Tommy “Tiny” Lister, ‘Friday’ And ‘The Fifth Element’ Co-Star, Has Died At 62
By Ethan Anderton/Dec. 12, 2020 10:00 am EST
On Thursday, The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sent deputies to carry out a welfare check at Lister’s apartment, and he was found dead. It is believed that Lister died of natural causes, but an autopsy will be performed in order to determine the official cause of death.
Lister found fame in wrestling early in his career when he appeared alongside Hulk Hogan in the movie No Holds Barred as a character named Zeus. He would keep that name when he faced off with Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation, making several appearances in the ring throughout 1989.
But Lister appeared in many more feature films than TV shows. Though they were often lesser seen films, he did have several significant roles in major movies over the years. Lister was a memorable presence in the Friday comedy franchise as Deebo, not to mention playing a thoughtful prisoner in the climax of The Dark Knight, and the president in The Fifth Element. Throughout his big screen career, Lister also appeared in The Meteor Man, The Players Club, Posse, Jackie Brown, Little Nicky, Austin Powers in Goldmember, and he even lent his voice to a giant in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and the character Finnick in Zootopia.
Lister’s IMDb has him listed to appear in six upcoming movies that are in post-production. He was also attached to two projects that are currently in production, an action thriller called Renegades and another movie called Last Chance to Dance. As of now, we’re not sure which of those movies he was currently shooting when he contracted COVID-19 or how the productions will deal with his passing. There were also three films that had either been announced or were in pre-production that Lister was meant to appear in.
Lister clearly loved what he was doing and showed no signs of slowing down, and it’s a shame that the coronavirus pandemic claimed him when he was still working continually. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Rest in peace.
