Renowned stand-up comic, writer, actor and social critic Paul Mooney passed away on May 19, 2021, after suffering a heart attack. He was 79. He is well known to have brought a sharp eye to the subject of race relations in collaboration with Richard Pryor. His death was announced by his cousin, Rudy Ealy, to a news channel. Ealy said that Mooney died at his home in Oakland, California.
Mooney’s official twitter account posted a thank you message to the many people offering condolences. The tweet reads, “Thank you all from the bottom of all of our hearts ...you’re all are the best!...... Mooney World .. The Godfather of Comedy - ONE MOON MANY STARS! .. To all in love with this great man.. many thanks.”
Thank you all from the bottom of all of our hearts ...you’re all are the best!...... Mooney World .. The Godfather of Comedy - ONE MOON MANY STARS! .. To all in love with this great man.. many thanks
— Paul Mooney (@PaulEalyMooney) May 19, 2021
Mooney portrayed singer Sam Cooke in 1978’s The Buddy Holly Story, played Junebug in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled (2000), and made numerous guest appearances in TV series and specials such as The Richard Pryor Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Chappelle’s Show, Real Husbands of Hollywood etc. In 2004, he starred in his own comedy series, Judge Mooney.
The actor-comedian’s greatest influence came as a writer, first for sitcoms such as Sanford and Son and Good Times but more significantly with and for Pryor. He was the head writer for The Richard Pryor Show and co-wrote Pryor’s Live on the Sunset Strip and his hosting gig on Saturday Night Live. Mooney’s memoir, Black Is the New White, was published in 2005.
(Source: Twitter/CNN)
