Former 49er left mark on the arts
Bernie Casey, a former 49ers receiver turned poet, painter and actor known for parts in films such as “Revenge of the Nerds” and “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” has died. Hewas 78.
Casey died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a brief illness, his talent agent Erin Connor said.
Born in West Virginia in 1939 and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Casey excelled in track and field and football and attended Bowling Green State University on an athletic scholarship.
The 49ers drafted Casey with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 1961 NFL Draft — the 49ers selected Hall of Fame cornerback Jimmy Johnson with the 6th overall pick. Casey played six season in San Francisco, leading the team in receptions in 1962, ‘63 and ‘64 and finishing with 277 catches for the 49ers. He played two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, where he made the Pro Bowl in 1967, and was out of football at age 29. Casey then went back to his alma mater to get a master’s degree in fine arts. For Casey, the arts always came first. He painted and published books of poetry, but the football association that he viewed as a stepping stone followed him.
“It was just a gig,” he told the Washington Post in1977 about football. “But it limits the way people perceive you. That can be frustrating. People have tremendous combinations of talents. A man can be a deepsea diver and also make china.”
His art in particular captivated many famous minds, including Maya Angelou.
“His art makes my road less rocky, andmy path less crooked,” Angelou said of a 2003 exhibit of his works, which included a stop in Oakland.
“I was a big, agile, fast and a dedicated athlete,” Casey said in 1999. “But I always wanted to be a painter.”
Casey’s professional acting career began with “Guns of the Magnificent Seven,” a sequel to “The Magnificent Seven,” in 1969.
He appeared in some 35 films, including “Boxcar Bertha,” ” The Man Who Fell to Earth,” ”Brian’s Song” and “Never Say Never Again.”
Casey also starred opposite fellow NFL veteran Jim Brown in “…tick…tick… tick” and “Black Gunn.” He played Lamda Lamda Lamda head U.N. Jefferson in “Revenge of the Nerds” and John Slade in Keenan Ivory Wayans’ Blaxploitation parody “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” from 1988.