Anthony Johnson (February 1, 1966 – September 6, 2021), sometimes credited as A. J. Johnson, was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

. He was best known for his role as Ezal in the 1995 comedy film ''

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

''.

Career

Born in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

, his father Eddie Smith was a stuntman and a co-founder of the Black Stuntmen's Association. Johnson had credited his father for helping him enter the film industry, by getting him to work in film productions. He had also credited the comedian Robin Harris for helping him earlier on in his career as a stand-up comedian and giving him another chance even when he was jeered for his bad performance. Johnson began acting in his early twenties. In 1990, he landed a starring role as E.Z.E. in ''

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

'', after which he started doing

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

in bars in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He later appeared in ''

Lethal Weapon 3 ''Lethal Weapon 3'' is a 1992 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen. The sequel to ''Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), it is the third installment in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film se ...

'' as a drug dealer and in ''

Menace II Society ''Menace II Society'' (pronounced ''Menace to Society'') is a 1993 American teen crime drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. Set in the Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the film follows the l ...

''. His biggest role was in the 1995 comedy ''

'', as Ezal, a crackhead and thief. He also appeared in '' Panther'', ''

The Players Club ''The Players Club'' is a 1998 American dark comedy drama thriller film written and directed by Ice Cube in his feature film directorial debut. In addition to Ice Cube, the film stars Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, Jamie Foxx, John Amos, A. J. ...

'', ''

B*A*P*S ''B.A.P.S'' (an acronym for '' Black American Princesses'') is a 1997 American female buddy comedy film directed by Robert Townsend and starring Halle Berry, Natalie Desselle, and Martin Landau. The film was written by Troy Byer and was he ...

'', ''

I Got the Hook-Up ''I Got the Hook-Up'' is a 1998 American crime comedy film, starring Anthony Johnson, Master P, Ice Cube, C-Murder and directed by Michael Martin. This was No Limit Records' first theatrical release. The film was distributed by Dimension Film ...

'', ''

Def Jam's How to Be a Player ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' is a 1997 American sex comedy film, starring Bill Bellamy, Natalie Desselle and Bernie Mac. The film was directed by Lionel C. Martin, and written by Mark Brown and Demetria Johnson. The '' How to Be a Player ...

'' and ''Repos'', and in rap videos: in Dr. Dre's "

Dre Day "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", or censored as a single (music), single titled "Dre Day", is a song by American rapper and record producer Dr. Dre featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Dogg, Snoop Doggy Dogg and uncredited vo ...

" (1992), he played Sleazy-E, a parody of

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

, and he appeared again as Sleazy-E in the video for Eazy-E's "

Real Muthaphuckkin G's "Real Muthaphuckkin' Gs," or "Real Compton City Gs" in its radio edit, is a diss track released as a single in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Dresta, Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on Billboard Hot 10 ...

" (1993), this time being assaulted.

Personal life

Johnson was married to Lexis Jones Mason, but divorced in 2004. Anthony had three daughters, Antionette, Natasha and Bijan Johnson. In July 2009, it was reported that Johnson had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

while on his way to a comedy show. However, Johnson said in 2018 that it was instead a

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...

. Johnson died on September 6, 2021, aged 55, at a Los Angeles County hospital, after being found unresponsive. His death was publicly announced on September 20 by his representative LyNea Bell. Johnson died of multi-system organ failure. It also stated that he had contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

but was asymptomatic.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Anthony 1965 births 2021 deaths African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male television actors American male comedians American male film actors Entertainers from Compton, California Male actors from California Comedians from California 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park