Part 1

0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains some strong language.

0:00:10 > 0:00:12As a kid growing up in the ghetto,

0:00:12 > 0:00:14one of the things I wanted most

0:00:14 > 0:00:18was not money, it was fame.

0:00:18 > 0:00:22I wanted to be known. I wanted people to say, "Hey, there goes OJ."

0:00:32 > 0:00:36You're approaching five years now at Lovelock.

0:00:36 > 0:00:38Tell us about your work assignments.

0:00:38 > 0:00:41How have you occupied your time for the past five years?

0:00:43 > 0:00:45Uh, when I first came here, I was a porter,

0:00:45 > 0:00:49which comprised of cleaning things in the unit that I was in,

0:00:49 > 0:00:53and, basically, after a relatively short period of time,

0:00:53 > 0:00:56I started working as a gym worker.

0:00:56 > 0:00:59I start each day disinfecting,

0:00:59 > 0:01:01uh, the workout equipment in the gym,

0:01:01 > 0:01:06mopping floors with the other, uh, group of us that work in the gym.

0:01:06 > 0:01:10Uh, I've coached teams, um, uh, since I've been here.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13Uh, and I like to say we won the championship,

0:01:13 > 0:01:16and we were old guys, a totally mixed group of players.

0:01:16 > 0:01:18I didn't play, I just coached.

0:01:18 > 0:01:23I do see that in 1994 you were arrested at the age of 46.

0:01:25 > 0:01:27We... We're talking about this case?

0:01:27 > 0:01:29No, the age at first arrest.

0:01:29 > 0:01:33How old were you, first time you were arrested? For any reason.

0:01:34 > 0:01:38HE EXHALES

0:01:38 > 0:01:41Um, I think about 46, yes.

0:02:04 > 0:02:07With an enrolment of approximately 16,000 students,

0:02:07 > 0:02:10this is the largest and oldest university

0:02:10 > 0:02:12of continuous existence in Southern California.

0:02:12 > 0:02:15Its buildings and grounds cover 45 acres

0:02:15 > 0:02:18and it has graduated many thousands of men and women

0:02:18 > 0:02:21who are now leaders in the business and professional world.

0:02:29 > 0:02:31I didn't know that much about him.

0:02:31 > 0:02:34I heard about his reputation coming out of junior college.

0:02:42 > 0:02:47He was big, fast, powerful, dynamic.

0:02:47 > 0:02:50You're awed, because you haven't seen that.

0:02:52 > 0:02:55I was teaching part-time at San Jose State and a friend of mine said,

0:02:55 > 0:03:00"Hey, man, you gotta go check out this little cat from San Francisco.

0:03:01 > 0:03:04"His name is Simpson. Orenthal James Simpson."

0:03:05 > 0:03:08OJ takes the football. Boom.

0:03:10 > 0:03:13I think he runs about 90 yards with it for a touchdown.

0:03:15 > 0:03:19He ran through 'em like foreign water through a tourist.

0:03:23 > 0:03:28San Jose State was trying to recruit him, and I asked him,

0:03:28 > 0:03:31"OJ, what is it that you're lookin' for?"

0:03:33 > 0:03:36Said, "I want to be the best.

0:03:36 > 0:03:39"I want to go to a school where I play against the best."

0:03:43 > 0:03:47Superstar phenom is coming to USC

0:03:47 > 0:03:49and all the buzz that goes around with it.

0:03:50 > 0:03:54This is Marguerite Simpson.

0:03:54 > 0:03:56She and OJ have been married for five months now.

0:03:56 > 0:03:59- Right. - Are you happy after five months?

0:03:59 > 0:04:01Yes, I'm very happy.

0:04:01 > 0:04:03And do you like this campus and everything?

0:04:03 > 0:04:06I love it. It's like a resort. It's beautiful.

0:04:06 > 0:04:10Now, you tell us the truth, Marguerite. What kind of guy is OJ?

0:04:10 > 0:04:14OJ is very serious. He loves football.

0:04:14 > 0:04:16And he's just a serious person.

0:04:20 > 0:04:22He has a great running sense.

0:04:22 > 0:04:24Uh, as a team man, he's an outstanding person.

0:04:24 > 0:04:28As a citizen, he is a tremendous boy and, uh,

0:04:28 > 0:04:31I don't think we've had a boy around here who has ever been any better.

0:04:31 > 0:04:34Whoo! Get up!

0:04:34 > 0:04:39It was pretty obvious early on that OJ was a superior athlete, special,

0:04:39 > 0:04:43and Coach McKay was warmer and closer with him.

0:04:43 > 0:04:48He had never had a player of this calibre. And you didn't mess with it.

0:04:48 > 0:04:49He protected him.

0:04:52 > 0:04:54Johnny, would you describe that devastating

0:04:54 > 0:04:57Southern Cal offensive attack for us?

0:04:57 > 0:05:00Well, Duffy, I don't... I don't know how devastating it is, but our attack

0:05:00 > 0:05:03is built around the, uh, tailback, OJ Simpson, running a football.

0:05:03 > 0:05:07We think our attack will be able to let us move the ball on most people.

0:05:09 > 0:05:11There was no drama.

0:05:11 > 0:05:15John McKay was going to give him the football,

0:05:15 > 0:05:18and he was going to give it to him 35, 40 times a game

0:05:18 > 0:05:19and you were going to tackle him.

0:05:20 > 0:05:26And then when you missed, we were going to score a touchdown.

0:05:26 > 0:05:29So we fed him the football, fed him the football...

0:05:32 > 0:05:35He had incredible stamina,

0:05:35 > 0:05:40that he could take the ball every play and keep on going.

0:05:42 > 0:05:45Every game he did something that was eye-opening.

0:05:45 > 0:05:47You... "What? Did I see that?"

0:05:49 > 0:05:51He was one of a kind.

0:06:04 > 0:06:07This is OJ Simpson, USC's junior halfback.

0:06:07 > 0:06:10You have been getting an awful lot of publicity lately.

0:06:10 > 0:06:12How does it affect you? Does it bother ya?

0:06:12 > 0:06:13Oh, it doesn't bother me at all.

0:06:13 > 0:06:15It's... It's a matter of winning, I guess.

0:06:15 > 0:06:17If you win, you get publicity,

0:06:17 > 0:06:20and they have to give someone in our offence and on our team publicity,

0:06:20 > 0:06:22and, uh, I'm just in a position to get it,

0:06:22 > 0:06:26running at the tailback and carrying the ball as much as I do.

0:06:26 > 0:06:28OJ, you've got an awful big game on Saturday.

0:06:28 > 0:06:32It's the big intercity rivalry. There's just all kind of pressure.

0:06:32 > 0:06:33How does the pressure affect you?

0:06:33 > 0:06:36Well, uh, I don't know. I don't think the pressure bothers...

0:06:36 > 0:06:38It doesn't bother me and...

0:06:38 > 0:06:40and I think most of the team right now, it's not bothering them yet.

0:06:40 > 0:06:42I'm sure it will tomorrow.

0:06:42 > 0:06:44We're shooting for all the marbles this week,

0:06:44 > 0:06:46and, uh, I think we'll be relaxed and ready to go.

0:06:56 > 0:07:00USC football is not a matter of life and death.

0:07:02 > 0:07:05It's much more important than that.

0:07:05 > 0:07:06Live and in colour, you are looking at this view,

0:07:06 > 0:07:11hovering above the Memorial Coliseum, which is jam-packed today.

0:07:11 > 0:07:15As we look at Gary Beban, a reminder that college football,

0:07:15 > 0:07:18a pleasant and colourful way to spend an autumn afternoon.

0:07:20 > 0:07:23UCLA's quarterback was Gary Beban.

0:07:23 > 0:07:25It's going to be his year for the Heisman Trophy.

0:07:27 > 0:07:30So we have the upcomer running back

0:07:30 > 0:07:33against the established superstar quarterback.

0:07:36 > 0:07:40We were ranked number four, they were ranked number one.

0:07:40 > 0:07:44The city of Los Angeles, the two top teams in the country,

0:07:44 > 0:07:48and we're fighting for the national championship.

0:07:48 > 0:07:51Today with ten cameras covering this game,

0:07:51 > 0:07:53over 200, uh, newsmen here, 200 photographers.

0:07:53 > 0:07:56There were people out here this morning at six o'clock

0:07:56 > 0:07:58trying to get in to the ball game.

0:07:58 > 0:08:00And the ball game is underway.

0:08:00 > 0:08:02I had never been to a college game ever.

0:08:02 > 0:08:04And we all wanted to go see OJ.

0:08:04 > 0:08:09Offensively now for the Trojans, watch for number 32, OJ Simpson.

0:08:12 > 0:08:14None of us had any tickets.

0:08:14 > 0:08:17All of a sudden, we looked up and someone had cut a hole

0:08:17 > 0:08:21in the Coliseum fence and about 50 people ran through it, including us.

0:08:21 > 0:08:25OK, Bud, we have approximately nine minutes remaining in the first half.

0:08:25 > 0:08:27I'd never seen the Coliseum full like that.

0:08:27 > 0:08:31There was just the colours, I was in awe.

0:08:31 > 0:08:36Tie ball game, and they are in UCLA territory. Steve Sogge. Simpson.

0:08:39 > 0:08:44There's his brilliance. 13 yards. Touchdown.

0:08:44 > 0:08:49A tremendously gifted athlete, number 32, OJ Simpson.

0:08:49 > 0:08:51Everybody loved watching OJ run.

0:08:51 > 0:08:53As we look at it in slow motion...

0:08:53 > 0:08:55There was something about his style.

0:08:55 > 0:08:56..OJ Simpson.

0:08:56 > 0:08:59I said, "Man, if I could run half as well as this guy,

0:08:59 > 0:09:00"I might be all right."

0:09:00 > 0:09:04Beban hooking. Deep and long to Copeland.

0:09:06 > 0:09:08UCLA has tied it up.

0:09:12 > 0:09:13There is Nuttall.

0:09:14 > 0:09:18Touchdown, UCLA.

0:09:18 > 0:09:22And with 11 minutes and 40 seconds left in the game,

0:09:22 > 0:09:24UCLA gets the lead.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27We were losing. And we were fighting.

0:09:27 > 0:09:30OJ Simpson is deep. Number 32.

0:09:30 > 0:09:32And he's determined.

0:09:32 > 0:09:35We were outplaying them,

0:09:35 > 0:09:39and we were very angry that we were not winning that game.

0:09:39 > 0:09:4030. Moving away,

0:09:40 > 0:09:45and sheer sake of effort brings him out to the 34-yard line.

0:09:45 > 0:09:50Things weren't going our way until that run.

0:09:50 > 0:09:53Rose Bowl bid, Bud, is at stake.

0:09:53 > 0:09:55Everything that they've fought for all year,

0:09:55 > 0:09:58it's coming down to the wire now, Chris. These final minutes.

0:09:58 > 0:10:01At the 36-yard line, a 4-yard gain,

0:10:01 > 0:10:04it'll be third down and three for the Trojans.

0:10:04 > 0:10:05It was a pass play.

0:10:05 > 0:10:06They need three yards.

0:10:06 > 0:10:10In the audible, and some guys missed the audible.

0:10:13 > 0:10:17I couldn't hear it. I made a mistake. I stood up to pass block.

0:10:17 > 0:10:21The linebacker read me and backed into his passing zone,

0:10:21 > 0:10:23and that opened up a lane for OJ.

0:10:23 > 0:10:26And he did his magic.

0:10:26 > 0:10:29First down and more. There's Simpson.

0:10:29 > 0:10:32Look at that cut! OJ Simpson!

0:10:34 > 0:10:36All she wrote.

0:10:36 > 0:10:4264 yards. 64 thrilling, captivating, collegiate football yards,

0:10:42 > 0:10:46and let's look at that one again. Wow.

0:10:46 > 0:10:49Don't recall seeing anybody that can turn it on like this boy, Chris.

0:10:49 > 0:10:54If you were a football fan in the late '60s and someone said to you,

0:10:54 > 0:10:58"Do you remember The Run?" It was just one run.

0:11:00 > 0:11:04That set OJ apart from everyone.

0:11:04 > 0:11:07He's so much faster, it makes no difference.

0:11:07 > 0:11:09That single play is still felt

0:11:09 > 0:11:12to be one of the greatest college plays.

0:11:15 > 0:11:19He became an instant national star.

0:11:24 > 0:11:26A civil rights leader in Los Angeles has said

0:11:26 > 0:11:29if you are going to be a negro in a big city,

0:11:29 > 0:11:31then Los Angeles is the best place to be.

0:11:45 > 0:11:48The image of Los Angeles was milk and honey.

0:11:49 > 0:11:52There's no prejudice in Los Angeles.

0:11:52 > 0:11:55Everybody's free to do what they will.

