William Goldwyn Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Dougy in
James Bond III's movie ''
Def by Temptation'',
Radio Raheem in
Spike Lee's film ''
Do the Right Thing'',
Robbie Robertson in the
Sam Raimi ''Spider-Man'' film trilogy and as Terrence "Pip" Phillips on ''
The Job'' (2001–02).
Early life
Bill Nunn III was born in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, the son of Frances Nunn and
William G. Nunn, Jr., a journalist and editor at the ''
Pittsburgh Courier'' and a
National Football League scout.
His paternal grandfather was the first
African American football player at
George Westinghouse High School. While
ball boys for the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Nunn and current Steelers president
Art Rooney II stole
"Mean" Joe Greene's car during training camp at
Saint Vincent College in
Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
"Joe Greene showed up in a beautiful green
Lincoln Continental, and me and Bill Nunn, Jr. were ball boys. Somehow Bill got the keys one night and we decided to take it for a ride. We only told Joe that story about 10 years ago. We figured that enough time had passed that we could disclose our little
joy ride."
Nunn was a 1970 graduate of
Schenley High School and a 1976 graduate of
Morehouse College. He attended college with
Spike Lee and appeared in several of Lee's early feature films.
Career
Nunn made his credited film debut in the
1988 Spike Lee film ''
School Daze'', and is best known for his roles as
Radio Raheem in Lee's ''
Do the Right Thing'', and as
Nino Brown's bodyguard Duh Duh Duh Man in ''
New Jack City''. Some of his other film credits include Lee's ''
Mo' Better Blues'' and ''
He Got Game'', as well as ''
Regarding Henry'', ''
Sister Act'', ''
Canadian Bacon'', ''
The Last Seduction'', ''
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead'', ''
Runaway Jury'', ''
Spider-Man trilogy'' (as
Joseph "Robbie" Robertson), ''
Firehouse Dog'', the television series ''
The Job'', ''
Randy and The Mob'', and the 2016 televised adaptation of ''
A Raisin in the Sun''.
Nunn also performed on stage, including
August Wilson's ''
Fences'', a Pittsburgh-based play in which Nunn performed with
Anthony Mackie, who played Nunn's character's son.
He was also very involved in community outreach, and he formed his own Pittsburgh-area outreach project in 2008.
Death
Nunn died on September 24, 2016, at his home
in Pittsburgh's
Hill District; he was 62 years old.
His widow, Donna, confirmed that he had
leukemia.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Obituary at cremationfuneralcare.com
Life of Bill Nunnfrom death-notices.co.uk (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Bill
1953 births
2016 deaths
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Deaths from leukemia in Pennsylvania
Male actors from Pittsburgh
Morehouse College alumni
Schenley High School alumni