Bill Nunn

The son of a prominent sports journalist, Bill Nunn grew up in Philadelphia, eventually working as a ball boy for the Pittsburgh Steelers with future team President Art Rooney II. During one adventurous evening, the two of them took defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene's car for a joyride, only telling him about the mischievous incident years later. Nunn eventually enrolled at Morehouse College where he aimed to study political science. But once he discovered his love of acting, Nunn's path was set. He graduated in 1976, soon setting off on a career in front of the camera. He made his first uncredited appearance in the Burt Reynolds action movie "Sharky's Machine" (1981), soon moving on to a role in former Morehouse classmate Spike Lee's "School Daze" (1988). He would work with Lee again on "Do The Right Thing" (1989) as the pivotal character Radio Raheem before his memorable appearance in Mario Van Peebles' "New Jack City" (1991) playing the stuttering enforcer known as Duh Duh Duh Man. More famous roles would come with "Blood Brothers" (1993), "Money Train" (1995), "He Got Game" (1998), and all three of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" (2002) movies. Nunn also appeared on Broadway, playing Walter Lee Younger in an acclaimed 2004 production of "A Raisin in the Sun." Nunn's final on-screen role was the part of Cash on the police comedy series "Sirens" (USA, 2014-15). Nunn died in September 2016. He was 66 years old.