0:11:55 > 0:12:00You know, palm trees and sunshine. It's just the ultimate place.

0:12:02 > 0:12:05And anybody who was trying to go somewhere, at least in my area,

0:12:05 > 0:12:07you know, they were going to Los Angeles.

0:12:10 > 0:12:13There is no group in America to whom California has meant more

0:12:13 > 0:12:16than it has to the negroes.

0:12:16 > 0:12:20In the two decades between 1940 and 1960,

0:12:20 > 0:12:22while the population of all other groups in Los Angeles

0:12:22 > 0:12:28went up by 100%, the negro population went up by 600%.

0:12:30 > 0:12:32Where do the people come from?

0:12:32 > 0:12:37People come from the states of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia...

0:12:45 > 0:12:51The hope is that all the trouble I've known will be gone.

0:12:51 > 0:12:54Two, four, six, eight, we don't want to integrate!

0:12:54 > 0:12:57Two, four, six, eight, we don't want to integrate!

0:12:57 > 0:13:02I will no longer be held down by this notion

0:13:02 > 0:13:05held against my skin and my hair.

0:13:19 > 0:13:25More literally, I can get work because it's growing so fast here.

0:13:25 > 0:13:26And I can buy a house,

0:13:26 > 0:13:29and nobody's ever going to come take it away from me because I'm black.

0:13:31 > 0:13:34This is something that you didn't have in the Deep South.

0:13:37 > 0:13:41The Simpsons are from Rodessa, Louisiana.

0:13:41 > 0:13:45My parents and his parents, they grew up on a 200-acre farm.

0:13:45 > 0:13:49Although they had land, there was no opportunity for people of colour,

0:13:49 > 0:13:52so everybody "got out of Dodge", as they say.

0:13:53 > 0:13:57OJ and I were born in San Francisco in '47.

0:14:00 > 0:14:01He had aspirations.

0:14:02 > 0:14:07He knew that he wanted to better his circumstances,

0:14:07 > 0:14:09and LA was the place to do that.

0:14:12 > 0:14:14I moved out here looking for opportunities.

0:14:14 > 0:14:17My grandmother gave me 67 for a ticket,

0:14:17 > 0:14:20and my mother gave me 65 to spend,

0:14:20 > 0:14:23and I got on a plane, one-way ticket.

0:14:23 > 0:14:26If I had the money, I would've gone back home,

0:14:26 > 0:14:28cos it was very, very troubling once I got here.

0:14:28 > 0:14:33Racism out here was as stark as it was in Jim Crow South.

0:14:37 > 0:14:43You don't really have any more power out here than you had there.

0:14:43 > 0:14:47Everybody was always conscious of the police.

0:14:49 > 0:14:52- You a friend of Jack Grant's?- Why?

0:14:52 > 0:14:54- Jack Grant a friend of yours? - I'm not going to tell ya.

0:14:54 > 0:14:57I grew up watching the Los Angeles Police Department.

0:14:57 > 0:15:01They just were so sharp and professional all the time,

0:15:01 > 0:15:03if you watched things that depicted them.

0:15:03 > 0:15:05I'm Lieutenant Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department.

0:15:05 > 0:15:07Hell, no, we won't go.

0:15:07 > 0:15:09If you do not leave now, you will be arrested

0:15:09 > 0:15:12for violation of section 602-J.

0:15:12 > 0:15:14They were just always squared away.

0:15:16 > 0:15:19The institutional culture was really clear.

0:15:19 > 0:15:23We expected you to be the best, we expected you to be professional.

0:15:23 > 0:15:26It's not like it was in the '30s and '40s.

0:15:26 > 0:15:28Police officers don't take bribes.

0:15:28 > 0:15:32There's none of that stuff, that had been cleaned up by Chief Parker.

0:15:34 > 0:15:37Chief Parker turned a very corrupt police department

0:15:37 > 0:15:40into what was viewed as a very honest police department,

0:15:40 > 0:15:44but with that he brought a level of being untouchable.

0:15:46 > 0:15:49Everything at the police academy was white,

0:15:49 > 0:15:51in the sense of command staff,

0:15:51 > 0:15:53officers, all the trainers were white.

0:15:55 > 0:15:56Bill Parker was reputed

0:15:56 > 0:16:00to have actually recruited police officers from Klan rallies.

0:16:03 > 0:16:08I think he, at minimum, was racially insensitive,

0:16:08 > 0:16:10at maximum, he was racist.

0:16:13 > 0:16:17Police officers under Bill Parker would respond to a radio call,

0:16:17 > 0:16:20they would go snatch the person who was causing trouble,

0:16:20 > 0:16:22put 'em in the car, take 'em out and leave.

0:16:22 > 0:16:24So their interaction with the community

0:16:24 > 0:16:28was almost entirely based on apprehension,

0:16:28 > 0:16:31and that's where the notion of an occupying army comes from.

0:16:34 > 0:16:37Just getting tired of being pushed around by you white people, that's all.

0:16:37 > 0:16:40You stoppin' us on the street, kickin' down the doors,

0:16:40 > 0:16:43takin' down to the police station, you're kicking our teeth in.

0:16:43 > 0:16:47Well, he took me in the car and, uh, he just started getting on me.

0:16:47 > 0:16:52- But was there a fight? - How can I fight with my hands stuck?

0:16:52 > 0:16:56The complaint that you hear everywhere is that the negro

0:16:56 > 0:16:59is not getting the same treatment from the police as the...

0:16:59 > 0:17:01Well, I know, but I'm getting a little bit weary of that,

0:17:01 > 0:17:03and I think perhaps the best thing to do

0:17:03 > 0:17:05is just to pull the police out of the area.

0:17:05 > 0:17:07I've offered to do that again and again,

0:17:07 > 0:17:09but you see how quick they are to come back and say,

0:17:09 > 0:17:10"We can't afford to have that."

0:17:16 > 0:17:19The negroes are stepping up, they're waking up, and they're going to do

0:17:19 > 0:17:21something about what the white man did to them.

0:17:21 > 0:17:25I'm not afraid of bloodshed. If I have to die for my rights, I will.

0:17:28 > 0:17:3354 square miles in the middle of the nation's third-largest city.

0:17:33 > 0:17:36No-one expected the flash point of discontent to be

0:17:36 > 0:17:40in the sprawling, bungalowed 450 square miles of Los Angeles.

0:17:43 > 0:17:45This is where the fuse was lighted.

0:17:45 > 0:17:49It began with the arrest by white officers of two young negroes,

0:17:49 > 0:17:52one on a charge of drunk driving, the other his brother.

0:17:52 > 0:17:54Their mother came to the scene.

0:17:54 > 0:17:55There was an argument, there was a scuffle.

0:17:55 > 0:17:58By then, a crowd of several hundred negroes had gathered.

0:17:58 > 0:18:02The story of police brutality quickly spread through the community.

0:18:07 > 0:18:10SCREAMING AND SHOUTING

0:18:13 > 0:18:16The Watts riots. I was ten years old, man.

0:18:16 > 0:18:17GUNFIRE

0:18:25 > 0:18:27It was summer, it was hot,

0:18:27 > 0:18:32and white policemen had been treating us like shit forever.

0:18:32 > 0:18:35And we were going to respond.

0:18:39 > 0:18:43The police in their idiocy responded with too much force

0:18:43 > 0:18:47and not enough understanding, and it mushroomed.

0:18:52 > 0:18:53I was nervous.

0:18:53 > 0:18:55There were people screaming, people shooting,

0:18:55 > 0:18:58people lying on the ground, not moving.

0:18:58 > 0:19:01The police, four-deep in a car, all holding up shotguns.

0:19:04 > 0:19:08The Watts riot was one of the first major events in the city of LA

0:19:08 > 0:19:10that was caught on TV.

0:19:10 > 0:19:14People who grew up looking at those kinds of activities in the South,

0:19:14 > 0:19:18they thought that's where all of the racial divide was.

0:19:18 > 0:19:21The only thing was missing in LA, there weren't dogs.

0:19:21 > 0:19:24Get 'em up. Get your hands up. Let's go.

0:19:29 > 0:19:32I got home and my father was sitting there, upset, and he says,

0:19:32 > 0:19:35"You know, Walter, they're out there, rioting."

0:19:36 > 0:19:41And he says, "I want to do that. I feel that. I feel that anger.

0:19:43 > 0:19:47"I know it's wrong, so I can't do it. But I want to."

0:19:55 > 0:19:56I didn't think it was a big deal.

0:19:56 > 0:19:59I didn't think these people were, quote, "persecuted".

0:19:59 > 0:20:03I didn't think these people had any problem. Why were they rioting?

0:20:03 > 0:20:05I was as naive as any other white person.

0:20:05 > 0:20:10This area is being closed. Please go in your homes.

0:20:13 > 0:20:15The question came down from white people after Watts.

0:20:15 > 0:20:18They said, "Do most black people feel like this?"

0:20:18 > 0:20:20And the answer came back,

0:20:20 > 0:20:24"About 99% of them feel like this. And 1% are really mad."

0:20:26 > 0:20:29In creating this situation, where was the failure?

0:20:29 > 0:20:31On the part of the city, the county, the schools?

0:20:31 > 0:20:35This, sir, I think, is one of the difficulties in meeting this,

0:20:35 > 0:20:38is that we're trying to find a failure other than the people themselves.

0:20:38 > 0:20:41They came in and... and flooded a community

0:20:41 > 0:20:43that wasn't prepared to meet them.

0:20:43 > 0:20:45We didn't ask these people to come here.

0:20:47 > 0:20:50So long as this stubborn attitude is maintained,

0:20:50 > 0:20:52I can only see the situation worsening.

0:20:55 > 0:21:00I can still smell the smoulderings of that event.

0:21:00 > 0:21:05There was nervousness all over the place

0:21:05 > 0:21:12that would ultimately translate into traumatising an entire community.

0:21:12 > 0:21:15What would make all the rioting stop?

0:21:15 > 0:21:18I don't think it'll ever stop, really.

0:21:18 > 0:21:19Ever?

0:21:21 > 0:21:27And the institution that gave life to OJ Simpson's image

0:21:27 > 0:21:30and presence nationally and beyond was located

0:21:30 > 0:21:34right in the middle of that very same neighbourhood.

0:21:36 > 0:21:42USC was an isolated, beautiful school right next to the LA Coliseum

0:21:42 > 0:21:48and on the other side were the slums of LA. Basically Watts.

0:21:52 > 0:21:57Everyone was warned not to go down on that side of the Coliseum.

0:21:59 > 0:22:02At the University of Southern California,

0:22:02 > 0:22:04they have a living legend, and at homecoming,

0:22:04 > 0:22:06that's all they want to talk about.

0:22:06 > 0:22:08The name of the legend is OJ Simpson.

0:22:10 > 0:22:13When you saw him on campus, it was like, "Wow! There's OJ!"

0:22:13 > 0:22:16And you might go up and wave or say, "Way to go, OJ,"

0:22:16 > 0:22:18and he'd give you a big smile,

0:22:18 > 0:22:20and you felt like you were a million dollars.

0:22:20 > 0:22:23You felt fantastic. "OJ Simpson said hi to me!"

0:22:23 > 0:22:27- Yeah.- Hey, OJ, how are ya? How's it...?- Working hard.

0:22:27 > 0:22:29I hope you're going to be smiling Saturday.

0:22:29 > 0:22:32Yeah, in about four days or five. I plan to.

0:22:32 > 0:22:37For most of the USC students, I wager, OJ Simpson

0:22:37 > 0:22:40was the first African-American they really got to see and talk to.

0:22:40 > 0:22:43Because most of them didn't know African-Americans at all,

0:22:43 > 0:22:45or any person of colour.

0:22:45 > 0:22:48We are! SC!

0:22:48 > 0:22:50We are! SC!

0:22:50 > 0:22:55USC was a football school, it was a Hollywood school,

0:22:55 > 0:22:58it was glamour and glitz,

0:22:58 > 0:23:02it was not the University of California, Berkeley.

0:23:02 > 0:23:04It was not San Jose State.

0:23:04 > 0:23:07Fight, fight, fight, fight!

0:23:07 > 0:23:12It was above and beyond reach of the movement.

0:23:16 > 0:23:20OJ went to USC in 1967,

0:23:20 > 0:23:21so he's plucked

0:23:21 > 0:23:24out of the black community,

0:23:24 > 0:23:28out of black consciousness, and he's

0:23:28 > 0:23:32submerged in an all-white university.

0:23:32 > 0:23:36And I say this, and I don't say it facetiously,

0:23:36 > 0:23:42but he is seduced by white society.

0:23:47 > 0:23:51USC controls TV, Hollywood, banking, finance,

0:23:51 > 0:23:55law and medicine in Los Angeles.

