‘The Bill Cosby Show’ Star & Iconic Actor Dies at 95

Lee Weaver, the veteran actor known for his work on television and in films, has passed away at the age of 95. His family announced that he died on September 22 at his home in Los Angeles. They said he “wove joy, depth and representation into every role he played and everything he did.”

Weaver is remembered for many roles over his long career. He played Brian Kincaid on the 1969-71 series The Bill Cosby Show, where he appeared as the brother of Bill Cosby’s gym teacher. He also made memorable appearances on Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue as the eccentric Buck Naked.

In the 1986-87 NBC comedy Easy Street, he starred alongside Jack Elam as a pair of roommates who move into a mansion owned by a former showgirl, played by Loni Anderson.

Movie audiences may remember him for his role in the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), where he played a blind man who gives three escaped convicts advice about their future. Weaver also appeared in Vanishing Point, Heaven Can Wait, Bulworth, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Donnie Darko, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, among many others.

Born on April 10, 1930, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lee Wellington Weaver was the son of a chef. He was raised by his aunt and uncle until he moved to Tallahassee for high school and later attended Florida A&M. At 22, he joined the U.S. Army and served for four years. After his military service, he moved to New York, working as a linotype engineer for The New York Times and promoting shows at the famous Birdland jazz club.

There, he helped book legendary musicians like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, and Cannonball Adderley, who even wrote a song called “The Weaver” in his honor.

Weaver’s acting career began in the 1950s, with early roles on Sheena: Queen of the Jungle and the 1959 film Al Capone. He appeared on I Spy in the late 1960s and later worked with Bill Cosby again on The Cosby Show and A Different World.

Throughout the 1970s, he appeared on many popular TV shows including Sanford and Son, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Kojak, and Starsky & Hutch, while also acting in films like Cleopatra Jones and House Calls. He even lent his voice to the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero in the 1980s.

Weaver continued to work steadily in later years, appearing in shows like 227, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Grace and Frankie. His film work included The Two Jakes, The Thirteenth Floor, Max Rose, and many others. He was married to actress Ta-Tanisha from Room 222, and they had a daughter, Leis La-Te.

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