Bubba Dumped

Bubba Smith, Dick Butkus’ life partner, has died at the age of 66. After a career at Michigan State that earned him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame, the 6-foot-8, 300-lb Smith spent 9 seasons in the NFL, making two Pro Bowl teams and helping the Baltimore Colts to throw Super Bowl III to the New York Jets. Part of the All-Star lineup of the Miller Lite ads of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Smith quickly found himself stereotyped as intimidating black man for comic relief, most notably as florist turned cop Moses Hightower in Police Academy and too many of its too many sequels. Other gigs included Blue Thunder, co-starring Butkus; MacGyver, co-starring Butkus; Half Nelson, co-starring Butkus; Superdome, co-starring Butkus and as Tony’s duck-loving boxing coach on Taxi, 3 years after Butkus’ cameo.