0:23:57 > 0:24:01The alumni are very powerful, and their whole existence

0:24:01 > 0:24:04revolves around the success of the football team.

0:24:04 > 0:24:07And OJ is leading them to glory.

0:24:10 > 0:24:14It was that type of school with that type of power and control

0:24:14 > 0:24:17that could be directed towards him.

0:24:21 > 0:24:23The black man has been brainwashed,

0:24:23 > 0:24:25and it's time for him to learn something about himself.

0:24:26 > 0:24:28The word "black" is a part of the times.

0:24:28 > 0:24:32We are succumbing to the demands of the black man in the street

0:24:32 > 0:24:37who says that the negro is dead and the black man is alive.

0:24:37 > 0:24:41It was a condition that I was born into -

0:24:41 > 0:24:44the unfairness, the racism, the hatred...

0:24:46 > 0:24:50..the poverty that we had in this country.

0:24:52 > 0:24:56You can't balance that with being a football hero.

0:25:04 > 0:25:09In the '60s, societal issues were pushing their way into sports.

0:25:12 > 0:25:16It has been said that I have two alternatives,

0:25:16 > 0:25:19either go to jail or go to the army.

0:25:19 > 0:25:23There was this engagement of the athlete.

0:25:23 > 0:25:27Some major athletes stood up.

0:25:27 > 0:25:30Nine top negro athletes meet with Cassius Clay

0:25:30 > 0:25:32to discuss his anti-draft stand.

0:25:32 > 0:25:34They include Bill Russell, Lew Alcindor,

0:25:34 > 0:25:37and former pro-footballer Jimmy Brown.

0:25:40 > 0:25:44Every man in that room was a soldier.

0:25:44 > 0:25:47Every man in that room, for nothing other than his beliefs

0:25:47 > 0:25:49and backing another brother,

0:25:49 > 0:25:51felt that he should be there

0:25:51 > 0:25:54and to hell with the consequences.

0:25:56 > 0:26:02Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Ali, for sure, were race men.

0:26:02 > 0:26:05They stood up for principle

0:26:05 > 0:26:09and damaged their commercial possibilities.

0:26:09 > 0:26:12They pointed to the discrimination,

0:26:12 > 0:26:16not only of all blacks, but of black athletes,

0:26:16 > 0:26:21of people who were supposedly given entitlement in America.

0:26:24 > 0:26:28At the time you were supposed to be satisfied. Or grateful.

0:26:29 > 0:26:32Why would someone that's making money

0:26:32 > 0:26:36and cheered by 80,000 people be complaining?

0:26:38 > 0:26:45For me, it was really a matter of fairness and what is correct.

0:26:45 > 0:26:49The United States has hypocritically put itself up

0:26:49 > 0:26:53as the leader of the free world, while right here in this country

0:26:53 > 0:26:58there are 22 million black people who are catching more hell

0:26:58 > 0:27:01than anyone in any communist country ever dreamed of.

0:27:01 > 0:27:06Black men and women athletes, professional and amateur,

0:27:06 > 0:27:11have unanimously voted to fully endorse and participate

0:27:11 > 0:27:16in a boycott of the World Olympic Games in 1968.

0:27:22 > 0:27:25The movement on the West Coast recently in which Lew Alcindor

0:27:25 > 0:27:28supposedly said he might not play in the Olympics,

0:27:28 > 0:27:30what are your thoughts?

0:27:30 > 0:27:33Well, um... Well, this is his prerogative.

0:27:33 > 0:27:37I'm not too well enlightened on the situation.

0:27:37 > 0:27:39I don't know exactly what they're trying to do, you know.

0:27:42 > 0:27:46The whole idea behind the Olympic Project for Human Rights

0:27:46 > 0:27:51was to escalate the relationship between elite athletes

0:27:51 > 0:27:53and the civil rights movement.

0:27:55 > 0:28:01Let me say that I absolutely support this boycott.

0:28:01 > 0:28:06I would also like to commend the outstanding athletes

0:28:06 > 0:28:10who have the courage to make it clear that they will not participate

0:28:10 > 0:28:15unless something is done about these terrible evils and injustices.

0:28:16 > 0:28:19OJ was approached because he was

0:28:19 > 0:28:23the biggest name in collegiate athletics at that time.

0:28:25 > 0:28:28He was also a world record-holding track star.

0:28:28 > 0:28:32- That's OJ Simpson... - So here we got two for one.

0:28:32 > 0:28:35..and Lennox Miller...

0:28:35 > 0:28:39When I asked him, I said we were trying to get black athletes

0:28:39 > 0:28:42to understand they have a role in the current civil rights movement,

0:28:42 > 0:28:46his response was, "I'm not black. I'm OJ."

0:28:46 > 0:28:49What they think is right, I guess, they must follow their beliefs.

0:28:49 > 0:28:52Well, uh, right now I don't want to be involved in it, because,

0:28:52 > 0:28:55uh, I'm not in track. You know, I'm running track, but when it...

0:28:55 > 0:28:57when it comes to Olympic time, I'll be in football,

0:28:57 > 0:29:00so I have no comment on the matter.

0:29:00 > 0:29:06OJ was saying, "I want to be judged not by the colour of my skin,

0:29:06 > 0:29:09"I want to be judged by the content of my character

0:29:09 > 0:29:13"and most of all, the calibre of my competence.

0:29:13 > 0:29:16"I think I'm the greatest football player that this country's ever seen.

0:29:16 > 0:29:19"That's all I want to be judged by.

0:29:19 > 0:29:23"Don't tell me I've gotta do this because I'm black."

0:29:27 > 0:29:31I think football is a great sport. It teaches a person an awful lot.

0:29:31 > 0:29:35I would say there's less prejudice in sports than any other field anywhere,

0:29:35 > 0:29:38because, uh, it just... you're accepted as what you are,

0:29:38 > 0:29:40you know, an athlete and what you can do,

0:29:40 > 0:29:42and I think this is good for anyone.

0:29:52 > 0:29:57Simpson rushed for 1,709 yards in 1968,

0:29:57 > 0:30:00more than any other back in history.

0:30:00 > 0:30:03His durability is almost as legendary as his speed and moves.

0:30:03 > 0:30:07Simpson scored 22 touchdowns.

0:30:07 > 0:30:10He carried a record 355 times

0:30:10 > 0:30:13and proved himself nearly indestructible.

0:30:20 > 0:30:23He was in a different world than the rest of us.

0:30:30 > 0:30:33There was an OJ cult. It was building, building, building.

0:30:35 > 0:30:37When you bring a student athlete in there on a visit,

0:30:37 > 0:30:39they want to see OJ.

0:30:39 > 0:30:44The community leaders, for speaking engagements, they wanted OJ.

0:30:44 > 0:30:50They wanted a role model. They wanted the young black kids to see.

0:30:50 > 0:30:54When I was 16 years old, I made an all-star team down in Los Angeles

0:30:54 > 0:30:56and they had a banquet, and while we were eating,

0:30:56 > 0:30:58the guy who was running the whole show, he says,

0:30:58 > 0:31:02"OK, I want to introduce the guest speaker tonight, OJ Simpson."

0:31:02 > 0:31:07And I was like, "Wow!" I said, "OJ's here. This is unbelievable."

0:31:07 > 0:31:09OJ, when he walked up, he said,

0:31:09 > 0:31:12"First of all, before I start, is Ron Shipp here?"

0:31:12 > 0:31:16I put my hand up. I was like, "Is this... ? Is this for real?"

0:31:16 > 0:31:21And he goes, "Are you the brother of Michael Shipp?" And I say, "Yes."

0:31:21 > 0:31:23And he goes, "Hey, everybody, I just want to tell you about,

0:31:23 > 0:31:25"uh, Michael Shipp, his brother,

0:31:25 > 0:31:27"we played against each other, he's a great guy,

0:31:27 > 0:31:30"so and so, Ron, if you're anything like your brother, you know..."

0:31:30 > 0:31:34And, like, he made me an instant hero in that room.

0:31:34 > 0:31:38I mean, I fell in love with the guy right then.

0:31:38 > 0:31:40This is the most incredible human being.

0:31:45 > 0:31:48Here is the star of our show, Bob Hope.

0:31:54 > 0:31:58I don't have to tell you it's a pleasure to be here at OJU.

0:31:58 > 0:32:01LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:32:01 > 0:32:04But it's wonderful to be here at USC.

0:32:04 > 0:32:06You haven't had a riot, a demonstration or even a sit-in.

0:32:06 > 0:32:08Are you sure this is a college?

0:32:11 > 0:32:14I have some very sad news for all of you.

0:32:14 > 0:32:17Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis.

0:32:17 > 0:32:20SHOCKED SCREAMS

0:32:20 > 0:32:22I tried to talk to OJ before the show,

0:32:22 > 0:32:24but I guess he has something on his mind.

0:32:24 > 0:32:27He kept referring to me as Mr Heisman.

0:32:29 > 0:32:34RFK, RFK, RFK!

0:32:45 > 0:32:48Pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs!

0:32:51 > 0:32:53OJ, you've had quite a season.

0:32:53 > 0:32:55Well, I have gained a few yards.

0:32:55 > 0:33:00A few yards? You've gobbled up more real estate than Howard Hughes.

0:33:00 > 0:33:03When you think of 1968, what do you think of?

0:33:06 > 0:33:121968, I think of winning all the games, getting OJ famous,

0:33:12 > 0:33:15everybody on campus thinking it's the greatest thing on Earth.

0:33:15 > 0:33:20That's all we thought about. There was nothing else going on.

0:33:20 > 0:33:22MUSIC: US National Anthem

0:33:26 > 0:33:29Several European newspapers today condemned

0:33:29 > 0:33:32the International Olympic Committee for sending home

0:33:32 > 0:33:35two militant negro athletes from the United States.

0:33:35 > 0:33:37The two, Tommie Smith and John Carlos,

0:33:37 > 0:33:40who ran first and third in the 200-metre dash,

0:33:40 > 0:33:44were banished after they raised clenched fists in black gloves

0:33:44 > 0:33:46during the playing of The Star Spangled Banner.

0:33:46 > 0:33:49# Uh, with your bad self!

0:33:49 > 0:33:52# Say it loud!

0:33:52 > 0:33:53# I'm black, and I'm proud! #

0:33:53 > 0:33:56I didn't believe in the national anthem,

0:33:56 > 0:33:59but I stood up anyway, because I didn't want no static,

0:33:59 > 0:34:00but those days are gone.

0:34:00 > 0:34:02Right on.

0:34:02 > 0:34:04Brother Tommie Smith, Brother Johnny Carlos

0:34:04 > 0:34:05and Brother Harry Edwards

0:34:05 > 0:34:07join the ranks of Brother Muhammad Ali,

0:34:07 > 0:34:10because we want black people who are concerned with us first

0:34:10 > 0:34:11and with sports second.

0:34:11 > 0:34:13Yeah!

0:34:14 > 0:34:16# Say it loud!

0:34:16 > 0:34:18# I'm black, and I'm proud! #

0:34:20 > 0:34:25At about, uh, ten o'clock this morning, we were notified that,

0:34:25 > 0:34:28uh, a Heisman Trophy winner comes back to USC

0:34:28 > 0:34:31and, as you all know, it's OJ Simpson.

0:34:35 > 0:34:39Thank you. Well, I... I don't know quite what to say.

0:34:39 > 0:34:42I'm, uh, certainly proud, and I'm very happy, and I'm... I'm taking it

0:34:42 > 0:34:45as a team award and all the other guys did as much

0:34:45 > 0:34:47if not more than I do, for me to get the award,

0:34:47 > 0:34:49and I'll be glad to see all the guys,

0:34:49 > 0:34:51cos I know they're just as happy as I am.

0:34:52 > 0:34:56As you can see, the Heisman Trophy award ceremony is over,

0:34:56 > 0:34:58and OJ Simpson, number 32,

0:34:58 > 0:35:00University of Southern California,

0:35:00 > 0:35:03has been beset by autograph hounds.

0:35:03 > 0:35:06Mrs Simpson, I wonder if you'd be good enough to come over.

0:35:06 > 0:35:10Your tears only registered your pride, and it's a very great pride,

0:35:10 > 0:35:13and you should enjoy it, because this is a very great young man.

0:35:13 > 0:35:19OJ, the congratulations of all of us to you for a truly remarkable season

0:35:19 > 0:35:22and, more importantly, for your impeccable character.

0:35:22 > 0:35:24Thank you, Mr Cosell.

0:35:24 > 0:35:25So that's the story.

0:35:25 > 0:35:30The Heisman Trophy award proceedings, number 32, OJ Simpson.

0:35:30 > 0:35:34Perhaps the greatest running back in the history of college football.

0:35:38 > 0:35:41When I met him, I was quite taken with him.

0:35:41 > 0:35:46This is kind of a warm June night in 1969.

