Paul Mooney, the comedian best known for writing for fellow comic bookmaker Richard Pryor and a number of other shows, has died at the age of 79.
Roland Martin shared the news on Twitter today, saying Mooney’s cousin Rudy Ealy called him this morning to tell him that Mooney passed away at around 8 a.m. after suffering a heart attack at his Oakland, CA home.
BREAKING NEWS: The comedic legend Paul Mooney has passed away. His cousin Rudy Ealy just called me on Paul’s phone and said he died two hours ago after suffering a heart attack in his Oakland home. He was 79 years old. We’re going to pay tribute to him tonight on # RolandMartinUnfiltered – rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) May 19, 2021
Mooney was born Paul Gladney on August 4, 1941 in Shreveport, Louisiana. When he was seven, he moved to Oakland, where he was mainly raised by his grandmother. While working as a ringmaster at Gatti-Charles Circus, Mooney began developing his talent for comedic writing and joke telling.
Mooney met Pryor in 1968 and they remained friends until the comedic legend’s death in 2005. In a 2010 interview with popmatters.com he said of their bond: “Opposites attract. I can’t really go into that. It should just be like that. “
Mooney wrote SNL sketches for Pryor and co-wrote the material for a number of his comedic albums and films, including Live on the Sunset Strip, Bicentennial Nigger, Is It Something I Said, and Your Life Is Calling . He was also the chief writer on the Richard Pryor Show, where he gave future stars like John Witherspoon, Tim Reid and Robin Williams their first big break.
Other TV credits for Mooney’s name include Sanford & Son, Good Times, and In Living Color. In the film, he wrote and starred in several cult classics such as Bamboozled, Hollywood Shuffle, The Buddy Holly Story, and Chappelle’s Show.
Known in his footage for fighting racism in America, Mooney gained attention in 2006 for vowing to stop using the N-word in 2006 after Seinfield star Michael Richards racially cursed at the Laugh Factory . Mooney was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014, but he kept touring and performing stand-up.
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