OJ 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. "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.
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.