Quick Facts About Paul Mooney

Paul Gladney, popularly known as Paul Mooney was an American comedian, writer, social critic, and actor. Mooney was best known for writing for comedian Richard Pryor. He was also known for playing singer Sam Cooke in the 1978 film, The Buddy Holly Story and Junebug in the 2000 film, Bamboozled. He is also known for appearing on Chappelle’s Show. 

Mooney died at the age of 79 on 19 May 2021. 

What is Paul Mooney Famous For?

• Writer for comedian Richard Pryor.

Where is Paul Mooney From?

Paul Mooney was born on 4 August 1941. His birth name is Paul Gladney. His birth place is in Shreveport, Louisiana in the United States. He held American nationality. He was born to father George Gladney and mother LaVoya Ealy. The family moved to Oakland, California in 1948. He has a brother named Rudy Mooney. He belonged to African-American ethnicity and his religion was Christianity. His zodiac sign was Leo. 

Paul Mooney Career

• Paul Mooney became a ringmaster with the Gatti-Charles Circus. 
• He used to write comedy and tell jokes. Most of his materials were based on the subject of racism in the United States. 
• He eventually became a writer for Richard Pryor. 
• He was the head writer for The Richard Pryor Show. 
• He wrote several of Pryor’s routines for his appearance on SNL. 
• He also wrote for Pryor’s performance on Live on the Sunset Strip, Bicentennial Nigger, Is It Something I Said, and film Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling.
• He wrote for Redd Foxx’s Sanford and Son and Good Times. 
• He was the head writer for the first year of Fox’s In Living Color. 
• Besides writing, he acted in several movies and tv shows. 
• He played singer/songwriter Sam Cooke in The Buddy Holly Story. 
• He played comedian Junebug in Bamboozled. 
• He is also known for appearing in the sketches on Comedy Central’s Chappelle’s Show. 
• He hosted the BET tribute to Black History Month titled 25 Most @#%! Moments in Black History in 2006. 
• He released his first book, Black Is the New White in 2007. He talks about his partnership with Richard Pryor, from their first meeting to Pryor’s death in 2005. 

Paul Mooney Wife

Paul Mooney was previously married to Yvonne Mooney. Yvonne is an actress known for her role in the 1977 film, Which Way Is Up?. They got married in 1973. They divorced later. The couple shared 5 children together. They are Dwayne, Symeon, Daryl, and Shane. 

Mooney later married Shelley. There are not many details about his later personal life at present. 

Paul Mooney Death

Paul Mooney’s brother announced in November 2014 that Mooney had prostate cancer. However, he continued to perform at the time. Mooney died on 19 May 2021. His cause of death is reported as a heart attack. He died at the age of 79 at his home in Oakland, California. 

Paul Mooney Height

Comedian and writer Paul Mooney stood at a height of 1.84 m i.e. 6 feet tall. He had a body weight of around 165 lbs i.e. 75 kg. His sexual orientation was straight. His eye color was brown and his hair color was black. 

 Paul Mooney Net Worth

Paul Mooney was one of the familiar names in the comedy industry. He was best known as the writer for Richard Pryor. He wrote for several sketches and shows in his career. Besides writing, he also starred in several movies and television series. He made his fortune out of his career in the entertainment industry. His net worth is estimated at around $500k. 

Did You Know?

• His grandmother Aimay Ealy raised Mooney.
• He took the nickname “Mooney” after the original Scarface actor Paul Muni. – On November 26, 2006, Mooney appeared on CNN and talked about how he would stop using the word “nigga” due to Michael Richards’s outbursts on stage at the Laugh Factory.
• The majority of Mooney’s performance at the 2005 BET Comedy Awards was edited out of the televised broadcast and not aired.
• At a performance at Levity Live in West Nyack, New York in April 2013, five days after the Boston Marathon bombing, Mooney allegedly joked “White people in Boston deserved what they got and (it was) OK to lose a few limbs…as long as no black got hurt it was OK”. He received backslash and the remaining shows were cancelled.
• Richard Pryor’s ex-bodyguard Rashon Khan alleged that Mooney molested Pryor’s son when Pryor Jr. was a child.
• Pryor allegedly put a million hit on Mooney for molesting Pryor’s son.