For Abdul-Jabbar, acting was made easier by playing in Los Angeles. He made his acting debut in Bruce Lee’s 1972 movie Game of Death, where his character Hakim faces off against Billy Lo (played by Lee).
Abdul-Jabbar portrays co-pilot Roger Murdock in the 1980 film Airplane. He makes fun of Kareem Abdul-comparison Jabbar’s to Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch’s portrayal of a pilot in the 1957 film Zero Hour!, which served as the inspiration for Airplane! To stay in character, Abdul-Jabbar claims to be just Roger Murdock, a co-pilot of an airplane.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s top movies and TV shows
- Full House
- Godless
- Mindhunter
- New Girl
- Legion
- iZombie
- Sneaky Pete
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- The Daily Show
- The Big Bang Theory
- Veronica Mars
- Dancing with the Stars
- Dear White People
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show
- Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen
- Guys with Kids
- Diff’rent Strokes
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- 30 for 30
- The View
- Beat Shazam
- The Wendy Williams Show
- Late Night With Seth Meyers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar awards and nominations
- NBA Most Valuable Player Award
1980, 1977, 1976 - NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
1985, 1971 - All-NBA Team
1986, 1984, 1981 - NBA All-Defensive Team
1981, 1980, 1979 - NBA Rookie of the Year Award
1970 - NBA All-Rookie Team
1970 - Presidential Medal of Freedom
2016 - Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year
1985 - Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year
1969 - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children’s
2013 · What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors
