Movies about athletes are not unusual, but "The Express" focuses on a fairly exclusive club: Heisman Trophy winners. Since we're talking Hollywood here, we thought we'd put together a list of some of the Heisman champs who have a connection, in one way or another, to the world of motion pictures.-- Jay Berwanger (1934, Chicago): The first Heisman Trophy winner played himself in the drama/romance "The Big Game," along with a bunch of other college-football stars.-- Tom Harmon (1940, Michigan): Besides appearing as himself in "Harmon All-American," as well as some other movies about college football, the World War II hero's family is filled with celebrity. He married actress Elyse Knox; his daughter Kristin married Ricky Nelson and is the mother of musicians Matthew and Gunnar Nelson; and his daughter Kelly was the Tic Tac girl. And don't forget: His son Mark played football at UCLA and went on to star in numerous TV series.-- Doc Blanchard (1945, Army) and Glenn Davis (1946, Army): Blanchard (Mr. Inside) and Davis (Mr. Outside) played themselves in their biopic "The Spirit of West Point." Davis also dated Elizabeth Taylor and married actress Terry Moore. His third wife, Yvonne Davis, was married to Alan Ameche.-- Alan Ameche (1954, Wisconsin): In addition to being a cousin of actor Don Ameche, Alan Ameche played an unwitting role in "Diner" (1982). The Baltimore Colts star was the answer to a test given to a bride-to-be who was deprived of a correct response when her fiance's friend blurted it out.-- O.J. Simpson (1968, University of Southern California): Before all of his notoriety, Simpson seemed to adapt to life after football by embarking on a promising film career. He showed comedic depth in "The Naked Gun" series and appeared in a series of thrillers and dramas, including "The Towering Inferno."-- Jim Plunkett (1970, Stanford): Believe it or not, Stanford's only Heisman winner is credited on imdb.com as playing Stan Laurel in the 1965 film "Harlow," starring Carol Lynley as Jean Harlow (not to be confused with Carroll Baker's "Harlow," made the same year). He also has an uncredited role as himself in "Airport 1975."-- John Cappelletti (1973, Penn State): His Hollywood connection is the 1977 made-for-TV movie "Something for Joey," about his relationship with his leukemia-stricken brother. Marc Singer played the running back.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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