Bill Nunn, Do The Right Thing’s Radio Raheem, Has Died

He was 63.

September 24, 2016

A photo posted by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on

Actor Bill Nunn, best known for portraying Radio Raheem in the film, Do The Right Thing, has died at the age of 62.

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The news comes via Spike Lee, who directed Nunn in the 1989 film. Though, the cause of death is currently unknown, Lee says Nunn passed away at his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sometime this morning.

Lee and Nunn were both graduates of Atlanta's Morehouse College and first collaborated on Lee's 1988 film, School Daze. They went on to work together on "Mo' Better Blues" and "He Got Game." Outside of his partnership with Lee, Nunn started in Sister Act alongside Whoopi Goldberg, made an appearance in the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey McGuire, played Duh Duh Duh Man in 1991's New Jack City, and starred in the 2014 Broadway revival of A Raisin In The Sun.

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But Nunn will be most remembered for his role as the boombox-toting character, Radio Raheem, who famously dies as a result of a police chokehold at the close of Do The Right Thing. "Radio Raheem is now resting in power," Lee wrote in an Instagram post commemorating the late actor. "Radio Raheem will always be fighting da powers dat be. May God watch over Bill Nunn."

Bill Nunn, Do The Right Thing’s Radio Raheem, Has Died