'Friday' and 'House Party' Actor Anthony Johnson Dies Aged 55

'Friday' and 'House Party' Actor Anthony Johnson Dies Aged 55

  • Veteran comedian and actor Anthony Johnson aka AJ passed on Monday, September 6
  • Johnson was a stand-up comedian who appeared in films such as Friday and House Party
  • The multi-talented actor was born on May 5, 1965, and grew up in Compton, Calif.

Anthony Johnson, an actor and comedian known for small but memorable roles in Friday and House Party died on Monday, September 6.

Veteran actor Anthony Johnson passed on.
Friday and House Party Actor Anthony Johnson. Photo: Soul TV.
Source: UGC

His death, in a hospital in Los Angeles County, was confirmed by his agent, Lynea Bell and the county medical examiner’s office but neither specified a cause.

Johnson is perhaps best known for playing Ezal, a drug addict and thief who unintentionally interrupts a heist, in the 1995 movie Friday.

Following the news of Johnson’s death, celebrities and fans paid tribute to him on social media.

"Anthony “AJ” Johnson, a comedian and actor best known for his parts in Friday and House Party has passed away at age 55. Our prayers and condolences go out to the family," read a post on official Facebook page of Soul TV.
“Sad to wake up to the news about AJ Johnson passing away. Naturally funny man who was from Compton at the same time,” wrote Ice Cube on Twitter.

Norm Macdonald dies aged 61

As previously reported by Briefly News, the wildly celebrated comedian, actor, writer and producer famous for 'SNL' and more died at the age of 61 years old.

According to his team, the thespian passed away on Tuesday, September 14, after a nine-year, private battle with cancer that he kept hidden from the public for all those years.

Macdonald was a standup comic and briefly a writer for the sitcom "Roseanne" before he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 1993.

He left SNL after a five-year stint and went on to create and star in "The Norm Show" for ABC. In the comedy series, he played a former NHL player kicked out of the league for gambling and tax evasion. After a spell out of the limelight, the Canadian stand-up comedian returned to the screen in 2013 with his own video podcast entitled Norm Macdonald Live.

Source: Briefly News

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Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.

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Mxolisi Mngadi (Editor) Mxolisi Mngadi is an entertainment reporter. He graduated in 2002 from Damelin with a Diploma in Journalism, majoring in African and International Studies, Journalism and Electronic Media. He then started his journalism career at the Daily Sun newspaper, went on to The Citizen, and worked as a senior reporter at News24. He has been a writer for more than 15 years.