MSU Alumni Magazine, Fall 2004 issue - MSU Alumni Association ...

Dallas Cowboy Weekly
FLOZELL ADAMS:
FRANCHISE HOTEL
At MSU, he was nicknamed
“Hotel” and made All-American
offensive lineman in 1997. Now
it might be time to change the
nickname to Marriott or Hyatt.
Two years ago the Dallas Cowboys
designated him as the team’s
first “franchise” player. And with
his reported five-year $25 million
contract and $10 million signing
bonus, left tackle Flozell Adams,
’98, could well buy his own franchise
hotel. At 6-feet-7, 357
pounds, he has emerged after seven
professional seasons as one of
the NFL’s top left tackles—a key
position for quarterback protection.
“MSU helped me a lot,”
says Adams. “Coach (Nick) Saban
prepared me to be the player
that I am, and the person that I
am.” He also credits former
MSU assistant coach Pat Shurmur,
now quarterbacks coach for
the Philadelphia Eagles, with being
a mentor. “He’s the guy who
recruited me in Chicago and just
recently at the Pro Bowl I hung
out with him.” Though he does
not have the time to watch MSU
games, he keeps track of the
team. “I was disappointed about
the Rutgers game,” says Flozell.
“But they’ll be fine. It takes time
to get going, especially the offensive
line. You need to learn about
each other and know what everyone
is doing on each play. That
takes time.” He raves about his
current coach, Bill Parcells. “He’s
a great coach,” says Flozell. “He’s
a player’s coach. Everybody likes
what he does. He’s straightforward,
no secrets. If you want to
know, he’ll tell you. If you don’t
want to know, he’ll tell you.” In
his free time, Flozell has gone
into business, opening a clothing
store in Lansing called Brick
City, and getting into real estate
development. In July, he kicked
off his new housing development
in Runaway Bay, TX. His
company, FR Adams Luxury
Homes, is building homes in
the $169,000-$386,000 range.
“We sold six units before we
even started,” he says. “Right
now we’re putting up five more
homes.”
DAVID P. O’MALLEY: RISING
SPARTAN IN HOLLYWOOD
In 1942 Glenn Miller put
Kalamazoo on the map with his
hit recording, I’ve Got A Gal In
Kalamazoo. In 2005, film producer
and director David P.
O’Malley, ’69, hopes to do likewise
with the movie Kalamazoo,
a comedy about three 28-yearold
women trying to destroy a
time capsule prior to their 10th
reunion so that they will not be
embarrassed by their predictions.
“It’s a wacky, caperish
comedy,” says O’Malley, a rising
Spartan in Hollywood who has
enjoyed success in the film industry
as an actor, writer, director
and producer. “But it’s also a
comedy-drama about facing
your goals and what’s important
about life, and the choices you
make.” Coincidentally, Dave is a
native of Battle Creek. He came
to MSU to study “radio, television
and film,” and in his senior
year, he and fellow Spartan Tom
Chapman wrote a script about
the Baja Marimba Band that
landed them an Emmy award for
Best Entertainment Special. After
a stint as a radio news director
in Santa Barbara, CA, Dave
wrote and produced his first
film, Deadly Fathoms, in 1974,
winning the Silver Medal at the
Atlanta Film Festival. Since
then, he has received credit in 12
films as a writer, 7 as a director, 4
as a a producer, and 4 as an actor.
“I like them all for different reasons,”
he notes. “Being a producer
is really hard, but you learn
a lot. Writing is terrific because
you start off with a blank page
and it’s all creativity. But I probably
love directing the best because
you get to work with so
many different people.” In Kalamazoo,
Dave gets to work with
such stalwart actors as Claire
Bloom and Chita Rivera. Perhaps
his best known film was
1993’s Fatal Instinct, a send-up
of mystery thrillers in the style of
Naked Gun. Dave credits MSU
with giving him “the basics”
about filmmaking and “a great
general education.” And he says
he runs into many Spartans in
Hollywood. “Whenever I wear
my Red Wings cap,” he notes,
“you won’t believe how many
people I meet at the grocery
store.”
O’Malley directs Dee Wallace
Stone (of ET fame), and (inset)
Claire Bloom and star Josie Davis
(right).
PAGE 18 FALL 2004 MSUALUMNIMAGAZINE