portrait in california
Ben Liebenberg/AP Photo

Dick Butkus was the quintessential hard-hitting, mean linebacker on the football field. That made it all the more amusing when the retired Chicago Bear donned a white cable-knit sweater and played a sophisticated tennis player in a Miller Lite commercial.

It was his work in commercials, many with Bubba Smith, the late Baltimore Colts defensive lineman, and more than 60 movies and television shows that will serve as his legacy as much as his playing days. Butkus died at his Malibu, California, home on Oct. 5, according to a statement shared by the Bears from the Butkus family. He was 80 years old.

During his injury-shortened nine-year football career, Butkus was among the fiercest and most competitive players on the field. One of the “Monsters of the Midway,” he was a vicious tackler, and his opponents knew what they were in for when they faced him.

chicago bears linebacker dick butkus watching the game against the atlanta falcons while sitting on the bench
Focus on Sport/Getty Images

“I want to just let ’em know that they’ve been hit, and when they get up, they don’t have to look to see who it was that hit ’em,” Butkus told NFL Films. Sports Illustrated called him “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Butkus told the magazine that for him, football “was never work. If you love something, it’s not work.”

A native of Chicago, Butkus went to school in Illinois and played professionally only for the Bears. The University of Illinois retired his number — 50 — and no Chicago Bear will ever wear his number 51. Butkus was taken third in the 1965 NFL draft and played until 1973 when knee injuries sidelined him. He went to the Pro Bowl eight times and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 1979, the first year he was eligible.

Butkus may well be the poster child for turning a professional sports career into a famous second act in movies and television. The transition was smooth. For example, he played himself in Brian’s Song, a touching 1971 television docudrama that chronicled his teammate Brian Piccolo’s battle with cancer. And he appeared in other sports-related vehicles, including The Longest Yard and Any Given Sunday.

In one of his commercials with Smith, the two are dressed in tennis garb and come into a bar to hawk Miller Lite beer (“Tastes great!” “Less filling!”). In another Lite beer commercial, the two dressed up as polo players. Butkus also was a pitchman for Schick razors, Aqua Velva and Prestone.

Butkus’ acting career was not confined to sports-themed films or ads. He had roles and guest appearances on such shows as My Two Dads, The Rockford Files, Wonder Woman and others. He was a regular guest on talk shows, game shows and celebrity roasts, as well as on Saturday Night Live’s “Da Bears” sketches in the early 1990s. Butkus’ final acting role was in 2014 when he played himself in an episode of I Didn’t Do It.

Even while pursuing his acting career, Butkus wanted to give back to the community and the fans who supported him. He spearheaded the “I Play Clean” campaign, whose mission was to raise awareness about and prevent steroid use among high school athletes. His Butkus Foundation set up a program to promote early screening for heart disease.

Not all of Butkus’ dealings with the Bears were idyllic. Toward the end of his career, The New York Times reported that Butkus continued to play despite his badly injured right knee, which had been surgically repaired. After he retired, Butkus sued his former team for $1.6 million, saying that the Bears reneged on a promise to get him the medical and hospital care he needed and that he was owed four years of salary that remained on his contract.

After the two sides settled out of court, Butkus and the Bears buried their differences, and he became a strong supporter of the team, doing color commentary for the Bears in the 1980s. He continued to be a fan favorite throughout his life.

Butkus and his wife, Helen, had three children — Matt, Nikki and Richard Jr. — and grandchildren. A nephew, Luke Butkus, is on the Green Bay Packers’ staff as an offensive line coach.

Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition

Join AARP to Continue

Already a Member?