Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister Dead: ‘Friday’ Fans Mourn Deebo Actor’s Passing

Tommy “Tiny” Lister, the actor best known for playing Deebo in the 1995 comedy Friday, died on Thursday. He was 62. Fans of the actor’s work took to Twitter to share their sadness after the news broke. Lister had more than 200 credits to his name and was also a former professional wrestler.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ they were called to Lister’s Marina Del Rey, California apartment Thursday afternoon at around 3 p.m. for an unconscious male. Lister was not taken to the hospital but pronounced dead at the scene. A coroner was at the scene and his cause of death was not immediately available.

Lister, who stood 6’5″, began acting in 1985. He can be seen in The Dark Knight, The Fifth Element, Jackie Brown, and Austin Powers in Goldmember. He also starred in the Friday sequel Next Friday but did not appear in Friday After Next. He reunited with Ice Cube for The Players Club. Lister also had a key role in the pilot episode for Star Trek: Enterprise, appearing as the first Klingon to meet humans. In 2016, he voiced the fox Finnick in Disney’s Zootopia.

“RIP Tiny ‘Deebo’ Lister,” Ice Cube wrote on Twitter. “America’s favorite bully was a born entertainer who would pop into character at the drop of a hat terrifying people on and off-camera. Followed by a big smile and laugh. Thank you for being a good dude at heart. I miss you already.”

​

Lister’s death came just three days after his most recent Instagram post, in which he talked about San Francisco 49ers player Deebo Samuel, whose father nicknamed him after Lister’s character. The post has already become a venue for fans to share their condolences. “Rest In Paradise king,” one fan wrote.

​

​

​

​

​