Reggie McFadden, the Brooklyn-born comedian who joined the cast of In Living Color for its final season, has died in Tanzania at 57.
His sister, the novelist Bernice McFadden, confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter. She said the U.S. State Department notified the family. The cause is unknown, and reports I found do not say when he died or under what circumstances.
McFadden lived in Tanzania for roughly 18 years. His Facebook page described him as the owner of a gold mining company and an entertainment production company there.
He built his name in stand-up before television took notice. HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, the showcase that launched a generation of Black comedians in the early 1990s, gave him a breakout platform. Fox then cast him in In Living Color, the Keenen Ivory Wayans sketch series. He played various characters across the show’s 1993-94 season, its fifth.
That same year, he took guest parts on Martin, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper and Coach. Later appearances included Moesha, Getting Personal and Curb Your Enthusiasm. His film work included Jacob’s Ladder and Little Nicky. He recorded a Comedy Central special and worked regularly in Las Vegas.
McFadden never chased the spotlight as hard as some of his castmates, one account noted. He kept performing and mentoring younger comics long after the show ended.
Colleagues began posting tributes as news spread. Comedian Tony Luewellyn called him “another fallen veteran comedy brother” on Facebook. Guy Torry, who came up beside McFadden in the 1990s comedy circuit, was among the first to share the news publicly. He remembered his friend as a gifted writer, comedian, actor, father and friend, and posted a photo from a 1999 party at The Comedy Store. Fans also wrote about McFadden’s In Living Color and Def Comedy Jam appearances.
McFadden was born in November 1968 and grew up in Brooklyn. He belonged to a group of comics who moved Black stand-up from club stages into the center of network television, a shift that In Living Color and Def Comedy Jam helped drive.
The family has not announced funeral arrangements.
