John Beasley, who acted in films and series such as Cedric the Entertainer’s The Soul Man, died at 79 years of age on Tuesday.
His son Tyrone notified The Hollywood Reporter that his father died in a hospital near his Omaha, NE home. While the exact cause of his death hasn’t been released, it has been reported via Beasley’s son that he was undergoing tests on his liver before his unexpected death.
Beasley has starred in blockbuster films and popular TV shows since the late ’80s, with Mr. Willie on Brewster Place being one of his earliest notable roles in 1990. Beasley starred or was featured in various ’90s staples such as The Mighty Ducks, Rudy, Losing Isaiah, Little Big League, Early Edition, Crazy in Alabama, Disappearing Acts and more.
His career in the aughts continued to include big projects including Walking Tall, Judging Amy, NCIS, Daddy’s Little Girls, Boston Legal, Everwood, CSI: Miami, House of Payne, and Treme.
Some of his more recent roles included The Purge: Anarchy, The Soul Man, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Shots Fired, The Resident, The Mandalorian, Firestarter and It Snows All the Time, the latter of which may have been his final project, according to his resume on IMDb.
