*A Georgia man has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd.
We previously reported… Spike Lee took to social media to announce the murder of the beloved Atlanta-based actor, who appeared in multiple films by the director.
Byrd appeared in Lee’s “Bamboozled,” “Clockers,” “Get on the Bus,” “Girl 6,” and “He Got Game.”
“I’m So Sad To Announce The Tragic Murder Of Our Beloved Brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd Last Night In Atlanta, Georgia,” Lee said in a post earlier this month.
The 70-year-old was gunned down near his home in Atlanta on Oct. 3.
READ MORE: Spike Lee Announces Murder of Actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd in Atlanta Overnight
According to reports, Byrd was found with several gunshot wounds to his back.
Numerous tips from the public lead investigators to Atlanta resident Antonio Rhynes, 30, and he has been charged with one count of felony murder.
In addition to Lee’s film, Byrd was also a successful theater actor, nominated for Broadway’s 2003 Tony Award as Best Actor for a revival of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Byrd grew up in Griffin, Georgia, according to Film Reference, and got his bachelor’s degree in education in Atlanta at the historically Black college Morris Brown College. He later got a masters degree in dance as well, at the California Institute of the Arts. He went on to an acclaimed career in theater, which ran concurrent to his career in cinema, reports PopCulture.com.
“We Shared Much Hard Work And Fun Over Our 24 Years Of Doin’ Da DAMN THANG,” Lee wrote in an Instagram tribute.
“T-Byrd Is My Guy. Many Of The Funniest, Hysterical, And Illest Lines He Skillfully Delivered He Wrote Himself Or — Even Better — Just AD LIBBED On the Spot,” he wrote.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
