Bill Nunn

William Goldwyn "Bill" Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing and Robbie Robertson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man film trilogy.

Early life
Bill Nunn III was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Frances Nunn and William G. Nunn, Jr., a well-known journalist and editor at the Pittsburgh Courierand a National Football League scout.[1][2] His paternal grandfather was the first African American football player at George Westinghouse High School.[3] 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.[4] "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."[4]

Nunn was a 1970 graduate of Schenley High School and a 1976 graduate of Morehouse College.[5] He attended college with Spike Lee and appeared in several of Lee's early feature films.[1]

Career
Nunn made his credited film debut in the 1988 Spike Lee film School Daze,[6] and is best known for his roles as Radio Raheem in Lee's Do the Right Thing,[7] and as Nino Brown's bodyguard Duh Duh Duh Man in New Jack City.[8] 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.[9]

Nunn also performed on stage, including August Wilson's Fences, a Pittsburgh-based play; Nunn performed alongside Anthony Mackie, who played Nunn's character's son.[1] Nunn was also very involved in community outreach, and he formed his own Pittsburgh-area outreach project in 2008.[1]

Death
Nunn died on September 24, 2016 in his home[10] in Pittsburgh's Hill District; he was 62 years old.[11] His widow, Donna, confirmed that he had leukemia.[10][1]

Filmography

 * Sharky's Machine (1981) as Kitten's Bouncer (uncredited)
 * School Daze (1988) as Grady
 * Do the Right Thing (1989) as Radio Raheem
 * Glory (1989) (uncredited)
 * Def by Temptation (1990) as Dougy
 * Cadillac Man (1990) as Grave Digger
 * Mo' Better Blues (1990) as Bottom Hammer (Bass)
 * New Jack City (1991) as Duh Duh Duh Man
 * Regarding Henry (1991) as Bradley, Physical Therapist
 * White Lie (1991) as Chief Adams
 * Sister Act (1992) as Eddie Souther
 * Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) as Police Photographer
 * Blood Brothers (1993) as William Crawford
 * The Last Seduction (1994) as Harlan
 * Save Me (1994) as Det. Vincent
 * Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) as Reverend Ellis
 * Canadian Bacon (1995) as Kabral
 * Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) as Easy Wind
 * True Crime (1995) as Detective Jerry Guinn
 * The Affair (1995) as Sgt. Rivers
 * Money Train (1995) as Crash Train Motorman
 * New York Undercover (1995, TV Series) as Lt. Carver
 * Touched by an Angel (1996, TV series) as Frank Champness
 * Bulletproof (1996) as Finch
 * Extreme Measures (1996) as Det. Bob Burke
 * Quicksilver Highway (1997) as Len
 * Kiss the Girls (1997) as Det. John Sampson
 * Mad City (1997) as Cliff Williams (uncredited)
 * Ellen Foster (1997) as Mr. Douglas
 * Always Outnumbered (1998) as Howard M'Shalla
 * He Got Game (1998) as Uncle Bubba
 * Ambushed (1998) as Watts Fatboy
 * The Legend of 1900 (1999) as Danny Boodman
 * The Tic Code (1999) as Kingston
 * Passing Glory (1999) as Howard Porter
 * Foolish (1999) as Jimmy Beck
 * The Hungry Bachelors Club (1999) as Moses Grady
 * Lockdown (2000) as Charles
 * The Job (2001–2002, TV series) as Terrence 'Pip' Phillips
 * The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not An Option (2001) as Luther
 * Spider-Man (2002) as Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson
 * People I Know (2002) as The Reverend Lyle Blunt
 * Runaway Jury (2003) as Lonnie Shaver
 * Spider-Man 2 (2004) as Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson
 * Out There[12] (2006) as Desmond
 * Idlewild (2006) as GW
 * Firehouse Dog (2007) as Joe Musto
 * Spider-Man 3 (2007) as Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson
 * Randy and the Mob (2007) as Wardlowe Gone
 * A Raisin in the Sun (2008) as Bobo
 * Little Bear and the Master (2008) as Warden
 * Fences (2009)
 * Help Me, Help You (2009) as Detective
 * Won't Back Down (2012) as Principal Holland
 * Sirens (2014-2015, TV series) as Cash (final appearance)