American Actor, Roger E. Mosley died at the age of 83 after sustaining injuries from a car accident. He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on August 7. The actor was in a car accident three days earlier near Lynwood as informed by his daughter Ch-a to The Hollywood Reporter. She was also the one to inform his followers about the accident.
Last week, the actor got into an accident that paralyzed his shoulders, and was in critical condition. Nothing else about the accident has been shared.
About Roger E. Mosley
Roger E. Mosley was born on December 18, 1938, and was raised by his mother. Before becoming an actor, Mosley was a wrestler in high school and a swimming coach in his neighborhood. He wanted to pursue acting and was thus studying acting at Mafundi Institute, a community school in Watts.
During a lecture by a director by Universal, Mosley stood up to shout at the director who previously was telling about how some actors had to eat ketchup sandwiches. He shouted at the director that they needed someone to give them a break. The very director invited him to visit the studio the following week.
He first appeared on an episode of Cannon in 1971, followed by some small roles in Hickey & Boggs (1972), and The New Centurions (1972).
Mosley contributed a lot to the film and TV industry with his work in Magnum P.I., Leadbelly, and many more. He received recognition on the big screen in the period piece, Leadbelly where he played the role of Huddie Ledbetter, which Gordon Parks directed.
He was also known for his performance in the blaxploitation films like The Mack (1973), Hit Man (1972), Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973), and Darktown Strutters (1975).
Roger’s Role In Magnum P.I.
He was well loved for his performance as T.C. in 158 of the 162 episodes of Donald Bellisario and Glen A. Larson’s Magnum P.I. The series aired from December 1980 to May 1988. According to the actor, the role was first offered to Gerald McRaney. However, the producers of the show wanted to have a person of color in the main cast, and therefore, Mosley ended with the role. Tom Selleck suggested Mosley for the role as the two worked in the prison film, Terminal Island (1973).
But Mosley was already busy with a lot of film projects and did not want to take up a television job. His manager talked him into the role by asking him to act in the pilot episode of Magnum P.I.
Sources: Economictimes.indiatimes.com, Bbc.com, and Hollywoodreporter.com
