Lambda Lambda Lambda has lost its leader.
Bernie Casey, who played national Tri Lams fraternity head U.N. Jefferson in the 1984 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds” and its sequels, died Tuesday, his representative told TheWrap. Casey was 78.
Casey died peacefully surrounded by loved ones following a brief illness, his representative said.
Born in Wyco, West Virginia, in 1939, Casey was an athlete before entering the acting world, first in track and field for Bowling Green State University and later as a professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.
A year after he retired from the NFL, Casey’s acting career began with the film “Guns of the Magnificent Seven.” His athletic and acting careers later intersected in the TV film “Brian’s Song,” in which he played the team captain for the Chicago Bears.
His many film and TV credits include “Harris and Company,” “The Martian Chronicles,” “Cleopatra Jones,” “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
Casey was also a poet and a painter. A collection of his work, “Look at the People,” was published in 1969.