Editing Jim Thorpe (section)

== Later life, film career, and death ==
[[File:Tomb of Jim Thorpe b.jpg|thumb|alt=A brick tomb of Jim Thorpe inscribed with depictions of his career and the quote from King Gustav V|Tomb of Jim Thorpe]]

After his athletic career, Thorpe struggled to provide for his family. He found it difficult to work a non-sports-related job and never held a job for an extended period of time. During the [[Great Depression]] in particular, he had various jobs, among others as a movie actor, mostly as an [[extra (drama)|extra]], usually playing an American Indian in [[Western movie|Westerns]],{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|pp=144–145}} starting with the 1931 serial ''[[Battling with Buffalo Bill]]''.<ref name="AIM">{{Cite magazine |last1=Wheeler |first1=Bob |last2=Ridlon |first2=Florence |last3=Wheeler |first3=Rob |date=Spring 2015 |title=Akapamata: The Forgotten Hollywood Legacy Of Jim Thorpe |url=https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/akapamata-forgotten-hollywood-legacy-jim-thorpe |access-date=August 17, 2024 |magazine=American Indian Magazine |volume=16 |number=1}}</ref> In the 1932 comedy ''[[Always Kickin'|Always Kickin']]'', Thorpe was prominently cast in a speaking part as himself, a kicking coach teaching young football players to [[drop-kick]].{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|p=145}} He played the captain of the guard in 1935's ''[[She (1935 film)|She]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shaffer |first=George |date=April 11, 1935 |title=Penny matching piles up $3,000 charity fund |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |page=19 |id={{ProQuest|181569593}}}}</ref> an umpire in the 1940 film ''[[Knute Rockne, All American]]'',{{Sfn|Buford|2012|pp=313–314}} and a member of the Navajo Nation in the 1950 film ''[[Wagon Master]]''.{{Sfn|Hilger|2016|p=324}} An ''[[American Indian Magazine]]'' article states Thorpe appeared in over 70 films.<ref name="AIM" />

In 1931, during the Great Depression, Thorpe sold the film rights to his life story to [[MGM]] for $1,500 ({{inflation|US|1500|1931|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).{{inflation-fn|US}}{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|p=145}} [[Warner Bros.]] eventually acquired the rights and memorialized Thorpe in ''[[Jim Thorpe – All-American]]'' (1951), starring [[Burt Lancaster]]. The film was directed by [[Michael Curtiz]].{{Sfn|Buford|2012|pp=341, 353}} Although there were rumors that Thorpe received no money, he was paid $15,000 by Warner Bros. plus a $2,500 donation toward an annuity for him by the studio's head of publicity.{{Sfn|Buford|2012|pp=355–356}} The movie included archival footage of the 1912 and 1932 Olympics.<ref name="medal">{{Cite magazine |last=Thorp |first=Charles |title=8 Olympic Movies That Medal |url=http://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/collections/8-olympic-movies-that-medal-w433488/jim-thorpe-all-american-w433494 |access-date=June 15, 2017 |magazine=Men's Journal}}</ref> Thorpe was seen in one scene as a coaching assistant.<ref name="medal" /> It was also distributed in the United Kingdom, where it was called ''Man of Bronze''.{{Sfn|Williams|2006|p=133}}

Apart from his career in films, he worked as a construction worker, a [[bouncer (doorman)|doorman/bouncer]], a security guard, and a ditchdigger. He briefly joined the [[United States Merchant Marine]] in 1945, during World War II.{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|pp=144–145}}<ref name="time1943">{{Cite magazine |date=February 22, 1943 |title=Unnamed TIME Article |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774347,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020184053/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774347,00.html |archive-date=October 20, 2007 |magazine=Time}}</ref> Thorpe was a chronic alcoholic during his later life.{{Sfn|Jeansonne|Luhrssen|2006|p=61}} He ran out of money sometime in the early&nbsp;1950s. When hospitalized for lip cancer in 1950, Thorpe was admitted as a charity case.<ref name="lip">{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1951 |title=Thorpe Has Cancerous Growth Removed From Lip in Hospital at Philadelphia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/11/10/archives/thorpe-has-cancerous-growth-removed-from-lip-in-hospital-at.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 23, 2007 |work=The New York Times |page=S12 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> At a press conference announcing the procedure, his wife, Patricia, wept and pleaded for help, saying, "We're broke&nbsp;... Jim has nothing but his name and his memories. He has spent money on his own people and has given it away. He has often been exploited."<ref name="lip" />

In early 1953, Thorpe went into [[heart failure]] for the third time while dining with Patricia in their home in [[Lomita, California]]. He was briefly revived by [[artificial respiration]] and spoke to those around him, but lost consciousness shortly afterward. He died on March 28 at the age of 65.<ref name="NYTobit" />