{"id":23749,"date":"2021-05-20T18:43:25","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T18:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=23749"},"modified":"2021-05-20T21:55:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T21:55:09","slug":"paul-mooney-tributes","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/paul-mooney-tributes\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrities Pay Tribute to Comedic Giant Paul Mooney"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Photo by Paul Hawthorne\/Getty Images for TV Land<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paul Mooney, the legendary<\/a> comedian and comedy<\/a>\u00a0writer revered for his groundbreaking discourse surrounding race<\/a>, passed away on Wednesday, May 19 at his home in Oakland, California at the age of 79 from a heart attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mooney\u2019s career sprouted from his behind-the-scenes partnership with Richard Pryor<\/a> as a writer on the latter\u2019s short-lived variety show. The duo, who are also the brains behind <\/span>Saturday Night Live<\/span><\/i>\u2019s \u201cWord Association\u201d episode, boldly tackled race in an era where many entertainers tottered around the subject in fear of network censorship. From there, Mooney contributed his pen to <\/span>In Living Color<\/span><\/i><\/a> and later he\u2019d both write and pivot on-screen for Dave Chappelle\u2019s titular sketch comedy series as Negrodamus<\/a>, a satirical seer and the show\u2019s popularized character. He also played Sam Cooke in 1978\u2019s <\/span>The Buddy Holly Story<\/span><\/i> and appeared in Spike Lee\u2019s 2000 movie <\/span>Bamboozled. <\/span><\/i>The Shreveport native\u2019s profound ability to analyze American life and politics in a frank candor that still garnered applause landed him among the influential veterans whose lasting impact on the industry influences today\u2019s top roster.<\/span> Tributes to Mooney\u2019s trailblazing legacy swiftly amassed on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Paul Mooney. A comedy giant. I recall listening to his RACE album in college and how formative it was. Yeah, the jokes. But more so, the freedom. He spoke freely and fearlessly about feelings and experiences others found difficult to express. May he be truly free now. Rest, sir.<\/p>\n

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n