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Paul Mooney died on Wednesday, of a heart attack, at the age of seventy-nine.Photograph from Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
âWhiteâ is an unsensual word. Where other terms that begin with the same consonants sound whimsicalââwhiffâ or âwhiskersâ or, well, âwhimsicalâââwhiteâ coldly whistles. Even without the distinctly regional pronunciation that makes the âhâ known, the wordâs imperious breathiness is there in wait, a coiled but uncracked whip. âWhiteâ and its associated terms pepper the English lexicon with euphemism: whitewash, white elephant, white lie. And, of course, âwhite,â as in white
people, is a modifier that still sends its own referents running scared. Really, who can blame them? Unlike other, perhaps less civil, monikersââbuckra,â âofay,â âhonkeyâââwhiteâ is abrupt, without music. And yet Paul Moo
Eddie Murphy and
Chris Rock. But, similar to the late
Patrice O’Neal, Mooney’s reputation among other comedians is impeccable. Just looking at Twitter when the news broke of his passing and you’ll see your favorite comedian’s favorite comedian acknowledge Mooney’s influence on their career.
The Roast Of Richard Pryor featuring Paul Mooney, John Witherspoon and several other legends. #RIPPaulMooneypic.twitter.com/oVjxvAiF2Z Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) May 19, 2021
Born
Paul Gladney, the Louisiana native started his career as a circus ringmaster, which allowed him to cut the jokes that landed him a gig as a writer for Pryor. Mooney wrote material for several of Pryor’s now-classic routines, including his Grammy Award-winning 1982 album Live on the Sunset Strip. As a writer for The Richard Pryor Show, an NBC variety show that lasted only four episodes in 1977, Mooney helped launch the careers of some of the funniest voices in comedy including