Thomas Jefferson Byrd (June 25, 1950 – October 3, 2020) was an American character actor who played in several of director Spike Lee's films. He was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Honors ...

for his performance in the 2003 Broadway revival of '' Ma Rainey's Black Bottom''.

Career

Byrd earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Morris Brown College and later received a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance from California Institute of the Arts. He was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Alpha Sigma chapter. Byrd starred in numerous regional stage productions including the San Diego Repertory Theatre's award-winning performance of ''Spunk''. He also starred in ''Home'' by Samm-Art Evans, ''

Two Trains Running ''Two Trains Running'' is a 1990 play by American playwright August Wilson, the sixth in his ten-part series ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play takes place in 1968 in the Hill District, an African-American neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ...

'', ''

The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga se ...

'' and '' Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' at the

Alliance Theater The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia, based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal ...

, ''Flyin' West'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and ''Miss Evers' Boys'' at the Indiana Repertory, and in other productions of ''Flyin' West'' at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

and at the

Long Wharf Theatre Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Fo ...

. For his Broadway debut, a performance in the 2003 revival of ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,'' Byrd received a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nomination for best featured actor. Byrd appeared in several films by Spike Lee, including '' Clockers'', '' Get on the Bus'', '' Bamboozled'', '' Red Hook Summer'', and '' Chi-Raq''. Byrd also appeared as Stokely Darling in Lee's

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series '' She's Gotta Have It''. His other films credits include '' Set It Off'', ''

Ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

'', and '' Brooklyn's Finest''.

Death

After an emergency call was made in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Georgia, around 1:45 a.m. on October 3, 2020, Byrd was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds in his back and pronounced dead. He was 70. A spokesperson for Atlanta police said that homicide detectives were "working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident". On October 17, 2020, a 30-year-old man was arrested for having a connection to Byrd's murder.

Work

Film

Television

Theatre

Source:

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Thomas Jefferson 1950 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Griffin, Georgia Theatre World Award winners California Institute of the Arts alumni Morris Brown College alumni Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state)