Inzaman Abdul Jabar
“This man was a legend in his own time”
Inzaman Abdul Jabar (1 May 1957-1 April 1986) is a former Scottish footballer and actor who also had a stint as an astronaut.
Early life[edit]
Inzaman was born in Tashkent, Uzebekistan on 1 May 1957 to Scottish parents and moved to glasgow in 1960. His football skills were soon noticed and we signed for Celtic on a youth contract playing centre forward.
Football career[edit]
He broke into the Celtic team aged just 16 and despite an impressive goalscoring ratio (12 goals in 22 games) they terminated his contract when he turned up drunk for a training session. However he was signed by arch rivals Rangers where he became a fans favourite, after he had an excellent 3 seasons scoring 70 goals in 110 games which resulted in him signing for Manchester United for £17 million in 1975. In his first two seasons he continued his superb form helping Man U win the premiership but he soon fell out of favour after a poor season, scoring just one goal. In 1979 his contract was terminated after he tested positive for cocaine. At his disiplinary hearing on 6 March 1978 he was banned for 2 years.
Comeback[edit]
In 1983 aged 26 he attempted a comeback with Hibernian but was grossly overweight and was soon released after a dismal 4 month spell. He then signed a short term deal with old club Rangers but was banned for 3 years after testing positve for cocaine again.
NASA[edit]
In 1985 aged 28 he started training with NASA to become an astronaut after NASA's search for a famous person to promote itself. After a year he quit the training programme amist pay disputes.
Acting career[edit]
Despite his long term drug abuse Inzaman managed to establish a career as an actor starring in the critically acclaimed sit-com Friends. In 1986 he quit the show to establish himself in Hollywood but his films were generlly considered flopped and after being critised for his performance in 'The flight of the pigeon' he retired from acting
Personal life[edit]
Inzaman had 7 children, Mustapha, Shunshuke, Paj, Junichi, Sakajima, Saj and Alison to 7 different women. He was briefly married to supermodel Gertrude Faschtenweiger between March and May 1978. In 1987 aged 30 he announced he was bisexual and in a relationship with then 19 year old actor Ricardo Calanmante. This came as a shock because Ricardo had refuted claims about him being gay but he admitted soon after, saying he realized he had nothing to be ashamed of. The relation finished after just 3 months, mainly due to intense media scrutiny. After this Inzaman moved back to Manchester where he started a relationship with 17 year old singer Chris Lacombe.
Death[edit]
Inzaman was found in his bed dead in 1996 aged 39 after a suspected heart attack although it has been speculated he committed suicide after it was revealed his long-term boyfreind Chris Lacombe was having an affair with billianaire heiress Maria Colotello.