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O.J. Simpson, the football star and actor whose life took a shocking turn when he was accused in a double homicide, died Wednesday of prostate cancer at the age of 76, his family announced.

First, a football star: A celebrated running back, Simpson won the 1968 Heisman Trophy while at the University of Southern California. He went on to star for the NFL's Buffalo Bills and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He capitalized on his athletic fame in Hollywood, becoming a successful actor and TV pitchman. But it all came crashing down when he was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994, in Los Angeles.

A stunning fall from grace: After the slayings, there was the televised low-speed car chase in 1994, with Simpson in a white Ford Bronco and police in pursuit as Los Angeles residents cheered from freeway overpasses.

“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit": And then, there was the so-called "Trial of the Century" in 1995, when a host of high-powered figures emerged, including defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, who turned a bloody glove into one of the most memorable moments of the trial.

A controversial acquittal: Simpson was acquitted of murder during a televised trial that gripped America and divided the country largely along racial lines. But a jury in a civil trial found him liable for the killings, and he later served nine years in prison for his role in a botched armed robbery.

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