0:35:46 > 0:35:51Howard Cosell took OJ and me to Bachelors III,

0:35:51 > 0:35:53which was Joe Namath's bar.

0:35:55 > 0:36:00He was telling a story about being at a team-mate's wedding

0:36:00 > 0:36:06with his wife, sitting at a table of mostly, as he said, negroes,

0:36:06 > 0:36:10and you overheard a white woman at the next table saying,

0:36:10 > 0:36:14"Look, there's OJ sitting with all those niggers."

0:36:15 > 0:36:20And I remember in my naivete, saying to OJ,

0:36:20 > 0:36:24"Gee, wow, that must have been terrible for you."

0:36:24 > 0:36:29He said, "No, that was great. Don't you understand?

0:36:29 > 0:36:32"She knew that I wasn't black.

0:36:32 > 0:36:36"She saw me as OJ."

0:36:36 > 0:36:41And... And really, at that moment, um, I thought he was fucked.

0:36:41 > 0:36:44- APPLAUSE - Our first guest today is one

0:36:44 > 0:36:46of the greatest running backs I've ever seen.

0:36:46 > 0:36:49I met him when he was still in college at Southern California,

0:36:49 > 0:36:51and he's not only a hell of a football player,

0:36:51 > 0:36:53he's a hell of a guy. The winner of the Heisman Trophy,

0:36:53 > 0:36:56the finest college football player in the country last year,

0:36:56 > 0:36:59the Buffalo Bills' great rookie, OJ Simpson.

0:36:59 > 0:37:02APPLAUSE Thank you, Joe.

0:37:02 > 0:37:05Now, with all that money you got for signing with Buffalo,

0:37:05 > 0:37:07I want to know if you're going to help me out

0:37:07 > 0:37:09- in some business interests. - LAUGHTER

0:37:09 > 0:37:11- I'm the one that needs the help. - How's business?

0:37:11 > 0:37:13Oh, it's pretty good. I, er... I'm under contract with...

0:37:13 > 0:37:16- I don't know if I can say on here. - Yeah.

0:37:16 > 0:37:18Well, I'm under contract with Chevrolet and RC Cola,

0:37:18 > 0:37:20and I'm working with, um... What network is this?

0:37:20 > 0:37:22LAUGHTER

0:37:22 > 0:37:25..ABC. And, er, they're keeping me pretty busy.

0:37:29 > 0:37:31The pitch to Chevrolet was

0:37:31 > 0:37:35that this would be the first national black spokesman.

0:37:35 > 0:37:37You've got a black market.

0:37:37 > 0:37:41He's not going to be a negative in any way to the white market,

0:37:41 > 0:37:45but you're going to get a lot of brownie points just for stepping up.

0:37:45 > 0:37:49OJ? It's a real satisfaction to me to be able to introduce

0:37:49 > 0:37:51a great ballplayer like you

0:37:51 > 0:37:54to an equally great group of Chevrolet salesmen.

0:37:54 > 0:37:55My pleasure, Chris.

0:37:55 > 0:37:59At the time, athlete endorsements were virtually non-existent.

0:37:59 > 0:38:04And for them to sign him, a black man, a football player,

0:38:04 > 0:38:05was ground-breaking.

0:38:05 > 0:38:07They tell me that the Chevrolet selling team

0:38:07 > 0:38:10is the greatest in the country. I believe that.

0:38:10 > 0:38:11That's what made perfect sense.

0:38:11 > 0:38:16OJ Simpson was the counterrevolutionary athlete.

0:38:16 > 0:38:22White America is looking for somebody who can erase the threat

0:38:22 > 0:38:27of these seemingly angry, principled black athletes

0:38:27 > 0:38:31who are going to create a revolution in sports.

0:38:31 > 0:38:34OJ made people feel good.

0:38:35 > 0:38:38It was clear, once you spent some time with OJ,

0:38:38 > 0:38:42that the Carlos, you know, fist pump, and those kinds of, er...

0:38:42 > 0:38:45situations were not going to be, you know, present

0:38:45 > 0:38:47in dealing with him.

0:38:47 > 0:38:48He just gave you that confidence

0:38:48 > 0:38:51that he understood what this was about.

0:38:51 > 0:38:56I'd like to welcome a new member of the ABC sports commentary staff.

0:38:56 > 0:38:58It is OJ Simpson.

0:38:58 > 0:39:01Er, well, Jim, I'll be doing basically sports work

0:39:01 > 0:39:04with the, er, ABC radio networks and the TV nextworks - networks.

0:39:04 > 0:39:05I hope...

0:39:05 > 0:39:07OJ was very, very rough

0:39:07 > 0:39:09and needed a lot of coaching in the early years.

0:39:09 > 0:39:12It's pretty interesting, and I'm really looking forward to it.

0:39:12 > 0:39:16We obviously wanted him to be able to speak proper English

0:39:16 > 0:39:20and eliminate slang, and he didn't ever take offence at that.

0:39:20 > 0:39:23It was, "Thank you." You know? "OK, I got it."

0:39:24 > 0:39:30He realised that his Horatio Alger story

0:39:30 > 0:39:35was based on him being a pleasing person to white people.

0:39:36 > 0:39:41I really had the sense that he was enormously self-conscious

0:39:41 > 0:39:46of who he was and who he needed to be to get over.

0:39:46 > 0:39:51That there was this character, OJ, which he was creating.

0:39:51 > 0:39:53What does OJ stand for?

0:39:53 > 0:39:54OJ LAUGHS Oh, Joe.

0:39:54 > 0:39:56- LAUGHTER - Come on, tell it. Tell me.

0:39:56 > 0:39:58Orenthal James Simpson.

0:39:58 > 0:40:00- Good... - LAUGHTER

0:40:00 > 0:40:02- Now, that's a nice name, Orenthal. - Yeah.- It's a good name.

0:40:02 > 0:40:03LAUGHTER

0:40:03 > 0:40:06You... You never got in any arguments over that, did ya?

0:40:06 > 0:40:07No, no, I had, er...

0:40:07 > 0:40:09I had some pretty good friends, pretty big friends,

0:40:09 > 0:40:11and they were the only guys that could tease me about it.

0:40:11 > 0:40:14Well, in your movie career, er, motion picture industry,

0:40:14 > 0:40:16are they going to call you Orenthal James or...?

0:40:16 > 0:40:18They're going to call me OJ. HE LAUGHS

0:40:18 > 0:40:23'I was taken by OJ as a character, as somebody to write about,

0:40:23 > 0:40:27'that somebody was so self-aware'

0:40:27 > 0:40:32and so obviously ambitious.

0:40:32 > 0:40:36The question in my mind then and still now is

0:40:36 > 0:40:38where did this imagination come from?

0:40:38 > 0:40:44Where did he begin to write this novel about OJ Simpson?

0:40:59 > 0:41:03Everybody looks at San Francisco now, "Oh, it's this cosmopolitan...

0:41:03 > 0:41:06"You know, everybody loves everybody, gooshy-goosh."

0:41:06 > 0:41:09It's not. It wasn't like that, man.

0:41:13 > 0:41:16Potrero Hill was predominantly African-American.

0:41:16 > 0:41:21Public housing, the old barracks from the navy.

0:41:21 > 0:41:25When the navy left, the city turned 'em into low-income housing.

0:41:25 > 0:41:27It was a rough area.

0:41:31 > 0:41:34The Simpsons lived at the top of a big hill.

0:41:34 > 0:41:37Carmelita, his younger sister, and Shirley had a room,

0:41:37 > 0:41:39and Melvin and OJ had a room.

0:41:41 > 0:41:43We crawled around on the floor together

0:41:43 > 0:41:46before we ever learned how to walk.

0:41:46 > 0:41:50Four months apart. I'm born in March, he's born in July.

0:41:50 > 0:41:53We spend a lot of time at each other's house.

0:41:53 > 0:41:54We're a close-knit family.

0:41:56 > 0:41:58The mother worked at night,

0:41:58 > 0:42:02so they were responsible for themselves,

0:42:02 > 0:42:04and sometimes he would open the refrigerator

0:42:04 > 0:42:06and there just wouldn't be nothing in there,

0:42:06 > 0:42:09and I'd say, "Well, come on, let's go to my house and eat dinner."

0:42:10 > 0:42:14OJ's mother, my aunt, Eunice, worked the graveyard shift

0:42:14 > 0:42:17at San Francisco General Hospital.

0:42:17 > 0:42:20She was a provider, she was steady,

0:42:20 > 0:42:24but if you're in a single-parent situation,

0:42:24 > 0:42:26you know, there's never enough money.

0:42:26 > 0:42:29SIREN WAILS

0:42:29 > 0:42:31I mean, we were poor kids, you know?

0:42:31 > 0:42:36We would steal cars, we would break into somebody's house,

0:42:36 > 0:42:40take all the women's purses and stuff, like... You know?

0:42:40 > 0:42:41We would be called criminals.

0:42:43 > 0:42:46From the time we were ten years old, you know, we were hustlers.

0:42:46 > 0:42:48You know, you'd go to the football game, scalp tickets,

0:42:48 > 0:42:51- and everybody had their own technique.- Yeah.

0:42:51 > 0:42:53I can recall crying in front of a cat, you know.

0:42:53 > 0:42:56"Oh, I need it." HE LAUGHS

0:42:56 > 0:42:57"Please let me have that ticket." You know?

0:42:57 > 0:42:59THEY ALL LAUGH

0:42:59 > 0:43:02"I want to see... I want to see Hugh McElhenny play," you know?

0:43:02 > 0:43:04Cats break down, give you the ticket,

0:43:04 > 0:43:06I would go on the other side of the stadium and sell it.

0:43:06 > 0:43:08- Why didn't I think of that? - THEY LAUGH

0:43:11 > 0:43:14Did you ever see him in any fist fights?

0:43:14 > 0:43:16- OJ didn't fight a lot.- No?

0:43:16 > 0:43:17No. OJ was boisterous.

0:43:17 > 0:43:20When you say he was boisterous, did you ever see him, er...

0:43:20 > 0:43:24talk himself out of a... a fight situation?

0:43:24 > 0:43:27I've seen OJ fight... Talk himself out of a lot of situations.

0:43:27 > 0:43:28INTERVIEWER LAUGHS

0:43:35 > 0:43:38- JOE BELL:- There was this one incident at school.

0:43:40 > 0:43:43Myself, Al Cowlings and OJ,

0:43:43 > 0:43:46we were all in the bathroom, shooting craps.

0:43:46 > 0:43:48DICE RATTLE

0:43:48 > 0:43:54We were cursing and talking loud, and I'm shaking the dice...

0:43:54 > 0:43:57then, all of a sudden, these big

0:43:57 > 0:44:01wing tip shoes slide in the circle,

0:44:01 > 0:44:05and I looked up, and it was Coach McBride.

0:44:07 > 0:44:09We were all on the football team.

0:44:09 > 0:44:14We're like, "OK, Mr McBride, we're busted. Let us go to class."

0:44:14 > 0:44:15He's like, "No."

0:44:15 > 0:44:18He's going to take us to the principal's office.

0:44:20 > 0:44:24OJ stays in back of the pack.

0:44:24 > 0:44:27I could hear him, "Oh, come on, Mr McBride.

0:44:27 > 0:44:30"You know we're going to get suspended."

0:44:30 > 0:44:33So we get in the principal's office.

0:44:33 > 0:44:39Coach McBride says, "I caught these guys in the bathroom shooting dice."

0:44:39 > 0:44:41And then he turned and walked out.

0:44:42 > 0:44:45So OJ turns and walks away.

0:44:47 > 0:44:50Dean Smith says, "Simpson, where you going?"

0:44:50 > 0:44:55He says, "Oh, I was just helping Mr McBride bring these guys down."

0:44:55 > 0:44:57HE LAUGHS

0:44:57 > 0:45:00And Dean Smith let him go.

0:45:02 > 0:45:04SCHOOL BELL RINGS

0:45:09 > 0:45:12Self-preservation, man.

0:45:12 > 0:45:15It was just that kind of smooth talk

0:45:15 > 0:45:20that OJ would do in all kinds of situations.

0:45:20 > 0:45:23Do you think he was shown a little preference

0:45:23 > 0:45:25- because of his football ability? - Oh, yes.

0:45:25 > 0:45:28You said you had seen Simpson talk himself out of lots of situations.

0:45:28 > 0:45:31Oh, yeah, talked himself... With me.

0:45:33 > 0:45:37When we were younger, Al Cowlings used to stutter,

0:45:37 > 0:45:40and he never was good with talking to girls.

0:45:40 > 0:45:44Marguerite was the nice girl from the other side of town,

0:45:44 > 0:45:49but Marguerite liked Alan, and they wound up going steady.

0:45:52 > 0:45:56There was some party, and OJ came and got me.

