Thomas Jefferson Byrd

The 70-year-old actor died on October 3, 2020, after being shot multiple times in the back while walking in Atlanta. The circumstances of what happened are unknown, except that the deceased had had a discussion in a store a few minutes before the unfortunate event. “I am very saddened to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd last night,” Spike Lee  wrote  on his Instagram account. 

Born June 25, 1950, in Griffin, Georgia, Thomas Jefferson Byrd studied Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts. He then lavished himself on the stage, receiving a Tony nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which opened on Broadway in 2003.

He made his film debut in 1995, with a small role in  Clockers (camels) , directed by Spike Lee , which would recruit him again for  The Million Man March ,  Red Hook Summer ,  Chi-Raq ,  Bamboozled , and  Girl 6 .