Reynaldo Rey

Famous for his appearance in the hit comedy "Friday" (1995), legendary comedian Reynaldo Rey was born Harry Reynolds in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma in 1940. After graduating from Kansas State Teacher's College, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he taught for seven years. Eventually, he began performing with Karmu House Theatre. Once he decided to pursue performance as a full-time occupation, Rey moved to New York and began working with the Harlem Theatre Group. Before long, he was booking professional gigs as a stand-up, even opening for The O'Jays on tour. In New York, Rey met performer Redd Foxx, who was so taken with Rey's act that he decided to represent him. Rey embarked on a tour of Europe, Africa, and Asia, performing overseas for two solid years. In 1974, Rey released his first comedy album, Fly Away Little Bluebird. His second record, 1978's The Rising of Reynaldo Rey was still more successful. In 1983, he made his first appearance in a feature film, Garry Marshall's madcap soap opera parody "Young Doctors In Love" (1982). He took a break until 1989, at which point he appeared in Eddie Murphy's period comedy "Harlem Nights" (1989). Rey's most famous on-screen appearance, however, was as Red's father in the Ice Cube comedy "Friday" (1995). While maintaining a low-profile but steady stream of character roles in film and TV, Rey developed a stage act that paid tribute to his longtime friend and mentor Redd Foxx. Rey died on May 28, 2015 at the age of 75.