Reggie McFadden, the actor and stand-up comic who got his big break on Def Comedy Jam and worked for a season on the 1990s Fox sketch series In Living Color, has died. He was 57.
His sister, best-selling author Bernice McFadden, told The Hollywood Reporter that the U.S. State Department notified the family that he died in Tanzania, where he had been living for the past 18 years or so. The family does not yet know when he died or what was the cause of death, she added.
Born on Nov. 30, 1968, McFadden grew up in Brooklyn and decided to pursue comedy as a way to escape living in the projects, according to a bio posted online.
In 1991, he made it on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, and after moving to Los Angeles, he landed small roles on Martin, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, Moesha and Coach, among other TV shows.
However, McFadden is perhaps best remembered for In Living Color. He was on the late-night show in 1993-94, appearing on 23 episodes of the fifth and final season in such sketches as “Wheel of Dozens,” “All Up in the Family” and the “Dirty Dozens Tournament of Champions.”
He went on to star on Fox’s short-lived 1998 comedy Getting Personal and appear in films including Jacob’s Ladder (1990), Minor Adjustments (1995) and Little Nicky (2000).
He’s also remembered for his role as Officer Burt, Larry David’s neighbor, on a 2001 episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
McFadden had his own comedy special on Comedy Central and performed regularly at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
According to his Facebook page, he was the owner of Olduvai Records, a gold-mining and entertainment production company in Tanzania. Its website states that Olduvai is signed with Sony Music’s The Orchard in New York for the global distribution of its music and audio visual productions. McFadden released an album, ENJOY, Vol. 1, on the label in May 2025.
“Reggie McFadden was a very talented, veteran comedian and actor whose diverse choices and dedication to his profession were highly evident,” Prof. Rel Dowdell, director of film studies at Hampton University, said in a statement.
In addition to Bernice, survivors include another sister, Misty; his sons, Jaron and Myles; his mother, Vivian; and his brother, Kris.
