Switzer and TV made for each other
Published: 7/30/2008 6:35 PM
Last Modified: 7/30/2008 6:35 PM
The folks who write, direct and produce television series are, for the most part, way smarter than I am.
But sometimes you have to ask the question: What took them so long?
In Oklahoma, Barry Switzer is king. Maybe elsewhere in these United States (not counting rural Arkansas, Lincoln, Neb., and just about everywhere in Texas), he's simply a duke in the land of college football. But in any setting, the guy is still a very compelling and charismatic figure.
Switzer's life has been too busy with coaching and Special Olympics and a million other things for him to ever step into Hollywood any deeper than his ankles.
He has appeared in the movies "Possums," "Any Given Sunday" and "Varsity Blues," and did TV on "Arli$$" and "Coach."
An e-mail press release on Wednesday came from Turner Network Television (TNT), home of the Emmy Award-winning show "Saving Grace" -- Switzer's latest acting gig:
"Famed football coach Barry Switzer guest stars as himself in the SAVING GRACE episode "Do You Love Him?" airing Monday, August 11, at (9 p.m. CT). Holly Hunter stars in the series as Grace Hanadarko, an intense Oklahoma City police detective with a fiery spirit and audacious lifestyle. In this episode, the door to Grace's Porsche gets knocked off when a drunk driver slams into it. The impact lets loose thousands of dollars in cash that had been hidden by a previous owner. Switzer is among the (previous) owners questioned. When he visits the (police) station, the OCPD police detectives hail him as a hero, except for Butch, the former University of Texas football player. Grace allows Switzer to take a glory ride in the Porsche for old time's sake."
When it's not football season, I don't watch much TV outside of "Deadliest Catch" and "Spider-Man" reruns, and I've never seen one minute of "Saving Grace". But my DVR is already set.
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