0:45:56 > 0:45:59I thought we was going straight to the party,

0:45:59 > 0:46:02but we pull up in front of Marguerite's house,

0:46:02 > 0:46:07and he tells me to get in the back, and I'm, like, in shock, like...

0:46:07 > 0:46:11You know, I seen her with... you know, walking with Alan.

0:46:13 > 0:46:17We go down to where the party is, and Alan spots us,

0:46:17 > 0:46:22and he starts shaking his head and, "No! No way!"

0:46:22 > 0:46:26He is furious, and Al is a big guy.

0:46:26 > 0:46:29And he grabs the car, and he's rocking it,

0:46:29 > 0:46:35rocking the car back and forth, just rocking it.

0:46:35 > 0:46:38And Marguerite gets out of the car,

0:46:38 > 0:46:41she says, "Alan, stop it."

0:46:41 > 0:46:43And he stops.

0:46:44 > 0:46:48- And we were like, "No, he didn't!" - HE LAUGHS

0:46:48 > 0:46:52How could OJ keep getting out of these situations?

0:46:52 > 0:46:55He stole his best friend's girl.

0:46:58 > 0:47:01Later on, you see the three of them together.

0:47:03 > 0:47:06Alan went to USC also.

0:47:06 > 0:47:08They were thick as thieves.

0:47:08 > 0:47:11Everywhere he went, AC was with him.

0:47:11 > 0:47:15Football really was what brought us together.

0:47:15 > 0:47:17We were really braggadocious, you know.

0:47:17 > 0:47:21We were like, "I'm going to be a pro football player,"

0:47:21 > 0:47:24and OJ said something that really struck me.

0:47:24 > 0:47:27He says, "Man, let me tell you guys something.

0:47:27 > 0:47:31"One of these days, your children are going to be fighting over

0:47:31 > 0:47:34"who wants to be OJ Simpson."

0:47:34 > 0:47:38He knew that he was going to be somebody.

0:47:40 > 0:47:44He was self-assured. I'll just... I'll just put it that way.

0:47:44 > 0:47:46OJ has always wanted to be a hero.

0:47:51 > 0:47:55If it was looking at Burt Lancaster as the man on the flying trapeze

0:47:55 > 0:47:58or Burt Lancaster playing Jim Thorpe...

0:48:00 > 0:48:03..he always wanted to be a hero.

0:48:03 > 0:48:04An American hero.

0:48:17 > 0:48:21The Buffalo Bills select, as their first choice in the first round,

0:48:21 > 0:48:24halfback OJ Simpson, the University of Southern California.

0:48:29 > 0:48:32It was the last place you'd want to be.

0:48:34 > 0:48:36It was just like being sent to Siberia.

0:48:45 > 0:48:49There was some players that said, "Oh, Mr Hotshot."

0:48:50 > 0:48:55He understood that people around him was envious

0:48:55 > 0:48:57what he was getting and what he was doing.

0:49:01 > 0:49:04Stand by and go whenever you're ready, OJ.

0:49:06 > 0:49:08HE CHUCKLES

0:49:08 > 0:49:11Well, there was never much doubt about missing him.

0:49:11 > 0:49:14Er, that was OJ Simpson.

0:49:14 > 0:49:16OJ is now a professional football player.

0:49:16 > 0:49:19The Buffalo Bills is his home,

0:49:19 > 0:49:22and the question is how many professional defensive tacklers

0:49:22 > 0:49:23is he going to get by?

0:49:26 > 0:49:28So what kind of an attitude must OJ Simpson have

0:49:28 > 0:49:30to play professional football?

0:49:30 > 0:49:32Well, he's going to have to be strong-willed,

0:49:32 > 0:49:34er, in many different ways,

0:49:34 > 0:49:37because he will have a lot of people picking at him...

0:49:37 > 0:49:40'We had a couch, John Rauch,'

0:49:40 > 0:49:42which I've considered the worst coach that we ever had.

0:49:42 > 0:49:44Blocking, he will have to block,

0:49:44 > 0:49:47because other people are ball carriers also.

0:49:47 > 0:49:50'He tried to make OJ a receiver, more or less.'

0:49:50 > 0:49:54What we call tosses - quick, er, opening plays.

0:49:54 > 0:49:56And OJ could not catch a ball.

0:49:56 > 0:50:00He couldn't catch a ball if they paid him to catch a ball,

0:50:00 > 0:50:01which they was. They was paying him.

0:50:01 > 0:50:03- HE CHUCKLES - They was paying him a lot.

0:50:17 > 0:50:18OJ hated Buffalo.

0:50:20 > 0:50:21He hated the weather.

0:50:21 > 0:50:24WIND WHISTLES

0:50:28 > 0:50:31It's a blue-collar town.

0:50:31 > 0:50:35Hard-working, blue-collar, factory-working people.

0:50:36 > 0:50:38OJ was nothing of that.

0:50:40 > 0:50:42And, plus, we was on a losing team.

0:50:46 > 0:50:49The first couple of years of his pro career

0:50:49 > 0:50:50were very frustrating for him,

0:50:50 > 0:50:54and they were disappointing relative to the huge expectations

0:50:54 > 0:50:56that everybody set for him.

0:51:02 > 0:51:03I mean, they were saying he was a bust.

0:51:09 > 0:51:11If it had have stayed the same

0:51:11 > 0:51:13as it was when he first got drafted in here,

0:51:13 > 0:51:16he would have been a nobody.

0:51:16 > 0:51:19I honestly believe that. He'd have been a nobody.

0:51:28 > 0:51:31Best thing happened to OJ was John Rauch got fired,

0:51:31 > 0:51:32and Lou Saban took over.

0:51:32 > 0:51:36Lou Saban was a person who believed in the run game first,

0:51:36 > 0:51:40the pass game second. I tell you, if Lou Saban hadn't have came in,

0:51:40 > 0:51:42we wouldn't be doing this story right now.

0:51:50 > 0:51:54'73 was the year we opened the new stadium.

0:51:54 > 0:51:56So we had a 80,000-seat stadium...

0:51:58 > 0:52:01..and they brought in all these young offensive linemen.

0:52:02 > 0:52:04Coach Saban built the team to run.

0:52:06 > 0:52:10When I got there during exhibition season,

0:52:10 > 0:52:12I saw him doing things that...

0:52:12 > 0:52:14I said, "Wow.

0:52:15 > 0:52:17"Homeboy's pretty bad."

0:52:17 > 0:52:21Lou Saban started selling them on the idea that we can get 2,000.

0:52:21 > 0:52:23"You can get 2,000. We can do this."

0:52:23 > 0:52:27You can get it done. What's more, you gotta get it done.

0:52:35 > 0:52:37And in that first game...

0:52:41 > 0:52:44..we turned out the lights and started it...

0:52:45 > 0:52:47..and never looked back.

0:52:55 > 0:52:59First game I ever played in the NFL, OJ got 250 yards.

0:53:00 > 0:53:03OJ Simpson could run sideways

0:53:03 > 0:53:05faster than most men could run forward.

0:53:07 > 0:53:11And he hit the line, and he'd go - fwip! - that quick,

0:53:11 > 0:53:13and then up the sideline.

0:53:15 > 0:53:17He was amazing.

0:53:20 > 0:53:23I've been around a lot of good ballplayers,

0:53:23 > 0:53:27but I've never been around anyone that was as breathtaking

0:53:27 > 0:53:29or as captivating as he was.

0:53:31 > 0:53:33He would, like, glide.

0:53:33 > 0:53:35He never really picked his feet more than a couple inches off the ground,

0:53:35 > 0:53:38so he was, like, slithering through a hole.

0:53:38 > 0:53:40When he'd hit a hole, sometimes he'd turn sideways

0:53:40 > 0:53:43and kind of leap through it sideways.

0:53:43 > 0:53:44Then if he broke open into the open,

0:53:44 > 0:53:46then you'd start seeing the knees go up in his stride.

0:53:46 > 0:53:48That's when he was motoring.

0:53:50 > 0:53:53He's the one who sucked me into being a rabid Bills fan.

0:53:55 > 0:53:59Let's hear it for the Bills. Let's hear it. Come on! Let's go!

0:53:59 > 0:54:00Let's go, Bills!

0:54:04 > 0:54:06And once we got to the seventh game,

0:54:06 > 0:54:09it was a Monday night game,

0:54:09 > 0:54:10OJ went over 1,000.

0:54:10 > 0:54:12CHEERING

0:54:16 > 0:54:18Everybody said, "Hey, we have a shot at this."

0:54:21 > 0:54:242,000 yards in 14 games.

0:54:24 > 0:54:28That was like somebody breaking Babe Ruth's home run record.

0:54:28 > 0:54:30That was unheard of.

0:54:30 > 0:54:32What was going through my mind at the time is

0:54:32 > 0:54:34he might have a chance of breaking Jim Brown's record.

0:54:34 > 0:54:36I never thought that he would go 2,000 yards.

0:54:36 > 0:54:39- Why are you so much better than everybody else?- I think...

0:54:39 > 0:54:42I think our offensive line is so much better than everybody.

0:54:42 > 0:54:45Hey, you guys!

0:54:47 > 0:54:49# We're going to turn it on... #

0:54:49 > 0:54:52All of a sudden, we got a nickname - The Electric Company.

0:54:52 > 0:54:55And, "Whoa, this is pretty cool."

0:54:55 > 0:54:58The nickname came from the PR director of The Bills.

0:54:58 > 0:55:01There used to be a cartoon called The Electric Company,

0:55:01 > 0:55:04and his son watched it all the time.

0:55:04 > 0:55:07He said, "Hey, Dad, why don't you call 'em The Electric Company?

0:55:07 > 0:55:08"They turn on THE JUICE."

0:55:08 > 0:55:13# The Bills, they got that Electric Company

0:55:13 > 0:55:17# Montler, Foley, Big Joe D

0:55:17 > 0:55:21# They turn on The Juice They turn on The Juice

0:55:21 > 0:55:23# They cut him loose

0:55:23 > 0:55:25# They turn on The Juice

0:55:25 > 0:55:29# You know I love to see my Electric Company

0:55:29 > 0:55:31# Turn on The Juice

0:55:31 > 0:55:33# Turn him loose... #

0:55:33 > 0:55:35OJ just couldn't be stopped that year.

0:55:35 > 0:55:38# Throw that switch, boys Turn the power on... #

0:55:38 > 0:55:40There were times when the quarterback

0:55:40 > 0:55:42would only throw six passes in the entire game.

0:55:42 > 0:55:46# There goes The Juice There goes The Juice... #

0:55:46 > 0:55:48So the entire offence was OJ Simpson.

0:55:48 > 0:55:50# There goes The Juice

0:55:50 > 0:55:52# 30, 40... #

0:55:52 > 0:55:55Nobody actually thought he was going to go for 2,000.

0:55:55 > 0:55:59With only, er, two games to go, he was still 400 and a few yards short.

0:55:59 > 0:56:02- Go, Juice!- Come on, Juice! - Come on, Juice!

0:56:04 > 0:56:10During the games, I never took a minute off from the offence.

0:56:10 > 0:56:14# Do you want The Juice to put a move on you? #

0:56:14 > 0:56:15I never made it to the bench.

0:56:15 > 0:56:17# Turn on The Juice

0:56:17 > 0:56:18# Yeah... #

0:56:18 > 0:56:20I didn't want to miss any of it.

0:56:20 > 0:56:21# Turn on The Juice. #

0:56:23 > 0:56:26It was the most exciting thing that I'd ever seen.

0:56:43 > 0:56:47When we got to New York, that last game,

0:56:47 > 0:56:49he was going for Jim Brown's record.

0:56:51 > 0:56:55It was 60 yards needed, and everyone knew that The Jets

0:56:55 > 0:56:57didn't want him to get the record.

0:56:59 > 0:57:02I was actually there.

0:57:02 > 0:57:05The Jets had no chance of making the playoffs.

0:57:05 > 0:57:07The only interesting thing about that day

0:57:07 > 0:57:10was whether OJ was going to break 2,000.

0:57:13 > 0:57:16It was a really snowy, cold day.

0:57:16 > 0:57:18Hm, a little bit similar to today.

0:57:18 > 0:57:20So a lot of people were worried

0:57:20 > 0:57:22that he wouldn't have a lot of rushing yards

0:57:22 > 0:57:24because of that, a lot of slipping in the snow.

0:57:26 > 0:57:28He was nervous that day.

0:57:28 > 0:57:30We had a little chat, and I told him, I said,

0:57:30 > 0:57:34"Hey, homes, this is just another week for you."

0:57:34 > 0:57:39I think he knew that, "This is going to make or break me."

0:57:41 > 0:57:45He knew that in order for him to write his name in the book,

0:57:45 > 0:57:47he had to be exceptional.

