Fred Robert Williamson aka "The Hammer" is a man of many talents. This Gary, Indiana native has had the experience of being an NFL and AFL defensive lineman, a black belt in several martial arts and starring in a handful of films, it's no secret why he has been chosen for this edition of They Came from Indiana.
Born in 1938 in Gary, Indiana, Willamson began his professional career playing football at Northwestern University during the late 1950's. Due to his performance on the field, he was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers. While participating in their training camp he was asked to change his former offensive position to a defensive one. It was here that his coaches noticed that he was too aggressive on the field, with his coaches telling him to stop "hammering" the other players, hence the origin of his nickname.
He played for one year for the Steelers before changing to the AFL, joining the Oakland Raiders and playing for four seasons and eventually making the AFL All-Star team for three consistent years in 1961, 1962 and 1963 before changing teams again for the Kansas City Chiefs.
His hammer nickname began to take on new life again due to him using his forearm to use karate-like chops on his opponents, and often using it as a way to promote himself during his time in the league. He eventually closed up his 8-year career in 1967.
After his football career, Willamson pursued his acting career. He began by acting alongside Cleaveland Browns running back Jim Brown appearing in various movie and TV shows such as Star Trek, Starsky and Hutch. and M*A*S*H. Willamson also appeared in numerous genre during the 70's
Later on in his film career, he appeared in several other more well-known productions including Snoop Dogg's "Doggy Dogg World" music video and Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk till Dawn.
Willamson's involvement in the film industry also extended to the production side as well with his involvement with several of his own films as a director and producer with a period of time even being devoted to forming his own company, Po'Boy Productions.
Williamson is still active today, directing and producing movies as well as being a spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project. He currently resides in Palm Springs, California.
From football star to film director and producer, Fred Willaimson is another amazing Hoosier who we can be proud to say that they came from Indiana.