LOS ANGELES, April  11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - O.J. Simpson, the American 
football star whose 1995 acquittal in the so-called "trial of the century" for 
the murder of his ex-wife and a male friend gripped the world, has died at the 
age of 76.
                  
 Once a beloved national figure, his fame turned to infamy after the savage 
killing of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a suburb of Los Angeles.
                   
The televised police chase to apprehend Simpson, and the extraordinary 
subsequent trial featuring high-octane lawyers and allegations of racism, were 
watched by millions on television.
                  
 His acquittal in October 1995 after nine months in court was greeted with 
disbelief by many Americans who had followed every twist and turn in the 
arguments over details as intricate as whether a pair of gloves really fitted 
the former athlete's hands.
                   
"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle 
with cancer," a message signed by the family said Thursday on social media site 
X.
                
 "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of 
transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy 
and grace."
                  
 He had reportedly been battling prostate cancer.
                   
                   - Elite athlete -
                    
                   
Simpson grew up in poverty and ill health but developed into an elite 
athlete, rising rapidly to stardom first as a college football player and then 
in the National Football League, where he won the 1973 Most Valuable Player 
award.
                  
 His popularity only grew with a post-NFL career as an actor and an ad 
pitchman, where his appearances promoting everything from orange juice to car 
rentals made him one of the most recognizable Black faces in the country.
                  
 His work with Hertz in particular, where he was shown sprinting through 
airports while wearing a three-piece suit, became part of pop culture folklore.
                  
 That all came to an abrupt end on June 12, 1994 when Brown Simpson, 35, and 
waiter Goldman, 25, were found stabbed to death outside her home.
                  
 Public views on whether Simpson was guilty or innocent of murder divided 
sharply along racial lines.
                  
 And although allowed to walk free, there was no happy next chapter for 
"O.J." -- or "The Juice," as he was known.
                  
 Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit 
and was ordered to pay damages totaling $33.5 million to the families of the 
victims.
                  
 Fred Goldman, Ronald's father, spoke to NBC News by phone Thursday and 
described Simpson's death as "no great loss."
                   
"The only thing I have to say is it's just further reminder of Ron being 
gone all these years," he said.
                  
 Simpson also served nearly nine years in prison for a bungled armed 
robbery, before a parole board in the western state of Nevada approved his 
release in 2017.
                   
                   - Dismissed health concerns 
                   
                   
But the public's fascination never waned.
                   
"O.J.: Made in America," a nearly eight-hour documentary about his murder 
trial, won the best documentary Oscar in 2017.
                   
And "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," a television 
mini-series starring Cuba Gooding Jr as the athlete, won multiple Emmy awards 
in 2016.
                   
On February 9 this year, Simpson posted a video on X dismissing reports 
that he was in hospice care.
                   
"You talking about hospice?!" he said laughing. "No, I'm not in any 
hospice. I don't know who put that out there."
                  
 Two days later, he posted his last X video.
                   
"My health is good. I mean, obviously I'm dealing with some issues," he 
said.
                  
 "But I think I'm just about over it and I'll be back on that golf course 
hopefully in a couple of weeks."