Posted by Marina del Rey, CA – Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr., famous for inciting fear into Ice Cube and Chris Tucker as the imposing, tough talking bad guy Deebo in the 1995 cult classic Friday, has reportedly passed away.
According to TMZ, friends and family grew increasingly concerned on Thursday (December 10) when they hadn’t heard from him for roughly 24 hours. Police conducted a welfare check at his Marina del Rey, California home and discovered his body inside. The 62-year-old actor was pronounced dead at the scene. Although it will take a few days for an autopsy to be completed, officers believe he died of natural causes.
Shortly after the news broke, Cube headed to Twitter and wrote, “RIP Tiny ‘Deebo’ Lister. America’s favorite bully was a born entertainer who would pop into character at the drop of a hat terrifying people on and off camera. Followed by a big smile and laugh. Thank you for being a good dude at heart. I miss you already.”
RIP Tiny “Deebo” Lister. America’s favorite bully was a born entertainer who would pop into character at the drop of a hat terrifying people on and off camera. Followed by a big smile and laugh. Thank you for being a good dude at heart. I miss you already. pic.twitter.com/jIl8yEZU9c
— Ice Cube (@icecube) December 11, 2020
Lister appeared in several movies over the course of his career. Following Friday, he reprised his role as Deebo in the 2000 sequel Next Friday. Other film credits include Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), The Fifth Element (1997), The Wash (2001) and The Dark Night (2008).
More recently, he appeared on Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out in 2016 and in the 2017 film American Justice.
In addition to acting, Lister also had two brief professional wrestling stints and starred as Zeus in 1the 989 film No Holds Barred alongside Hulk Hogan. But his role as Deebo will go down in history as one of his most memorable characters.
Ice Cube Explains Why ‘Last Friday” Hasn’t Been Made During John Witherspoon’s Funeral
Before actor John “Pops” Witherspoon passed away in 2019, there were plans for another installment of Friday, but it never came to fruition. During Witherspoon’s funeral, Cube explained why there’d been a delay.
“I really apologize to my friend for not getting the next Friday movie made,” he said. “It’s not my fault. Some dumbass people in Hollywood at New Line Cinema, if you wanna … you can email Toby Emmerich and Richard Brener if you feel like I feel. Yeah, you punks had two scripts and you didn’t wanna do them. That’s the real. We were tryin’ to make that movie for years and we couldn’t get it done. We got the other three and we got our memories.”
HipHopDX sends our condolences to Lister’s friends and family.