As Radio Raheem, the neighbourhood philosopher in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Bill Nunn cut a formidable figure. Towering at more than 6ft 3in and hauling a boom box the size of a small sofa, Radio paced the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to a soundtrack of Public Enemy’s Fight the Power. It was the character’s death at the hands of police officers responding to unrest on the streets one hot summer night that triggered the explosion of violence that is the film’s climax.
Nunn’s fearsome presence as an actor made even the purchase of new batteries for his stereo a scene of scalding intensity. In real life, though, Nunn was a gentle, humble man who considered each job an opportunity to learn from watching other actors. “My career,” he once said, “is always going to be an ongoing study.”
It’s a career that Nunn stumbled into more by chance than by design. A student at Morehouse College in Atlanta in the early Seventies (an alma mater that he shared with Lee, a regular collaborator and friend), Nunn was invited to an audition as moral support for a friend. The production needed extra cast members and Nunn was coaxed into joining the play. He agreed, and discovered his vocation as a result.
In addition to Do the Right Thing (1989), Nunn appeared in three other Spike Lee films. School Daze (1988) was his first credited feature film role; he had a supporting role as a musician in Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and he also appeared in He Got Game (1998). Lee paid tribute to Nunn, calling him a dear friend and a great actor.
Nunn was born William Goldwyn Nunn III, to Bill and Frances Nunn, on October 20, 1952, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His was a prominent family. His father, Bill Nunn Sr, was a sports writer, a newspaper editor and an American football scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His paternal grandfather, William G Nunn Sr, was the managing editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, at the time one of the most important African-American publications in the US. Through his family connections, Nunn worked as a ball boy for the Steelers. The job offered him the opportunity for a spot of adolescent misbehaviour: he took the car of the star player, “Mean” Joe Greene, for an illicit joy ride.
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After studying English at Morehouse, Nunn decided to focus on acting, and was able to work in his chosen field, albeit as a teacher, from the moment he left college. However, although he was active in theatre it took a while for his film career to ignite: Nunn graduated in 1976, his first film credit, School Daze, was 12 years later. He said of the role: “School Daze was one of the highlights of my life because it was the first chance I had to act on screen. I would have been happy if that had been it, because I proved that I could do it.”
Although he was best known for his work with Spike Lee, Nunn also appeared in Sam Raimi’s trilogy of Spider-Man films, playing Robbie Robertson, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. Other high-profile roles included Harrison Ford’s tirelessly upbeat physical therapist in Regarding Henry (1991) and Whoopi Goldberg’s amiable protector in Sister Act (1992).
“My career is always going to be an ongoing study
He worked twice each with the directors Bill Condon, on White Lie (1991) and Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995); Michael Apted, on Extreme Measures (1996) and Always Outnumbered (1998); and Gary Fleder, on Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995) and Kiss the Girls (1997), opposite Morgan Freeman. He also appeared in several television series, including The Job, opposite Denis Leary, and Traps, co-starring with George C Scott.
In addition to his film and television work, Nunn had an extensive career in theatre. Towards the end of his life he began to concentrate on mentoring young students from underprivileged backgrounds and giving them the opportunity to benefit from his experience. In 2008 he founded the Bill Nunn Theatre Outreach Project, which helped public school students in the Pittsburgh region to learn about theatre from professionals.
A colleague, the Point Park University professor John Amplas, said: “It was his mission to be of service to others. I think the most important thing about Bill is he cared for others and in a way that helped change their lives, helped to make lives better.”
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Nunn is survived by his wife, Donna, and his two daughters, Jessica and Cydney, who is a television producer.
Bill Nunn, actor, was born on October 20, 1952. He died of leukaemia on September 24, 2016, aged 63