In 1989, O.J. Simpson Could Laugh About Run-Ins With the Cops

It's hard to remember now, but 20 years ago -- before O.J. Simpson was an accused murderer, and long before he was Inmate 1027820 at Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Center --The Juice was known as one of the most personable guys in the sports world. If you can't remember that, take a couple minutes to watch Simpson's 1989 appearance with David Letterman.

On the Letterman show, Simpson talked about getting stopped for speeding by "California's finest," and he was charming and funny. And it's a little startling, given the way Simpson's life has turned out since then, to hear him joking about encounters with the police.

But maybe it shouldn't be startling. After all, Simpson's likability was part of the reason that the 1994 murder case turned into such a media circus. No one could believe that the nice guy joking around with Letterman was a killer.