Former American Gladiator “Hawk” Passes Away at Age 49

I remember watching American Gladiators growing up. I wouldn't miss an episode and wanted so badly to be on that show. This morning I read some news that genuinely makes me sad. One of my favorite gladiators from the TV show has died.

Lee Reherman, also known as "Hawk", passed away suddenly on Tuesday. Cause of death wasn't immediately known, but the former athlete hadn't been feeling well in recent days after undergoing hip replacement surgery. He died soon after his girlfriend returned home Tuesday to find him ill.

Hawk wasn't just a gladiator or the stereotypical "big dumb jock"...he was a standout football player and graduated with honors from Ivy League university Cornell. He also received his Masters in Business from UCLA before becoming a gladiator and then getting into acting where he had a slew of roles. He had small roles in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Last Action Hero" and in "Star Trek Into Darkness." He made guest appearances on such TV shows as "Ellen," ''Caroline in the City, "Gilmore Girls," ''The X-Files" and "The Shield."

He was a regular, as special agent Ross Hardison, on television's "The First Family" and had just recently filmed an episode of "Jane the Virgin." He also appeared in several episodes of "K.C. Undercover," a Disney show that begins its second season this month.

Reherman also produced several shows, including a forthcoming documentary, "The League," that looks at the purity and character-building of college football as played in the Ivy League, which offers no athletic scholarships and once saw Reherman's own school, Cornell, refuse to accept victory after it discovered it had won a game on a referee's blown call.

Cause of death is pending.