Stebbell Russell "Russ" Saunders was a fullback in the National
Football League. He played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1931
NFL season.He was an All-American at USC and was one of the models for
the Tommy Trojan statue. He was MVP in the 1930 Rose Bowl when he led
the Trojans to a 47â€"14 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers.After
playing football, Saunders went on to a career in Hollywood. He was
one of 11 All-American football players to appear in the 1930 film
Maybe It's Love. In 1938 he was nominated for an Oscar for best
Assistant Director for The Life of Emile Zola. He was assistant or
Second Unit director on more than 85 films including PT 109, Hatari!,
Arsenic and Old Lace, High Sierra and production manager for Stripes,
The Amityville Horror and Bonnie and Clyde among others. His first
screen appearance was in the 1927 movie The Drop Kick in which the
1927 USC team appeared. In that film, Russ appeared along with John
Wayneâ€"a teammate from the USC teamâ€"and worked on many of Wayne's
movies over the following decades.
Football League. He played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1931
NFL season.He was an All-American at USC and was one of the models for
the Tommy Trojan statue. He was MVP in the 1930 Rose Bowl when he led
the Trojans to a 47â€"14 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers.After
playing football, Saunders went on to a career in Hollywood. He was
one of 11 All-American football players to appear in the 1930 film
Maybe It's Love. In 1938 he was nominated for an Oscar for best
Assistant Director for The Life of Emile Zola. He was assistant or
Second Unit director on more than 85 films including PT 109, Hatari!,
Arsenic and Old Lace, High Sierra and production manager for Stripes,
The Amityville Horror and Bonnie and Clyde among others. His first
screen appearance was in the 1927 movie The Drop Kick in which the
1927 USC team appeared. In that film, Russ appeared along with John
Wayneâ€"a teammate from the USC teamâ€"and worked on many of Wayne's
movies over the following decades.
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