- As Sloth in The Goonies (1985), his make-up took five hours to complete. One of the eyes (which was out of place on the face) was mechanically operated off-screen by remote control. He had to time his blinking to match the blinks of the robotic eye. A crew-member would countdown from three, two, one and tell him to blink. The cast was told not to get him wet in scenes outside of the pirate ship, but the kids inadvertently did so, holding up filming for an entire day. In the scene where Chunk and Sloth head down through the grate to follow the gang and the Fratelli's, you can see that Sloth is wearing an Oakland Raiders T-Shirt. Matuszak was a former Oakland Raiders football player.
- Matuszak was part of one of football's most surreal moments. He was playing for the Houston Texans of the World Football League, but was still under contract to the Houston Oilers of the National Football League. Matuszak was in the middle of a game when lawyers for the NFL and the Oilers showed up with a court order barring Matuszak from playing under his Texans contract. He was benched for the second half, but was waving the court order in the air for the fans to see so they'd know exactly why he wasn't in the game.
- He died of heart failure, which was probably caused by an overdose of pain medication and pneumonia. He also had cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
- Competed in the 1978 World's Strongest Man Competition weighing 308 lbs.
- Former defensive end for the Oakland Raiders.
- Autobiography: "Cruisin' With the Tooz".
- John Matuszak was drafted first overall in the 1973 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers.
- He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou) on a football scholarship and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. However, he was kicked out when he completely beat up a guy on the twenty-first birthday of one of his fraternity brothers.
- John Matuszak is one of ten former Raiders players who became actors; the others include Bob Golic, Bill Romanowski, Nnamdi Asomugha, Bubba Smith, Ben Davidson, Lyle Alzado, Howie Long, Fred Williamson, and Carl Weathers.
- Was originally drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1973.
- Attended the University of Tampa where he was the star of their football team and a brother of the Theta Chi fraternity (Incidentally, the football program at the University of Tampa ended after the 1974 season). Also attended the University of Missouri and Iowa Central Community College before going to Tampa.
- Inducted into the University of Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983.
- Ex-football player turned actor.
- Was the boyfriend of Stephanie Cozart Burton in the 1980s.
- Son of Audrey and Marvin Matuszak.
- Hard-driving athlete who lived life in the fast lane.
- The Thoroughbred racehorse Matuszak, which finished 10th in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, was NOT named after John Matuszak. It was named for Felix Matuszak, father-in-law of George Prussin, the horse's owner.
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