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Actor

1948-04-09 · Brooklyn, New York, USA

9 series in the catalog

Badja Medu Djola (born Bernard Bradley; April 9, 1948 – January 8, 2005) was an American actor from Brooklyn, New York who worked primarily within black film. He is best known for Mississippi Burning, Penitentiary, A Rage in Harlem, and Who's the Man?. He was often seen in tough or villainous roles.

Career

Djola's breakout role was as Leon Isaac Kennedy's cellmate, the villainous "Half Dead" Johnson, in the 1979 movie Penitentiary, which led to many more feature films, including a supporting role in Wes Craven's 1988 movie The Serpent and the Rainbow. He starred alongside Danny Glover in the 1991 film A Rage in Harlem and Doctor Dré in Who's the Man? (1993). In addition to movies, Djola appeared in several television shows, including The X-Files, Nash Bridges, and NYPD Blue. He also starred in theatre performances, with shows including Once in a Wife Time (1981)," Edmond (1984), 227, Southern Rapture (1993), and Dancing on Moonlight (1995),

Personal life

Djola died of a heart attack on January 8, 2005, in Los Angeles, California.