Former Detroit Lions Player and “Dukes of Hazzard” Actor Dies

He started out as a football player and ended up as an actor on several televisions shows.

Pat Studstill Jr. was a punter and wide receiver in the National Football League from 1961 to 1972, playing for the Detroit Lions, the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots.

He started out his NFL career playing with Detroit from 1961 to 1967. It was during his time with the Lions that he had probably his best season. In 1966, he was second in the NFL with 67 receptions and led the league with 1266 receiving yards. One of his five touchdowns went for 99 yards, making him only the third player at the time to hit that accomplishment.

Studstill's obituary says, "Following his retirement from the NFL, Pat served as Technical Advisor for the 1974 film, 'The Longest Yard,' and utilized his expertise to assemble and organize the football team for the production. Soon thereafter, he shifted his focus to move in front of the camera and achieved success as an actor, starring in over 200 commercials, performing both on-camera and voiceover roles; he was also featured in several television shows and movies."

One of those television shows was "The Dukes of Hazzard", that ran on CBS from 1979-1985. Studstill played a character called Barclay in three different episodes from 1981-1985.

After "The Dukes of Hazzard", he went on to star as Dixon Boyd in the television series "1st and Ten" on HBO.

The website imdb.com also said that Studstill was one of the first "color commentators" on shows such as ABC-TV's "Monday Night Football".

Studstill was 83 years old. No cause of death has been released. He is survived by his wife, Rita Vennari Studstill; one son, two daughters, and three grandchildren; His death was announced on Facebook in a post from SBV Talent...

You can read his complete obituary here.