Samuel Osei Sarpong Jr. (19 December 1974 – 26 October 2015) was a British actor, supermodel, and musician. He performed in over sixty

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

and fifty-five television shows, including such films as ''Carmen The Hip Hopera'', '' Love Don't Cost a Thing'', '' Keeping Up with the Steins'', ''

Anchor Baby Anchor baby is a term (regarded by some as a pejorative) used to refer to a child born to a non-citizen mother in a country that has birthright citizenship which will therefore help the mother and other family members gain legal residency. In the ...

'' and ''No Weapons'', for which he won best lead actor at the San Diego Black Film Festival. He was also the host on MTV's '' Yo Momma'' for three seasons. He was one of the first black male models for designer

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

and was the face of the brand for over six years.

Personal life and death

Sam Sarpong was born in London and moved to Los Angeles with his father, Sam Sarpong Sr., who is a native of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, when he was 11 years old. He attended El Camino Real High School in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, where he was a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

star. When his father moved to Pasadena, Sarpong lived with a friend's family so he could continue attending El Camino Real. When his aspirations for a college and professional basketball career proved unsuccessful, he turned to acting and modelling.Fernando Dominguez
"Running the Fast Break Again : Two Years Out of High School, Sarpong Homes In on Show-Business Career"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', 2 July 1995. Sarpong died on 26 October 2015 at the age of 40 after jumping from the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, California. His death was ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, pending an autopsy.

Career

Sarpong was a co-host of MTV's show ''Yo Momma'', and had since gone on to serve as the host of the BET Awards pre-show ''All Access'', for seven years. At the 2013 BET Awards, he presented the "Best International Artist" category. Sarpong starred as Paul Unanga in the film ''Anchor Baby'' and won Best Lead Actor for this role at the 2012 New York Film Festival. He also guest-starred in " Lord of the Bling", an episode of ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...

''. Sarpong was a fashion editorial magazine campaign for the brand

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...

, a recipient of the MAA Fashion Award for Male Model of the Year, and twice named by ''Today's Black Woman'' magazine on their "Fifty Most Beautiful People" list. He was added to ''Us Weekly''′s "Hot 100 Young Hollywood with Style" list in 2007. Sarpong was featured in modelling campaigns for the brand Boy London, and in the past served as the international face of the Nelson Mandela Foundation clothing line. He posthumously appeared in the seventh episode of ''

American Crime Story ''American Crime Story'' is an American anthology true crime television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are also executive producers, alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Simpson. The ser ...

'' playing Byron/Neighbor Man No. 1.

Selected filmography

*'' Sunset Park'' (1996) - Washington Heights Basketball Player (uncredited) *''No Easy Way'' (1996) - Gee (uncredited) *''Carnival of Wolves'' (1996) - Gangmember #3 *''All's Fair in Love & War'' (1997) *'' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1997-1998) - Professor Murder *''

American History X ''American History X'' is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are involved in the white power skinhead and n ...

'' (1998) - Jail Inmate (uncredited) *''Hash Brown's'' (1999) - Gangster *''Touch'' (2000) *''Chasing Sunsets'' (2001) - Terrance *'' King Rikki'' (2002) - Louis *''

Masked and Anonymous ''Masked and Anonymous'' is a 2003 drama film directed by Larry Charles. The film was written by Larry Charles and Bob Dylan, the latter under the pseudonym "Sergei Petrov". It stars Dylan alongside a star-heavy cast, including John Goodman, Jeff ...

'' (2003) - Blunt *''Swirl'' (2003) - Max (uncredited) *'' Love Don't Cost a Thing'' (2003) - Kadeem *''

Everybody Hates Chris ''Everybody Hates Chris'' is an American television semi-autobiographical sitcom that is inspired by the memories of the teenage years of comedian Chris Rock. The show is set from 1982 to 1987, although Rock himself was actually a teenager from ...

'' (2005, TV Series) - Mario ("Everybody Hates Babysitters") *''

Johnny Was ''Johnny Was'' is an Irish/English gangster movie directed by Mark Hammond, written by Brendan Foley, and made in 2005 by Ben Katz Productions, Borderline Productions and Nordisk Film. It was released in the UK in 2006 by Sony Pictures and in t ...

'' (2006) - Skip *'' Keeping Up with the Steins'' (2006) - Terrence Smythe *''Grad Night'' (2006) - Jerrod Elliott *''Nailed'' (2006) - Scott Scott *''Marked'' (2007) - Marcus *''Young Cesar'' (2007) - Tariq *''Grindin'' (2007) - Morris *''

Carts A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

'' (2007) - Conrad *''7-10 Split'' (2007) - Himself (uncredited) *''The Sweep'' (2008) - Chrome *''Unemployed'' (2008) - Big Dime *'' Farm House'' (2008) - Jonas *''Single Black Female'' (2009) - Will *''The House That Jack Built'' (2009) - Mace *''Dedd Brothers'' (2009) - Sugar *''Church'' (2010) - Jay *''

'' (2010) - Paul Unanga *''The Preacher's Family'' (2011) - Deion Hines *''Trigger'' (2012) - Trey *''Crossed the Line'' (2014) - Twist *''Battered'' (2014) - Ray Fleming *''Tamales and Gumbo'' (2015) *''No Weapon Formed Against Us (2015) - Deion

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarpong, Sam 1974 births 2015 deaths 2015 suicides 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Black British male actors El Camino Real High School alumni English emigrants to the United States English male film actors English male models English male television actors English television presenters English people of Ghanaian descent Male actors from London Male actors from Los Angeles Rappers from London Rappers from Los Angeles Suicides by jumping in California Suicides in California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)