'A Different World' Actor Lou Myers Dies at 77
Lou Myers (TMZ)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Actor Lou Myers , best known for his role as ornery restaurant owner Mr. Gaines on the television series " A Different World ," has died.
Tonia McDonald of Myers' nonprofit, Global Business Incubation Inc., said Myers died Tuesday night at Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia. She said he was 76. McDonald said Wednesday that Myers had been in and out of the hospital since before Christmas and collapsed recently. An autopsy was planned.
A native of Chesapeake, W.Va., Myers had returned to the state and lived in the Charleston area.
His TV credits included "NYPD Blue," "E.R.," "The Cosby Show," "Touched by an Angel," and more. He also appeared in a number of films, including "Tin Cup," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Wedding Planner" and more.
"A Different World" ran from 1987-93 and originally starred Lisa Bonet from "Cosby" fame. Myers said he owed his introduction to Hollywood to Bill Cosby .
Myers also appeared on Broadway including "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" African American Style and "Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple."
In 2005, the Appalachian Education Initiative listed Myers as one of 50 "Outstanding Creative Artists" from the state of West Virginia and featured him in their coffee table book Art & Soul.
He began singing jazz and blues with the touring company of "Negro Music in Vogue," according to a biography provided by McDonald.
His Cabaret show has been acclaimed in Berlin, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and New York, as well as Los Angeles at the Roosevelt Hotel.
Myers was chairman of Global Business Incubation that helps urban small businesses and chairman of the Lou Myers Scenario Motion Picture Institute/Theatre.
He won a NAACP "Best Actor" award for playing the Stool Pigeon in "King Hedley II," a play by August Wilson.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
FEBRUARY: This name is derived from Februa, a Roman festival of purification. It was originally the month of expiation.
Love, Jodi
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Remember to visit the Dead Celebrity Alert
Blog, a searchable database of obituaries
back to 2001:
http://DeadCelebrityAlert.com - - -
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section
107, any copyrighted work in this message is
distributed under fair use without profit or
payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included
information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml