Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Character Actor From Spike Lee Films, Dead At 70

Spike Lee's "Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus" Cast And Crew Special Screening - After Party

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Thomas Jefferson Byrd, an actor who found his characters immerse in the rich worlds created by director Spike Lee, was murdered overnight in Atlanta, Georgia according to Lee.

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“I’m So Sad To Announce The Tragic Murder Of Our Beloved Brother, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Last Night In Atlanta, Georgia,” Lee wrote on Instagram Sunday (October 4). “Tom Is My Guy, Here Below You See Him As The Freigenting Character Errol Barnes In CLOCKERS. Brother Byrd Also Did His Thang In My Joints- CHI-RAQ, SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS, RED HOOK SUMMER, BAMBOOZLED, HE GOT GAME, GET ON THE BUS, GIRL 6 And CLOCKERS. May We All Wish Condolences And Blessings To His Family. Rest In Peace Brother Byrd.”

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I’m So Sad To Announce The Tragic Murder Of Our Beloved Brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd Last Night In Atlanta,Georgia. Tom Is My Guy,Here Below You See Him As The Frightening Character Errol Barnes In CLOCKERS. Brother Byrd Also Did His Thang In My Joints- CHI-RAQ,SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS, RED HOOK SUMMER,BAMBOOZLED,HE GOT GAME,GET ON THE BUS,GIRL 6 And CLOCKERS. May We All Wish Condolences And Blessings To His Family. Rest In Peace Brother Byrd.🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Oct 4, 2020 at 10:40am PDT

Byrd, 70, first worked with Lee on the 1995 film Clockers before appearing in follow-up Lee films such as Girl 6, Get On The Bus, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus and Chi-Raq. He also starred as Nola Darling’s father Stokley for the TV adaptation of She’s Gotta Have It. His most famous non-Spike related role came in 1996 when he played Luther in the action-drama Set It Off.