Paul Mooney dead at 79 after comic suffers ‘sudden heart attack’
PAUL Mooney has died at the age of 79 after he suffered a sudden heart attack, a publicist for the comic confirmed to The Sun. The actor, known as the Godfather of Comedy, was at home in Oakland, California with his family when he passed away. Paul – whose real name was Paul Gladney – […]
PAUL Mooney has died at the age of 79 after he suffered a sudden heart attack, a publicist for the comic confirmed to The Sun.
The actor, known as the Godfather of Comedy, was at home in Oakland, California with his family when he passed away.
Paul – whose real name was Paul Gladney – was pronounced dead at 5:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday.
His representative, Cassandra Williams, told The Sun: “It just happened.”
“He was with family in his home. It was very sudden”
The rep claimed paramedics attempted to revive the comedian after they arrived to the scene, but were unsuccessful.
She also insisted he had no known health issues before tragedy struck.
His Twitter account seemed to confirm the news as well.
Someone handling his account tweeted: “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.”
The news was also announced by journalist Roland Martin, who said: “Comedic legend Paul Mooney has passed away.
“His cousin, Rudy Ealy, just called me from Paul’s phone and said he passed away two hours ago after suffering a heart attack at his home in Oakland. He was 79.”
Following the news of his sudden passing, the tributes began to pour on social media.
Comedy Central tweeted: “He was brutally funny and brutally honest. Thank you, Paul Mooney.”
Funch, the host of Chopped 420, also wrote: “RIP to the legend ‘miss thang’ Paul Mooney.
“I learned so much from you it was a weird but wonderful experience to meet you.”
Paul first rose to fame as a writer for Saturday Night Live and In Living Color.
Following stints with both TV shows, he became the head writer for The Richard Pryor Show, where he gave comedians like Robin Williams, Sandra Bernhard, Marsha Warfield, John Witherspoon, and Tim Reid their first big breaks.
He also appeared in plenty of cult classic movies like Which Way Is Up?, Bustin’ Loose, and Hollywood Shuffle.
The Godfather of Comedy also appeared in plenty of stands up alongside Dave Chapelle, who was typically his partner in crime.
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One of his last big projects was when he wrote Black Is The New White, which came out in 2010.
In his autobiographical book, he reflected on some of the biggest moments of his life, including organizing a performers’ strike on the Comedy Store and publicly giving up the n-word.
It featured a foreword written by Dave Chappelle, a very close friend of his.
