Nicknamed “The Hammer,” Fred Williamson played cornerback for the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s. On the field, he was more than just an athlete — he was an entertainer. According to the NFL, Williamson once made the claim: “When I walked out on the field, 20,000 people gave me a reaction: 10,000 booed, 10,000 cheered. That’s okay. I mean, they were watching me.” With that kind of showmanship, it was only a matter of time before he discovered he was good at other forms of performance art, as well.
Williamson became one of the most iconic stars of the 1970s blaxploitation films, a genre of movies with Black leads that targeted Black audiences, per Britannica. The genre’s name, reportedly coined by the president of the Beverly Hills NAACP at the time, came from critics who claimed such films exploited Black culture for the sake of ticket sales and often perpetuated harmful stereotypes. However, over 200 movies were made in the ’70s that could fit into this genre, and many of them became classics, like “Blacula,” “Foxy Brown,” “Shaft,” and “Coffy,” just to name a few. Williamson’s biggest blaxploitation blockbuster was undoubtedly “Black Caesar,” per Vulture. The film was scored by James Brown and was an instant hit. Williamson’s acting career has spanned decades, and he is still making movies today, according to IMDb.
Nicki
