Paul Mooney, the actor-comedian famous for his roles in “The Buddy Holly Story” and “Bamboozled,” has died at 79.
Mooney passed away Wednesday morning in Oakland, California, his daughter confirmed on Twitter. The cause of death was a heart attack, according to reports.
Mooney was best known for starring opposite Oscar nominee Gary Busey in 1978’s “The Buddy Holly Story” as Sam Cooke. He also played Junebug in Spike Lee’s acclaimed 2000 comedy “Bamboozled.”
The Shreveport, Louisiana, native got his start as a writer, backing legendary standup comedian Richard Pryor. He went on to write for Fox’s “In Living Color.”
In 2004, Mooney landed a high-profile role — playing “Negrodamus” — in a couple of skits on close friend and comic Dave Chappelle’s smash hit “Chappelle’s Show.”
Director and producer Robert Townsend, who cast Mooney in the 1987 flick “Hollywood Shuffle,” saluted the comic for his outspokenness in a 2016 Vulture interview. “Paul didn’t care to be loved. He wanted to speak his mind,” he said. “He taught a generation of comedians to be fearless.”
