Sad to say Alex Karras is gone. He will be remembered mostly for his acting talent and sense of humor, rather than for his considerable accomplishments on the football field before ever entering TV and film (he was a four time Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions). Had the chance to spend an enjoyable hour talking with him once for broadcast--he was warm, cordial and gifted with a quick wit, as you'd have expected him to be. What you saw with Alex Karras was what you got.
I remember when The 500 Pound Jerk came out, but don't remember the movie itself. Anyway, this confuses me: The Detroit Lions were a "strikes + spares, knock down the pins" bowling team? You'd think the real Detroit Lions would sue them for taking their name!
Poor guy. He suddenly got very ill (worse than usual, and he already had cancer, dementia and heart disease), swollen arms and legs and they discovered he had kidney failure. He chose to refuse treatment and went home to die with hospice care. He was pretty bad when they figured it out, he only lived two more days.
