Lee Weaver, whose six-decade career as an actor spanned more than 140 credits, died at his home in Los Angeles on September 22. He was 95.
He “wove joy, depth, and representation into every role he played and everything he did,” his family said in a statement.
Born April 10, 1930, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lee Weaver began his career in the 1950s as a stage performer before moving to television, landing his first screen role in a six-episode stint on the adventure series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (1955–56).
Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Weaver became a familiar face on television, appearing in Good Morning World, I Spy, The Wild, Wild West, Mannix, Julia, and The Bill Cosby Show. He went on to guest-star in dozens of other series including Nanny and the Professor, That’s My Mama, Kojak, Sanford and Son, The Blue Knight, Soap, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Weaver also held recurring roles on the dramas Flamingo Road and Hill Street Blues, and was a series regular on the short-lived Loni Anderson sitcom Easy Street from 1986–87.
An active voice actor as well as a versatile screen performer, Weaver’s film credits included How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Donnie Darko (2001), and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). More recently, he appeared in two episodes of the Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Beyond his screen work, Weaver was admired for mentoring younger performers and for his longstanding advocacy for better representation of Black actors in Hollywood.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, actress Ta-Tanisha (Room 222), and their daughter Leis La-Te.
Funeral arrangements will be private, with a public memorial planned later this year in Los Angeles.