0:57:47 > 0:57:51He was living a very comfortable life,

0:57:51 > 0:57:53but he wanted to live an exceptional life.

0:57:55 > 0:57:58And this was his exceptional feat.

0:58:08 > 0:58:11I remember just about every play in that game.

0:58:11 > 0:58:12Every time Simpson got the ball,

0:58:12 > 0:58:15everyone was rushing to their, er, notepad to write it down.

0:58:15 > 0:58:17And the announcers kept counting it down.

0:58:19 > 0:58:21- COMMENTARY:- Well, gentlemen, we are coming upon it,

0:58:21 > 0:58:23and, er, The Juice should break

0:58:23 > 0:58:27the National Football League rushing record in this next series.

0:58:27 > 0:58:30Simpson running left, Simpson breaking loose,

0:58:30 > 0:58:35- and there it is! - All right! All right!

0:58:35 > 0:58:38He needed four yards, he got five and this crowd,

0:58:38 > 0:58:42his whole team is gathering around and congratulating him,

0:58:42 > 0:58:47hitting him on the head, there isn't a person sitting down.

0:58:47 > 0:58:49He got the 1,863 pretty early in the game.

0:58:49 > 0:58:52And then he said, "OK, now we're going for the 2,000."

0:58:53 > 0:58:56And now it's for the 2,000, boys.

0:58:59 > 0:59:01More than 100 yards, OJ, OJ cuts inside,

0:59:01 > 0:59:03OJ gets wide, this is on!

0:59:03 > 0:59:05Now a race, he's at midfield

0:59:05 > 0:59:08and he's inside Jets territory at the 43-yard line.

0:59:08 > 0:59:13109 yards. That makes how many games that he's gotten 100 yards? 11?

0:59:13 > 0:59:15Once he got over 100 yards,

0:59:15 > 0:59:17a different excitement started to hit the game.

0:59:17 > 0:59:20"Well, he might do this. He might actually hit 2,000."

0:59:20 > 0:59:24You had Jets fans who were basically rooting for OJ

0:59:24 > 0:59:27because they wanted to be part of history, and I think, you know,

0:59:27 > 0:59:30I was basically a little kid, but I think I felt that way.

0:59:30 > 0:59:32Who cared if The Jets won? Everybody loved OJ.

0:59:38 > 0:59:42OJ, he's got five yards, and OJ running left,

0:59:42 > 0:59:46- OJ, five more. Maybe more. I don't know.- Maybe six.

0:59:46 > 0:59:49- They did it. They did it. - Yeah! All right!

0:59:53 > 0:59:57'And when he did it, he was on my shoulder.'

0:59:59 > 1:00:01'I knew how important it was.'

1:00:03 > 1:00:06'I contributed to that also.'

1:00:06 > 1:00:11The defence has to give the ball to the offence.

1:00:11 > 1:00:13I felt it. It was mine, too.

1:00:16 > 1:00:19Right after the game, there's "got to get OJ to the interview,"

1:00:19 > 1:00:22and he said, "I'm not coming in unless you bring in all the guys."

1:00:22 > 1:00:26And we were in a tiny room. We could barely fit in that room.

1:00:26 > 1:00:28He brought in all the offence.

1:00:28 > 1:00:30He refused to go in that room without us.

1:00:30 > 1:00:32OJ, you brought 'em all with you.

1:00:32 > 1:00:34Yeah. Hey, they did the job, all of you.

1:00:34 > 1:00:36I want you to meet the boys. Here.

1:00:36 > 1:00:38Mike Montler, our centre.

1:00:38 > 1:00:41Jim Braxton, Bob Penchion, Joe Ferguson.

1:00:41 > 1:00:44Didn't throw many passes this year, but ball-handling is the thing.

1:00:44 > 1:00:45THEY LAUGH

1:00:45 > 1:00:48Donnie Green, Bobby Chandler, Paul Seymour,

1:00:48 > 1:00:49Dave Foley, a former Jet.

1:00:49 > 1:00:51THEY LAUGH

1:00:51 > 1:00:52All right, all right!

1:00:52 > 1:00:54This is a guy, through the long winter

1:00:54 > 1:00:56wasn't supposed to play any football this year.

1:00:56 > 1:00:59He had a heart problem, but he came back, and you see what we did.

1:00:59 > 1:01:02JD Hill, "Crackback" Hill. My main man, Reg McKenzie.

1:01:02 > 1:01:05He was the most generous guy you'd ever meet.

1:01:06 > 1:01:09When we broke the record, he bought us a gold wristband.

1:01:09 > 1:01:13And on the back of it is, "We did it. The Juice. 3,088."

1:01:13 > 1:01:16He didn't say "2,003", he said "3,088",

1:01:16 > 1:01:19cos that's how much the team rushed.

1:01:19 > 1:01:21I hope to stay in the, er, league long enough for, you know,

1:01:21 > 1:01:23till all these guys get old so no young back

1:01:23 > 1:01:25can get behind 'em and break my record.

1:01:27 > 1:01:31'73 was like a rebirth of his celebrity.

1:01:36 > 1:01:37I was 22 years old, I thought, you know,

1:01:37 > 1:01:41"This is like being on a team with Babe Ruth."

1:01:41 > 1:01:45Mentally, I think he was ahead of, er, a lot of people.

1:01:45 > 1:01:50From watching how he handled himself, how he operated,

1:01:50 > 1:01:52my whole demeanour changed.

1:01:52 > 1:01:54I began to want to be like OJ.

1:01:58 > 1:02:01He was Baryshnikov.

1:02:01 > 1:02:04When somebody is that great at something...

1:02:06 > 1:02:10..when we see those people, they are special.

1:02:12 > 1:02:16They just can do stuff that other people can't do.

1:02:22 > 1:02:24You expect it of yourself.

1:02:24 > 1:02:27You hear the crowd, but you don't hear it.

1:02:27 > 1:02:31I mean, you know they're cheering, but that's the way it should be.

1:02:31 > 1:02:36When I'm in the open, I'm running, this is how it is supposed to be.

1:02:36 > 1:02:40This is correct. This is the natural state of things.

1:02:40 > 1:02:44I know whenever I've done it, my feelings have always been,

1:02:44 > 1:02:46er, "That's nothing. "This is nothing yet.

1:02:46 > 1:02:48"Yeah, I'm going to do it again."

1:02:50 > 1:02:54Orenthal James Simpson had that shine.

1:02:54 > 1:02:58The sun hit him, and there was this thing about him.

1:02:58 > 1:03:00Because he really was that great.

1:03:00 > 1:03:03He really was that great.

1:03:05 > 1:03:09Football has been my vehicle to come out of the ghetto,

1:03:09 > 1:03:13to give everything I've got. I think I have a lot more to offer.

1:03:13 > 1:03:15There's a lot of things I need as a person.

1:03:15 > 1:03:19You know, I need, er... I need that recognition.

1:03:19 > 1:03:22I think that, er, what... what is driving OJ Simpson

1:03:22 > 1:03:26is that need to be number one, that need to be liked.

1:03:26 > 1:03:29That need to be said, "Hey, that's OJ Simpson."

1:03:29 > 1:03:33When I walk down the street, I want people to know me.

1:03:50 > 1:03:53We had done a survey asking the customer base,

1:03:53 > 1:03:56what was the most important attribute

1:03:56 > 1:03:58of the rental car experience?

1:03:58 > 1:04:01And the most important attribute was speed of service.

1:04:03 > 1:04:06So we went to the agency,

1:04:06 > 1:04:10and they showed a storyboard of a businessman with a briefcase

1:04:10 > 1:04:12running through the airport.

1:04:13 > 1:04:17Our marketing guy said, "Frank, it doesn't work.

1:04:17 > 1:04:21"That's not realistic to think a businessman's going to do that.

1:04:21 > 1:04:24"We need somebody that connotes speed."

1:04:24 > 1:04:25And I said, "Like what?"

1:04:25 > 1:04:28He says, "Like OJ Simpson."

1:04:28 > 1:04:30Juice comes off the blocks, immediately goes into the lead.

1:04:30 > 1:04:32Steve Smith running in second place.

1:04:32 > 1:04:36But here comes Schenk up. He moves past Riessen.

1:04:36 > 1:04:38OJ looks back, sees Smith running at his shoulder,

1:04:38 > 1:04:42steps on it a little bit, and The Juice puts him away.

1:04:42 > 1:04:43It was one of the clients who said,

1:04:43 > 1:04:48"Did you see the ABC programme The Superstars?

1:04:48 > 1:04:50"OJ just lit up the screen.

1:04:50 > 1:04:54"His personality came out, and he just made everybody smile."

1:04:54 > 1:04:56You gave him about a yard and then you took a look at him.

1:04:56 > 1:04:57What's happening?

1:04:57 > 1:05:00Well, I was out there cruising. I figure I'd coast it on in.

1:05:00 > 1:05:01I saw Steve pull up on me, you know,

1:05:01 > 1:05:03and my ego got a little ruffled there.

1:05:03 > 1:05:05I said, "I'd better get out in front again."

1:05:05 > 1:05:08I called him, and his first comment was,

1:05:08 > 1:05:10"Hertz is the number one rent-a-car company.

1:05:10 > 1:05:14"If I'm ever going to do anything in advertising in a big way,

1:05:14 > 1:05:17"it's always going to be for the number one brand."

1:05:17 > 1:05:19When you're in a rush, take it from OJ Simpson.

1:05:19 > 1:05:22There's only one superstar in rent-a-car - Hertz.

1:05:22 > 1:05:25The first ad was filmed in Newark Airport.

1:05:25 > 1:05:27He was very professional,

1:05:27 > 1:05:30he was anxious to make sure that he did things correctly,

1:05:30 > 1:05:32that his diction was appropriate.

1:05:32 > 1:05:36Others claim to be fast, but nobody has more to do it faster.

1:05:36 > 1:05:39More pros to execute the toughest performance standards.

1:05:39 > 1:05:41More cars, more locations,

1:05:41 > 1:05:43first with every good idea to speed up service,

1:05:43 > 1:05:45like the Number One Club.

1:05:45 > 1:05:49Before you get there, your form's filled out, car's preassigned.

1:05:49 > 1:05:51Go, OJ, go!

1:05:51 > 1:05:56Rent a Ford fast from Hertz, the superstar in rent-a-car.

1:05:56 > 1:05:58I thought it was perfect.

1:05:58 > 1:06:00I mean, it just made sense.

1:06:00 > 1:06:04You're trying to portray speed of service,

1:06:04 > 1:06:08and you've got the fastest guy in America running through the airport

1:06:08 > 1:06:11and a little old lady yelling, "Go, OJ!"

1:06:11 > 1:06:12Go, OJ, go!

1:06:12 > 1:06:14It was perfect.

1:06:15 > 1:06:20It tested so well that they decided to use him for the print work,

1:06:20 > 1:06:24promotional work, and they did the right thing.

1:06:24 > 1:06:27He made that company successful.

1:06:27 > 1:06:30He became the image for that company.

1:06:30 > 1:06:32We started in September of '75.

1:06:32 > 1:06:35By two years of the campaign running, OJ Simpson

1:06:35 > 1:06:39was the star presenter of the year for Advertising Age.

1:06:39 > 1:06:42There was never a story that was written about OJ

1:06:42 > 1:06:44that didn't mention Hertz.

1:06:44 > 1:06:48Coming or going on a business trip, you've got no time to waste.

1:06:48 > 1:06:50I can see him right now flying through the airport.

1:06:50 > 1:06:52Whether it's picking up or dropping off...

1:06:52 > 1:06:55I was proud. It made me want that.

1:06:55 > 1:06:58- ALL:- Go, OJ, go!

1:06:58 > 1:07:00It gave me hope.

1:07:00 > 1:07:03# There you are with super-speed. #

1:07:03 > 1:07:05This is an important moment.

1:07:05 > 1:07:08The young black kid seeing a black man running on television.

1:07:08 > 1:07:11That's all he sees. He says, "He looks like my Uncle Reggie."

1:07:11 > 1:07:12You know it.

1:07:12 > 1:07:16That's something I could do. I want to be like OJ on television.

1:07:16 > 1:07:19Hi. Ever need to rent a car fast? Watch.

1:07:19 > 1:07:23You're in the limelight. We like seeing you. You look like us.

1:07:23 > 1:07:24It's kind of like when I first saw black people

1:07:24 > 1:07:26brushing their teeth on TV.

1:07:26 > 1:07:28I mean, we always knew we brushed our teeth,

1:07:28 > 1:07:30but it was, like, a big thing. Like, "Come see!"

1:07:30 > 1:07:33That's what happened with OJ Simpson.

1:07:33 > 1:07:37Those were heights that we had not reached before, so he was a pioneer.

1:07:39 > 1:07:43You're a black man in America, you're fighting our war.

