Rudy LaRusso

Rudolph "Rudy" A. LaRusso (November 11, 1937 – July 9, 2004) was an American basketball player. He was nicknamed "Roughhouse Rudy."

LaRusso was Jewish, and was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn. LaRusso, whose mother was Jewish and father was Italian, won All-City honors. He attended and graduated from Dartmouth College. In 1958, playing for Dartmouth, he grabbed 32 rebounds in a game against Columbia, tying an Ivy League record.

He was taken by the Minneapolis Lakers in the second round of the 1959 NBA draft out of Dartmouth College, and played eight years with them and two for the San Francisco Warriors. He was a five time All-Star and was known for his rebounding, tight defense, toughness, and presence.

In 1962 he scored 50 points, at that point the most ever by a Jewish NBA basketball player, in a game for the Lakers against the St. Louis Hawks.

In 1967–68, he finished seventh in the league with a career-best average of 21.8 ppg.

Rudy had a small cameo role in the Gilligan's Island third-season episode "Bang! Bang! Bang!" as 'Agent Michaels'.

He died of Parkinson's disease in 2004.