Today is the tragic day that “Black laughter” died.
Paul Mooney, the mentor, and hero to a generation of Black comics and the pen behind some of Richard Pryor’s funniest bits has died on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at the age of 79.
His daughter Spring was one of the first to confirm his passing.
She wrote on Twitter, “Give me a moment !!! My best friend just died and my world is forever SHOOK !!! I really can’t put into words right now my feelings .. know that I LOVE THIS MAN AND I AM
BROKEN.”
Give me a moment !!! My best friend just died and my world is forever SHOOK !!! I really can’t put into words right now my feelings .. know that I LOVE THIS MAN AND I AM BROKEN 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/XIXO36ug1i
— Spring Mooney (@MooneySpring) May 19, 2021
Journalist Roland Martin also shared the news after speaking to another family member.
“Rudy Ealy, the cousin of @PaulEalyMooney, told me that Paul had been suffering with dementia for some time and had been living with him. Rudy said Oakland paramedics valiantly tried to save him after suffering a heart attack this
AM.”
BREAKING NEWS: Rudy Ealy, the cousin of @PaulEalyMooney, told me that Paul had been suffering with dementia for some time and had been living with him. Rudy said Oakland paramedics valiantly tried to save him after suffering a heart attack this AM. #RolandMartinUnfiltered
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) May 19, 2021
Still, it was the post from the unapologetically Black comedian that made this icon’s death real.
It read, “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.”
https://twitter.com/PaulEalyMooney/status/1395024913459814402?s=20
Reports have said that he died of a heart attack.
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, he became known for his cutting-edge comedy.
Gen Xers and Millennials may not remember him as the right-hand man to Pryor, but most certainly they recall him as Negrodamus on Dave Chappelle’s smash hit “Chappelle’s Show.”
He was a dear friend to Chappelle and the prototype of his socio-political humor.
“It’s a tough one [today]. I want to shout out to every comedian on earth … the best who ever did it died today and his legacy will live forever. He worked on everything from The Richard Pryor Show to The Chappelle Show. He was one of the first Black people let into the Writers’ Guild. Paul Mooney will be sorely missed and widely remembered,” Chappelle told TMZ.
Dave is right … he will be missed.