Raymond Vitte (November 20, 1949 – February 20, 1983) was an American actor who starred mostly in comedy and drama films in the 1970s and early 1980s. He made numerous guest appearances on television shows and was a cast member of the show ''

Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: People and characters * Doc, an abbreviation of doctor * Doc (nickname) * Doc (mascot), the Towson University mascot Persons * The D.O.C., American rapper (born 1968) * Doc Gallows (born 1983), ring nam ...

'' in 1976.Fearn-Banks, Kathleen. "Ray Vitte." The A to Z of African-American Television, Scarecrow Press, 2009, pp. 464–464. Vitte, who had been fevered for days and acting strangely for hours in his Los Angeles home, died in 1983 following a scuffle with two

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

officers who were transporting Vitte to a nearby hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Filmography

Death

In February 1983, police were called to Vitte's home in

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...

by neighbors claiming that a man had been making "religious shoutings laced with references to

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

" for more than 12 hours". Vitte allegedly lunged at one of the officers who subsequently struck him with a

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conducti ...

. Vitte attempted to run away, but was struck again by officers who also used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

with no effect. After Vitte ran away again, he fell down at the side of a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

where officers handcuffed him and placed him into a squad car. En route to a hospital for a mental evaluation, the officers noticed Vitte had stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. A group including singer

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

and the president of the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

chapter of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

protested Vitte's death in a news conference, with Summer saying "...a man who's basically minding his own business in his own home, who happens to be creating a disturbance somehow, is now dead because his neighbors called the police". A spokesman for the coroner's office said preliminary results of an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

showed "superficial injuries consistent with a struggle" but which were "not responsible for his death". According to the coroner's report, Vitte died of complications from

sickle cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited Hemoglobinopathy, haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the ...

References

External links

* 1949 births 1983 deaths American male film actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Altadena, California) {{US-film-actor-1940s-stub