1:07:43 > 1:07:48If you make a success for yourself somewhere, you've opened a door.

1:07:48 > 1:07:51Fortunately, because of the riots of the early '60s,

1:07:51 > 1:07:52some doors were opened to me.

1:07:52 > 1:07:55If I were to have looked at myself in any other way except a man,

1:07:55 > 1:07:57my brother could walk into a room

1:07:57 > 1:07:59and know he's the only black guy in the room.

1:07:59 > 1:08:00I walk in a room, and I don't care.

1:08:00 > 1:08:02I don't count the blacks or whites in the room,

1:08:02 > 1:08:06and in '68, when I signed to work for some white companies, you know,

1:08:06 > 1:08:09Chevrolet Motor Division, I walked in the room,

1:08:09 > 1:08:11and I never thought that I was the first black guy to do it.

1:08:11 > 1:08:14I never even gave that any credence.

1:08:14 > 1:08:17For us, OJ was colorless.

1:08:17 > 1:08:19None of the people that we associated with

1:08:19 > 1:08:21looked at him as a black man.

1:08:24 > 1:08:27OJ portrayed success.

1:08:29 > 1:08:31Success, I mean, from nowhere.

1:08:31 > 1:08:34And I think people want to be successful.

1:08:36 > 1:08:39OJ was the first to demonstrate that white folks

1:08:39 > 1:08:44would buy stuff based on a black endorsement

1:08:44 > 1:08:49as long as it was not pressed as a black endorsement.

1:08:50 > 1:08:54And the way they did that was to remove black people totally

1:08:54 > 1:08:58from any scene that OJ was in.

1:09:00 > 1:09:02It was Fred Levinson who said,

1:09:02 > 1:09:06"Guys, we're going to be showing a black man

1:09:06 > 1:09:09"running through an airport in 1975."

1:09:09 > 1:09:12I said, "When you see the commercial with a black guy

1:09:12 > 1:09:14"running through an airport, a little different

1:09:14 > 1:09:16"than seeing a white guy running through an airport."

1:09:16 > 1:09:20So we came up with the idea of putting in various characters

1:09:20 > 1:09:25who would see OJ and endorse him by saying, "Go, OJ, go!"

1:09:25 > 1:09:27Go, OJ, go!

1:09:27 > 1:09:29- ALL:- Go, OJ, go!

1:09:29 > 1:09:31Go, Juice, go!

1:09:31 > 1:09:33Rent a Ford from Hertz.

1:09:33 > 1:09:35- The superstar in rent-a-car. - Right.

1:09:36 > 1:09:39They bought the notion

1:09:39 > 1:09:43that you could erase the black character, the culture.

1:09:43 > 1:09:45This is what made OJ marketable.

1:09:47 > 1:09:50He's African, but he's a good-looking man.

1:09:50 > 1:09:53You know, he almost has white features.

1:09:53 > 1:09:56He wasn't the typical black look, African look.

1:09:57 > 1:09:59What white America got out of it

1:09:59 > 1:10:05was they could point to somebody that had "made it"...

1:10:07 > 1:10:11..and demonstrated unequivocally that we are more than willing

1:10:11 > 1:10:14to not just accept you, but to embrace you.

1:10:16 > 1:10:22What OJ got out of it was money, fame, celebrity.

1:10:23 > 1:10:26# Hey, hey, hey!

1:10:27 > 1:10:29# What you got to say? #

1:10:29 > 1:10:33I always say of it, he was the guy of the '70s.

1:10:33 > 1:10:35I look back at those days,

1:10:35 > 1:10:38there was Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron and OJ Simpson.

1:10:38 > 1:10:40And OJ was the most popular of all of them.

1:10:40 > 1:10:42# Hollywood... #

1:10:42 > 1:10:44I didn't see them running through airports.

1:10:44 > 1:10:46# Hollywood swinger... #

1:10:46 > 1:10:48When you're a star running back,

1:10:48 > 1:10:50- you have to maintain a certain image.- Aw.

1:10:50 > 1:10:52I'mma tell ya, I dug OJ.

1:10:52 > 1:10:58I got a chance to see how he lived, how he handled stuff.

1:10:58 > 1:11:01I'd never been that close to that type of success before.

1:11:01 > 1:11:06# Hey, listen, Hollywood city, yeah... #

1:11:06 > 1:11:09They'd have 3,000 or 4,000 fans standing around the bus

1:11:09 > 1:11:11just to get a look at him.

1:11:11 > 1:11:14He would stay on the field and sign every autograph.

1:11:15 > 1:11:20I've seen OJ sign autographs for hours.

1:11:20 > 1:11:23I was like, "How in the world do you put up with this?"

1:11:23 > 1:11:27He said, "Man, I wanted this."

1:11:27 > 1:11:30OJ, tonight we're going to change your image.

1:11:30 > 1:11:33Flip, you won't be the first who tried.

1:11:33 > 1:11:36# Hollywood

1:11:36 > 1:11:37# Hollywood swinging... #

1:11:37 > 1:11:40When I first met OJ, he was a huge star.

1:11:40 > 1:11:43I'll shave one side with the leading double-edged blade.

1:11:43 > 1:11:47I was friends with his wife Marguerite's sister.

1:11:47 > 1:11:50I can't tell. Both sides feel the same.

1:11:50 > 1:11:54They lived up in the hills, in Bel Air.

1:11:55 > 1:11:59Marguerite felt like she was a single mother

1:11:59 > 1:12:01while OJ was out being OJ.

1:12:06 > 1:12:09Tonight, OJ, we're going to be sophisticated.

1:12:09 > 1:12:10Sophisticated?

1:12:10 > 1:12:14- We going to have a ball, Orenthal. - I can dig it.- Right on, OJ!

1:12:15 > 1:12:17# Hollywood... #

1:12:17 > 1:12:23The scene is this, here is three poor black kids,

1:12:23 > 1:12:27never had 1,000 in our pockets.

1:12:27 > 1:12:31Now he got a brand-new drop-top Cadillac,

1:12:31 > 1:12:34we're driving down Rodeo Drive.

1:12:34 > 1:12:41Women come up, throw their arms around OJ and just lay it on him.

1:12:41 > 1:12:45Not just women, white women. Fine white women.

1:12:45 > 1:12:47# What you got to say? #

1:12:47 > 1:12:50It was that kind of world, man.

1:12:50 > 1:12:53# Hollywood

1:12:53 > 1:12:56# Hollywood swinging... #

1:12:56 > 1:12:59Do you feel, like, any kind of pressure in some ways to...?

1:12:59 > 1:13:02You know, people expect that you're going to be a hero

1:13:02 > 1:13:03so you always have to...

1:13:03 > 1:13:06Well, I've found that... I thought that maybe my problem would be

1:13:06 > 1:13:08that I would have to tear that down.

1:13:08 > 1:13:10You know, I would have to, er... You know,

1:13:10 > 1:13:13I found that I was becoming a trapped... You know,

1:13:13 > 1:13:15getting trapped within the image other people have of me.

1:13:15 > 1:13:19You know, my image was dictating what I did and who I was.

1:13:19 > 1:13:20I even had a manager at one point,

1:13:20 > 1:13:22I was going to do something and he said,

1:13:22 > 1:13:24"You can't do that. OJ would never do that."

1:13:24 > 1:13:27I said, "Hey, wait. Wait a minute. I'm OJ Simpson, you know?"

1:13:27 > 1:13:29HE LAUGHS "And I'mma do it."

1:13:29 > 1:13:30Yeah, cos I would think that someone

1:13:30 > 1:13:33would like you to be a spokesman. You know, to get out there.

1:13:33 > 1:13:34- All the time.- Yeah?

1:13:34 > 1:13:37I've had a lot of pressure on me to go into politics.

1:13:37 > 1:13:41I was pulled into it once or twice in the black movement,

1:13:41 > 1:13:42when I was in school.

1:13:42 > 1:13:46I think they tried to use us, and in many cases, it hurt guys.

1:13:46 > 1:13:48I felt that with Harry Edwards.

1:13:48 > 1:13:50It hurt Tommie Smith, it hurt John Carlos.

1:13:50 > 1:13:51Standing on his platform,

1:13:51 > 1:13:54I thought they should've been standing on their own platform.

1:13:54 > 1:13:56I say if I'm going to be standing on the platform,

1:13:56 > 1:13:58I'm going to be speaking for OJ. HE LAUGHS

1:14:01 > 1:14:03When did you first meet Mr Simpson?

1:14:03 > 1:14:051970.

1:14:05 > 1:14:08OK, and under what circumstances?

1:14:08 > 1:14:12I met him, er, on a tennis court.

1:14:12 > 1:14:15Would you be able to describe Mr Simpson's

1:14:15 > 1:14:17basic personality as you knew it?

1:14:17 > 1:14:21Very personable, very outgoing.

1:14:21 > 1:14:26We did business together, and then we would, er, socialise together.

1:14:30 > 1:14:35We were at Bob Kardashian's mansion in Beverly Hills.

1:14:35 > 1:14:39OJ is playing tennis, and everybody's having a good time.

1:14:39 > 1:14:42- I'm with black power, man. - HE LAUGHS

1:14:42 > 1:14:45I don't want to be around these people, all right?

1:14:45 > 1:14:47Cos they're all phony to me.

1:14:47 > 1:14:50I said, "OJ, look around you, man.

1:14:50 > 1:14:53"These people don't care nothing about us.

1:14:53 > 1:14:58"Just a few years ago, these guys woulda drove down Fillmore

1:14:58 > 1:15:04"in their Rolls-Royce and they wouldn't have even spit on us."

1:15:04 > 1:15:09I said, "Now they're acting like we're their long-lost brothers."

1:15:09 > 1:15:12I said, "Man, the only reason we're here is we are jocks,

1:15:12 > 1:15:15"and you're OJ."

1:15:15 > 1:15:20And he looked at me, he says, "Mm-hm, yeah."

1:15:20 > 1:15:23He says, "I understand what you're saying,"

1:15:23 > 1:15:25and he rubbed his tennis racket.

1:15:25 > 1:15:28He says, "But I am OJ,"

1:15:28 > 1:15:32and ran off on the field, laughing.

1:15:32 > 1:15:36And I was, like... I mean, I was furious.

1:15:36 > 1:15:40Because I say, "He's lost. He's lost his identity.

1:15:40 > 1:15:42"He doesn't know who he is any longer."

1:15:45 > 1:15:47I think he'd been brainwashed.

1:15:49 > 1:15:51Let me read you something that he said to me.

1:15:52 > 1:15:54"That sort of thing hurts me

1:15:54 > 1:15:59"even though it's what I strive for, to be a man first.

1:15:59 > 1:16:01"Maybe it's money, a class thing.

1:16:01 > 1:16:04"The negro is always identified with poverty.

1:16:04 > 1:16:08"But then you think of Willie Mays as black,

1:16:08 > 1:16:10"but not Bill Cosby.

1:16:10 > 1:16:13"So it's more than just money.

1:16:13 > 1:16:15"As black men, we need something up there all the time for us,

1:16:15 > 1:16:20"but what I'm doing is not for principles or black people.

1:16:20 > 1:16:25"No. I'm dealing first for OJ Simpson,

1:16:25 > 1:16:28"his wife and his babies."

1:16:29 > 1:16:36OJ's quest was to erase race as a defining factor in his life,

1:16:36 > 1:16:41and that was the basis upon which white society

1:16:41 > 1:16:45not only accepted him, but embraced him.

1:16:47 > 1:16:51Now, there are problems with that,

1:16:51 > 1:16:56because what enabled OJ to be OJ and not be black

1:16:56 > 1:17:01was that so many negroes and black people stood up,

1:17:01 > 1:17:04made the sacrifice, paid the price.

1:17:05 > 1:17:10They're the ones that set the table for OJ and what he was saying was,

1:17:10 > 1:17:13- "OK. We may not have arrived, but- I- have arrived,

1:17:13 > 1:17:15"and, as far as I'm concerned,

1:17:15 > 1:17:18"everybody else can get here the same way that I did,

1:17:18 > 1:17:21"and when they get here, they can do what I do."

1:17:21 > 1:17:24He was so privileged, he was so accepted,

1:17:24 > 1:17:29he was so embraced that he was immune from the reality

1:17:29 > 1:17:32that he could find in the mirror every morning,

1:17:32 > 1:17:34that he was a black man.

1:17:35 > 1:17:41No matter how far he runs and how long he runs,

1:17:41 > 1:17:42when you look in the mirror,

1:17:42 > 1:17:46that black man is going to be right there with you. Every day.

1:17:51 > 1:17:54We were just sitting around the house once and, er, he says,

1:17:54 > 1:17:58"Joe, do you think you could go back?"

1:17:58 > 1:18:00And I was like, "Go back where?"

