Veteran Actor Lee Weaver Passes Away at 95 in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA – Lee Weaver, a beloved character actor known for his roles in classic television and film, has died at the age of 95. Weaver’s family announced he passed away on September 22 at his home in Los Angeles.

Weaver was praised for his ability to “wove joy, depth and representation into every role he played and everything he did,” according to a family statement. He gained recognition for his role as Brian Kincaid on the 1969-71 sitcom The Bill Cosby Show. Weaver also left a lasting impression as Buck Naked, an exhibitionist character on the acclaimed series Hill Street Blues (1982-84) and NYPD Blue (1994).

In the 1986-87 NBC comedy Easy Street, Weaver portrayed one of two down-on-their-luck roommates alongside Jack Elam. The show followed their misadventures after inheriting a mansion from a former Las Vegas showgirl played by Loni Anderson. Easy Street was short-lived, canceled after just one season.

Weaver’s film career included a standout performance in the Coen brothers‘ O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) as a blind man offering wisdom to three escaped convicts. His impressive résumé also consists of roles in Vanishing Point (1971), Heaven Can Wait (1978), and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005).

Born on April 10, 1930, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Weaver was raised by his relatives until he left home to attend high school in Tallahassee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 22 and served for four years before moving to New York City.

In New York, Weaver worked as a linotype engineer for The New York Times and promoted jazz acts at Birdland, where he helped book notable musicians including Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.

Weaver’s acting career began in the mid-1950s with roles in shows like Sheena: Queen of the Jungle and I Spy. He later made appearances on numerous series throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including Kojak, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.

His final television appearances were in two episodes of Grace and Frankie (2017, 2020). Weaver is survived by his wife, actress Ta-Tanisha, and their daughter, Leis La-Te.