Roger, Roger: Kareem reprises his Airplane! role for Wisconsin ad

Before Shaquille O’Neal crossed over from the hardwood to the silver screen, where he gave us characters like Neon Bodeaux and (gasp!) Kazaam, legendary Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made the same trek.

Kareem had a supporting role in 1980’s Airplane!, a hilarious spoof of the Airport flight disaster movies of the 1970s.

Abdul-Jabbar played Roger Murdock, a co-pilot who gets the inquisition from a young passenger who recognizes the basketball great. After denying that he’s the hoops star, Murdock explodes when the lad says, “my Dad says you don’t really try, except in the playoffs.” Classic stuff.

Well, Abdul-Jabbar and actor Robert Hayes (who starred as troubled pilot Ted Stryker) have reprised their roles for, what else, a :30 ad for TravelWisconsin.com. The results are so amazing, we just booked a four-day stay in May in Fond du Lac.

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