Bill Nunn(1953-2016)
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Commanding performer Bill Nunn made his feature debut in fellow
Morehouse College graduate Spike Lee's
School Daze (1988), but really etched
himself into moviegoers' minds as a formidable screen presence in his
second film with Lee,
Do the Right Thing (1989),
playing Radio Raheem, whose ever-present boom box is at the center of a
fight that leads to his death at the hands of an overzealous police
officer, the prelude to the all-out riot that follows (Nunn also acted
in Mo' Better Blues (1990) and
He Got Game (1998) for Lee). Though
he made his initial mark playing young street toughs on screen, this
veteran of the Atlanta stage showed he could use his impressive size
for something other than menace with a critically acclaimed performance
as Harrison Ford's sympathetic,
high-spirited physical therapist in
Regarding Henry (1991). Nunn
subsequently played pretty much every type there is, all the way up
to nice, huggable teddy bear guys like
Whoopi Goldberg's protector Eddie
Souther in Sister Act (1992).
His professionalism made him a favorite of other directors besides
Lee. He portrayed a Southern police chief in
Bill Condon's
White Lie (1991) (USA
Network), later reteaming with Condon for
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995),
and has also acted twice for Michael Apted
(Extreme Measures (1996), HBO's
Always Outnumbered (1998))
and Gary Fleder
(Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995),
Kiss the Girls (1997)). Nunn also
turned in a fine performance as
Tim Roth's adoptive father in
The Legend of 1900 (1998),
Giuseppe Tornatore's first
English-language feature, released initially in Italy and then in the
United States in 1999. He can also be seen in
Spider-Man (2002),
People I Know (2002) with
Al Pacino and the prison thriller
Lockdown (2000).
Nunn has also found time to do numerous television pilots and three
series. He was in the CBS series
Traps (1994) with
George C. Scott, sitcom
Local Heroes (1995) for NBC and
the critically acclaimed
The Job (2001) with
Denis Leary on ABC. He appeared on
episodes of Chicago Hope (1994),
Touched by an Angel (1994)
(both CBS),
New York Undercover (1994)
and Millennium (1996) (both
Fox), among others.
Nunn lived in Georgia with his wife Donna and daughters Jessica and
Cydney.
Morehouse College graduate Spike Lee's
School Daze (1988), but really etched
himself into moviegoers' minds as a formidable screen presence in his
second film with Lee,
Do the Right Thing (1989),
playing Radio Raheem, whose ever-present boom box is at the center of a
fight that leads to his death at the hands of an overzealous police
officer, the prelude to the all-out riot that follows (Nunn also acted
in Mo' Better Blues (1990) and
He Got Game (1998) for Lee). Though
he made his initial mark playing young street toughs on screen, this
veteran of the Atlanta stage showed he could use his impressive size
for something other than menace with a critically acclaimed performance
as Harrison Ford's sympathetic,
high-spirited physical therapist in
Regarding Henry (1991). Nunn
subsequently played pretty much every type there is, all the way up
to nice, huggable teddy bear guys like
Whoopi Goldberg's protector Eddie
Souther in Sister Act (1992).
His professionalism made him a favorite of other directors besides
Lee. He portrayed a Southern police chief in
Bill Condon's
White Lie (1991) (USA
Network), later reteaming with Condon for
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995),
and has also acted twice for Michael Apted
(Extreme Measures (1996), HBO's
Always Outnumbered (1998))
and Gary Fleder
(Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995),
Kiss the Girls (1997)). Nunn also
turned in a fine performance as
Tim Roth's adoptive father in
The Legend of 1900 (1998),
Giuseppe Tornatore's first
English-language feature, released initially in Italy and then in the
United States in 1999. He can also be seen in
Spider-Man (2002),
People I Know (2002) with
Al Pacino and the prison thriller
Lockdown (2000).
Nunn has also found time to do numerous television pilots and three
series. He was in the CBS series
Traps (1994) with
George C. Scott, sitcom
Local Heroes (1995) for NBC and
the critically acclaimed
The Job (2001) with
Denis Leary on ABC. He appeared on
episodes of Chicago Hope (1994),
Touched by an Angel (1994)
(both CBS),
New York Undercover (1994)
and Millennium (1996) (both
Fox), among others.
Nunn lived in Georgia with his wife Donna and daughters Jessica and
Cydney.