1:18:00 > 1:18:03He said, "You know, go back to the projects, hanging out?"

1:18:03 > 1:18:07I said, "Yeah, man." I said, "I could go back tomorrow."

1:18:17 > 1:18:20- Potrero Hill. - HE LAUGHS

1:18:20 > 1:18:23Hasn't changed a bit.

1:18:28 > 1:18:33We didn't have Dr King and these other bougie folks as role models.

1:18:33 > 1:18:36Our role models was pimps and players.

1:18:37 > 1:18:40Those are the only people that we looked up to,

1:18:40 > 1:18:42because they had, quote, "things".

1:18:44 > 1:18:47Man, they'd beat a ho down right there on the street,

1:18:47 > 1:18:51in front of everybody, so that all the women would know it,

1:18:51 > 1:18:53"This is the kind of treatment you're going to get

1:18:53 > 1:18:55"if you don't bring me my money."

1:18:57 > 1:19:03Your perceptions are shaped by the men that are in your lives.

1:19:03 > 1:19:07Mama was Mama. We knew she loved us, but the reality is

1:19:07 > 1:19:12I didn't want to be like Mama. Mama's a woman. I want to be a man.

1:19:14 > 1:19:17He had to deal with his father from time to time.

1:19:17 > 1:19:19Sometimes, I guess his father came by

1:19:19 > 1:19:22to take care of the monthly payment or whatever.

1:19:25 > 1:19:29One day, we went over to his dad's house.

1:19:29 > 1:19:31We knocked on the door.

1:19:31 > 1:19:35He kept looking at me, and when his dad opened the door,

1:19:35 > 1:19:39he was in a bathrobe, which is not a crime,

1:19:39 > 1:19:43but then his dad kind of opened the door more,

1:19:43 > 1:19:46and there was a guy in the back in a bathrobe too,

1:19:46 > 1:19:49so it was obvious that his dad was gay.

1:19:51 > 1:19:54We left and on the way back, we were quiet

1:19:54 > 1:19:57because there was so much tension.

1:19:57 > 1:20:00We got to this certain point,

1:20:00 > 1:20:02and we both bust out laughing.

1:20:02 > 1:20:05Calvin came to me, and he was like,

1:20:05 > 1:20:11"Man, do you know OJ's dad is a punk?"

1:20:11 > 1:20:16I was like, "Man, shut up. I don't want to hear that."

1:20:18 > 1:20:20Back in our day, that was the worst thing in the world,

1:20:20 > 1:20:24that you could ever think about an African-American man

1:20:24 > 1:20:26being a homosexual.

1:20:26 > 1:20:28- INTERVIEWER:- Did you ever talk to OJ about this?

1:20:28 > 1:20:30- No.- Never?- Mm-mm.

1:20:32 > 1:20:38I felt like that issue was enough for him to deal with himself.

1:20:42 > 1:20:46Think of OJ as an American man,

1:20:46 > 1:20:50a poor American man, tough American man,

1:20:50 > 1:20:57who's recreating himself in ways that people would accept and push.

1:21:03 > 1:21:04OJ Simpson may be playing

1:21:04 > 1:21:07the last game of his brilliant football career tomorrow,

1:21:07 > 1:21:09when the Buffalo Bills meet the Minnesota Vikings.

1:21:09 > 1:21:12All year, OJ has hinted he may hang up his cleats

1:21:12 > 1:21:13for a movie career.

1:21:13 > 1:21:16CHEERING

1:21:16 > 1:21:19He could not wait to get out of Buffalo.

1:21:19 > 1:21:21He was away from the glamour.

1:21:21 > 1:21:25He was away from all the Hollywood and all that stuff.

1:21:25 > 1:21:28He got attention here, but it was a different kind of attention.

1:21:30 > 1:21:31It was not Hollywood attention.

1:21:34 > 1:21:38Lou Saban said today that he's detected a change in The Juice.

1:21:38 > 1:21:41He hasn't diminished one whit as a competitor,

1:21:41 > 1:21:43but he's an intelligent man,

1:21:43 > 1:21:46and he's thinking about the whole of his future life.

1:21:46 > 1:21:48There are certain opportunities outside of football

1:21:48 > 1:21:53that I can't, er... I just can't overlook too many more years.

1:21:53 > 1:21:55You know, I came into the league, I thought the world was mine.

1:21:55 > 1:21:58I had a few bad years, and I realised then that

1:21:58 > 1:22:00"Hey, you know, when you're hot, you're hot,"

1:22:00 > 1:22:02so there's opportunities that have come to me with ABC,

1:22:02 > 1:22:05with the movies that I would like to, er, take advantage of

1:22:05 > 1:22:08and, er, the only thing I want to do right now is play...

1:22:08 > 1:22:10Get the best possible year I can so, if I do retire,

1:22:10 > 1:22:13I will feel that I gave it my all and I,

1:22:13 > 1:22:14you know, went out the best.

1:22:14 > 1:22:18That's your own meretricious way of saying you want my job.

1:22:18 > 1:22:21Well, you gotta explain "meretricious" to me, Howard.

1:22:21 > 1:22:23THEY LAUGH

1:22:23 > 1:22:26I always felt that there was more

1:22:26 > 1:22:27underneath OJ Simpson

1:22:27 > 1:22:32than just the momentary superficiality of his pleasantness.

1:22:34 > 1:22:37He had goals that he wanted to achieve,

1:22:37 > 1:22:39and he internalised those things.

1:22:40 > 1:22:43There was something driving him,

1:22:43 > 1:22:47and I always felt that he was looking past a football career,

1:22:47 > 1:22:49which was going to definitely come to an end.

1:22:52 > 1:22:55We are T-minus 18 seconds from lift-off.

1:22:55 > 1:22:58We're T-minus 15 seconds.

1:22:58 > 1:22:59Would you and your men please follow me?

1:22:59 > 1:23:01Gary, what the hell is this?

1:23:01 > 1:23:03This is an emergency. Please follow me - NOW!

1:23:03 > 1:23:06One of the most intriguing films now being put together in Hollywood

1:23:06 > 1:23:08is Capricorn One.

1:23:08 > 1:23:11James Brolin plays the first astronaut to set foot on Mars,

1:23:11 > 1:23:15but the picture's scene-stealer will probably be OJ Simpson.

1:23:15 > 1:23:20It basically came from the studio that they wanted OJ Simpson.

1:23:20 > 1:23:24I thought there were worthy African-American actors

1:23:24 > 1:23:29who had paid their dues as actors, who had shown their talent.

1:23:29 > 1:23:32My first choice was either Robert Hooks or Bernie Casey,

1:23:32 > 1:23:37so my reaction was less than enthusiastic.

1:23:40 > 1:23:42I had seen Towering Inferno.

1:23:42 > 1:23:45What? Damn it, man, you shoulda sent a man up there.

1:23:45 > 1:23:48How do you expect her to hear a phone call? She's deaf.

1:23:48 > 1:23:51I thought he was not going to frighten Daniel Day-Lewis.

1:23:52 > 1:23:56OJ was a celebrity of enormous stature,

1:23:56 > 1:24:00and somebody who had not shown the chops to play the part.

1:24:00 > 1:24:03How uptight do you get making a picture like Capricorn One

1:24:03 > 1:24:06where you're working in the company of actors of real stature and...

1:24:06 > 1:24:09and you're just a football star trying to be an actor?

1:24:09 > 1:24:12No, I don't think, er, it's given me that feeling.

1:24:12 > 1:24:13It's obviously given me the feeling that,

1:24:13 > 1:24:15"Hey, I've still got a lot to learn."

1:24:15 > 1:24:17I think you never stop learning in anything,

1:24:17 > 1:24:22and I realise I'm still just a babe, you know, in the woods.

1:24:22 > 1:24:27My goal was to see if I could make this guy work for what I wanted.

1:24:28 > 1:24:31Came time to do his last scene.

1:24:31 > 1:24:32Water.

1:24:34 > 1:24:38Tiny says signs for water.

1:24:38 > 1:24:42He's a guy who's parched and delusional.

1:24:42 > 1:24:45Dry river bed. Signs.

1:24:45 > 1:24:48And so rather than him acting somebody

1:24:48 > 1:24:50who was desperately thirsty...

1:24:50 > 1:24:52More signs.

1:24:52 > 1:24:56..I put appliances on his face that made it difficult for him to move

1:24:56 > 1:25:00and difficult to talk, and it just made him sound

1:25:00 > 1:25:03like he was in desperate trouble.

1:25:03 > 1:25:06HE SNIFFS Elizabeth, there's no water.

1:25:06 > 1:25:08HE SOBS There's no water.

1:25:10 > 1:25:11I don't want to die.

1:25:11 > 1:25:13HE COUGHS

1:25:15 > 1:25:17And, er, he was pretty good.

1:25:17 > 1:25:19Elizabeth...

1:25:19 > 1:25:22You know, at the...at the... What can I say?

1:25:22 > 1:25:24He was a charming, terrific guy.

1:25:24 > 1:25:28He was a positive guy. He tried very hard,

1:25:28 > 1:25:32and it was clear that he saw a future for himself in film.

1:25:51 > 1:25:53The Daisy was a private club in Beverly Hills,

1:25:53 > 1:25:56and the only people that could get in it

1:25:56 > 1:25:59were either rich, famous or beautiful.

1:25:59 > 1:26:04All the celebrities used to go there, and really beautiful girls.

1:26:04 > 1:26:07And you could get in even if you were underage, no problem.

1:26:10 > 1:26:14Jack Hanson started the disco, and he knew every Hollywood star.

1:26:14 > 1:26:17Jack was a former USC guy.

1:26:17 > 1:26:20One day he said, "You chum around a bit with this Simpson guy.

1:26:20 > 1:26:23"Could you bring him by, you know, and introduce him to me?"

1:26:23 > 1:26:25He was married to Marguerite at that time.

1:26:25 > 1:26:30But as we're sitting there, this gorgeous little surfer blonde

1:26:30 > 1:26:32is waiting tables at lunch hour.

1:26:32 > 1:26:35OJ goes, "Wow, who's that?"

1:26:35 > 1:26:39Jack had Nicole come over and said hello.

1:26:39 > 1:26:41And she didn't walk ten feet away,

1:26:41 > 1:26:43and he looks right at Hanson and said,

1:26:43 > 1:26:45"I'm going to marry that girl."

1:26:50 > 1:26:55She was 18 years old, she had just graduated from high school.

1:26:55 > 1:26:57She was just like my little sister.

1:26:57 > 1:27:02She goes, "I met this man, and his name is OJ Simpson."

1:27:02 > 1:27:06They went out, and I waited up for them.

1:27:08 > 1:27:11She got home, it was, like, two o'clock in the morning

1:27:11 > 1:27:14and her jeans were ripped.

1:27:14 > 1:27:17And I went, "What...? What happened?"

1:27:17 > 1:27:20And she goes, "Well, he was a little forceful."

1:27:20 > 1:27:23And I go, "Nicole, why would you let him,

1:27:23 > 1:27:26"first date, be a little bit forceful?"

1:27:26 > 1:27:30"Well, Dave, don't be upset. I think I really like this guy."

1:27:30 > 1:27:32That was, you know, the start of it.

1:27:34 > 1:27:37About two days later, she went back to work.

1:27:37 > 1:27:39She said, "OJ came in.

1:27:39 > 1:27:43"He wants to get an apartment for me and also a car."

1:27:43 > 1:27:47And I went, "Nicole, think about this.

1:27:47 > 1:27:50"You know, he's married and has children."

1:27:50 > 1:27:53And she goes, "But I think I really like this guy."

1:27:53 > 1:27:55It was that fast.

1:27:57 > 1:28:0018 years old. I mean, it was too young.

1:28:03 > 1:28:07She was quiet, nice, didn't say too much.

1:28:07 > 1:28:10She wasn't like she was distant or anything. She was just a shy person.

1:28:10 > 1:28:12And Nicole was a doer.

1:28:12 > 1:28:14Whatever Nicole put her mind to, she could do.

1:28:16 > 1:28:18She actually wanted to be a photographer,

1:28:18 > 1:28:20and she was always an artist.

1:28:21 > 1:28:23Honestly, the connection's pretty obvious.

1:28:23 > 1:28:27I mean, she's drop-dead gorgeous.

1:28:28 > 1:28:33She was hot. My sister was really a beautiful girl.

1:28:34 > 1:28:36We didn't know who he was.

1:28:36 > 1:28:37We were girls in the Brown house.

1:28:37 > 1:28:41We didn't grow up with football - we went to the beach.

1:28:41 > 1:28:45So when Nicole came home with him, we were like, "Who are you?"

1:28:47 > 1:28:51They had a real love affair, these two.

1:28:51 > 1:28:53When they were together, it was just... It was love.

1:28:56 > 1:28:59And that's what makes this thing so sad.