- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Daniel Matuszak
- Nickname
- Tooz
- Height6′ 7″ (2.01 m)
- John Daniel Tooz Matuszak was an American professional football defensive lineman in the National Football League and also an actor. Matuszak was born in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Tampa and played for their football team. Matuszak also played for various NFL teams; his longest stint of six years having been spent with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, and later joining the Houston Oilers. While playing for the Oilers, he joined the Houston Texans of the World Football League (WFL), playing a total of seven plays before a restraining order was served to him during a game, barring him from playing for two teams at the same time.
His first major role as an actor was in the 1979 movie "North Dallas Forty" as a football player. He also appeared in the movies "Caveman", "The Ice Pirates", and "One Crazy Summer" but is known for his role in "The Goonies". He also had guest appearances on popular TV shows "Perfect Strangers", "M*A*S*H", "The Dukes of Hazzard", "Hunter", "Silver Spoons", "The A-Team", "1st & Ten", "Miami Vice" and "Cheers". He died on June 17, 1989 aged 38 due to a heart failure.
- IMDb mini biography by: The Unknown
- ParentsAudrey MatuszakMarvin Matuszak
- RelativesChristopher Matuszak(Sibling)David Matuszak(Sibling)Karen Matuszak(Sibling)Dawn Matuszak(Sibling)
- Baritone voice
- His beard
- His towering height
- His iconic performance as Lotney "Sloth" Fratelli in The Goonies (1985)
- His brown curly hair
- Matuszak was part of one of football's most surreal moments. He was playing for the Houston Texans of the World Football League, but was still under contract to the Houston Oilers of the National Football League. Matuszak was in the middle of a game when lawyers for the NFL and the Oilers showed up with a court order barring Matuszak from playing under his Texans contract. He was benched for the second half, but was waving the court order in the air for the fans to see so they'd know exactly why he wasn't in the game.
- As Sloth in The Goonies (1985), his make-up took five hours to complete. One of the eyes (which was out of place on the face) was mechanically operated off-screen by remote control. He had to time his blinking to match the blinks of the robotic eye. A crew-member would countdown from three, two, one and tell him to blink. The cast was told not to get him wet in scenes outside of the pirate ship, but the kids inadvertently did so, holding up filming for an entire day. In the scene where Chunk and Sloth head down through the grate to follow the gang and the Fratelli's, you can see that Sloth is wearing an Oakland Raiders T-Shirt. Matuszak was a former Oakland Raiders football player.
- He died of heart failure, which was probably caused by an overdose of pain medication and pneumonia. He also had cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
- Competed in the 1978 World's Strongest Man Competition weighing 308 lbs.
- John Matuszak is one of ten former Raiders players who became actors; the others include Bob Golic, Bill Romanowski, Nnamdi Asomugha, Bubba Smith, Ben Davidson, Lyle Alzado, Howie Long, Fred Williamson, and Carl Weathers.
- I think about the game plan, and then I go through all the little things that are almost impossible to do. If you go through those things in your mind, you can do them.
- The only way to play football is with reckless abandon, or they'll knock your beard off. And with acting, you have to pull all the stops to make it work.
- I can retire from football with a smile on my face.
- The tension in pro ball comes from the realization that any game could be your last, that an injury could end your career. And in TV, you never know if or when your series will be canceled.
- I never even was in any of my high school plays. I mean, look at me. What role could they give me - the tooth fairy?
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