Tony-nominated actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd was found with multiple gunshot wounds in his back. Photo / Getty Images
Tony-nominated actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd was found with multiple gunshot wounds in his back. Photo / Getty Images
Actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd, known for his roles in Spike Lee films, has been shot and killed in Atlanta, police said Sunday.
Police responded to a call around 1:45 a.m. Saturday and found the 70-year-old Byrd unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds in his back, police spokesman Officer Anthony Grant saidin a statement.
Oh no!!! 2020! Whaaattt!!! Loved working with you Byrd. What a fine actor you were. So sorry your life ended this way. Praying for your family. So very sorry.πππππhttps://t.co/R9YxP4gNW4
Grant said homicide detectives were working to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting and declined to provide further details.
In an Instagram post, Lee said he was sad to announce Byrd's death and recalled how the actor "did his thang" in his films including "Clockers," "Chi-Raq," "Bamboozled," "He Got Game" and "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus," among others.
"May we all wish condolences and blessings to his family," Lee wrote. "Rest in peace, Brother Byrd."
Lee also shared some of his favorite scenes with Byrd from "Clockers" and "Bamboozled."
Byrd, also a stage actor, was nominated in 2003 for a Tony for his performance in the Broadway revival of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," co-starring Whoopi Goldberg and Charles S. Dutton.
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, was an actor in the unofficial repertory company of Spike Lee movies. What Joseph Cotton was to Orson Welles, Byrd was for Spike. The βeverymanβ character actor. He was a part of the Black Arts Renaissance of Fort Greene in the 80s. pic.twitter.com/oFPMKIKOro
Oscar-winning actor Viola Davis tweeted: "Oh no!!! 2020! Whaaattt!!!"
"Loved working with you Byrd," she wrote. "What a fine actor you were. So sorry your life ended this way. Praying for your family."
Byrd was a "brilliant dancer, actor, and friend," Elisabeth Omilami, a fellow actor and community activist, told WXIA-TV in Atlanta.
long live the art created by thomas jefferson byrd, a captivating character actor in spike lee films and famously, the antagonist who helped set the plot of set it off in motion.
"He was a special person whose personality filled up the whole room when he entered you knew he was there," she said. "He fought his way through this very racist and difficult Hollywood system and was able to maintain a career through it all."
She said Byrd had just recently finished his last film, "Freedom's Path," with her husband, actor Afemo Omilami.
Actor Lori Petty tweeted: "What a man, what a talent ... what a crazy loss."
