Anthony Johnson, the comedian known for his roles in films such as Friday and House Party, has passed away. Johnson reportedly died earlier in September after being found unconscious and “lifeless” in a store, the actor’s nephew has confirmed to TMZ. He was “rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead”. Representatives for the actor have separately confirmed his death to The Wrap. He was 55 years old. Johnson’s cause of death has yet to be released.
Born in Compton, California, in 1965, Johnson was born into the entertainment business, with 97.9 The Box noting that his father was a Hollywood stunt performer. Johnson made his debut at the company in 1982, although he didn’t have his big luck until 1990 when he landed the role of EZE in House Party. He went on to perform stand-up across LA while appearing in titles like Lethal Weapon 3 and Menace II Society before eventually landing his role of Ezal in the 1995 comedy Friday opposite Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. The film was a commercial success and grossed $ 27 million at the global box office, according to the Mirror.
Rest In Peace , Comedian Anthony Johnson. 🕊🥺 #AnthonyJohnson pic.twitter.com/1t16Pjky4w
— 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥🤴🏽 (@armanivalore) September 20, 2021
As news of Johnson’s passing broke Monday morning, many Hollywood residents and those who knew him personally took to social media to respond. His comedic colleague Rickey Smiley shared a photo of Johnson on Twitter with a post above reading, “Comedian AJ Johnson. Rest in Paradise. ” Another person said Johnson was “a very good artist and character actor, especially when it comes to black cinema”. Someone else remembered Johnson as “one of the funniest, humblest comedians of the ’90s and watched in some of the classics like Friday, I got the Hook up, House Party and more. ”.
In addition to Friday and House Party, Johnson’s other film credits include House Party 3, How to Be a Player, I Got the Hook Up, Hot Boyz, and I Got the Hook Up 2. He also had a number of credits. televised to his credit. name, including The Bold and the Beautiful, Martin, Def Comedy Jam, South Central, The Parent ‘Hood, Moesha, Malcom & Eddie and The Jamie Foxx Show. In addition to acting and standing, Johnson also appeared in Dr. Dre’s “Dre Day” music video in 1992, portraying Sleazy-E, a parody character from Easy-E. He then reprized the role in Eazy-E’s video for “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” in 1993.
