Veteran actor and ‘Donnie Darko’ star Lee Weaver dies age 95
Lee Weaver, an actor with an impressive career spanning six decades, has passed away at the age of 95.
The Hollywood star has appeared in over 140 films, including the likes of Donnie Darko, Max Rose, My Brother’s Wife and O Brother, Where Art Thou? He passed away on September 22nd, though his family have only just publicly confirmed the news.
His family confirmed the tragic news, sharing that the beloved actor passed away at his Los Angeles residence. Their statement shared that Lee “wove joy, depth and representation into every role he played and everything he did”.
Weaver wasn’t just confined to the world of film, though he appeared in most genres; he can be seen featuring in several television programmes, such as My Name is Earl and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He also appeared in several episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
He was also a talented voice actor. Other credits under his name include 1998’s How Sella Got Her Groove Back, 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin and 2009’s Little Fish, Strange Pond.
One of his final jobs was, in fact, a television programme. He played Mel for two episodes of the Netflix series, Grace and Frankie. The star, who was born in 1930 in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, began his career in the 1950s as a stage performer.
The first role he landed was a six-episode stint in the adventure series, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, in 1955. Weaver was known for sharing what he had learnt throughout his time in the industry with younger performers, acting as a type of mentor for them. He also used his platform to consistently advocate for better representation of Black actors in Hollywood.
The talented star is survived by his wife of 54 years, actor Ta-Tanisha, and their daughter, Leis La-Te.
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