20th May 2021 by BOTWC Staff
Comedic icon Paul Mooney has now joined the ancestors, NPR reports.
He made a name for himself as a writer and comedian, working on shows like Saturday Night Live and In Living Color. He also worked alongside friend Richard Pryor on Sanford and Son, starring Redd Foxx. His propensity for “tell it like it is,” a comedy centered around Black life, won the hearts of Black America.
Mooney also dabbled in acting, being featured in several classic films over the years, including playing Sam Cooke in The Buddy Holly Story, the NAACP President in Hollywood Shuffle, and Junebug in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled. During the early 2000s, Mooney introduced himself to another generation, starring on Chappelle’s Show in sketches that captured the cultural zeitgeist of the times, like Negrodamus and Ask A Black Dude.
Often referred to as the “godfather of modern Black comedy,” Mooney was a comedian’s comedian, crediting his grandmother for inspiring his sense of humor.
