Heavy D, Dead At 44: A Big Screen Tribute

[NelsonG]

[img]http://moviesblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/heavy_d.jpg[/img]

Hip hop artist [url="http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674003/heavy-d-dead.jhtml"]Heavy D died[/url] today (November 8th) at the far too young age of 44. The "Now That We Found Love" singer was best known for his work in the R&B scene, but the Jamaican-born [url="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/heavy_d/artist.jhtml"]Heavy D[/url] was a known quantity on the screen as well. Indeed, his work as an actor can be seen as recently as "Tower Heist," the Brett Ratner-directed and Eddie Murphy-starring comedy currently playing in theaters.

In honor of Heavy D, take a look back at some of the artist's most memorable turns on the big screen.

[b]"Life"[/b]
It's only fitting that one of Heavy D's earliest screen appearances has a strong link to his final bow: he starred in the 1999 comedy "Life" opposite future "Tower Heist" co-star Eddie Murphy. The movie was also produced by "Heist" producer Brian Grazer. D starred in "Life" alongside a who's who of comedians, including Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Anthony Anderson and Bernie Mac.

[b]"The Cider House Rules"[/b]
Heavy's personality and presence lent itself easily to comedy, but he was no stranger to award-winning fare either: he played Peaches in "The Cider House Rules," the 1999 Oscar contender about a young man's connection to an orphanage during World War II.

[b]"Boston Public"[/b]
Heavy D had an acting presence on the small screen as well as the big one. He had a recurring role on Fox's high school drama "Boston Public" as Bob "Big Boy" Lick, the school's compassionate guidance counselor. D appeared in 13 episodes of the TV series from 2000 through 2003.

[b]"Hitch"[/b]
OK, OK, so Mr. D wasn't actually [i]in [/i]this comedy, but "Now That We Found Love," provided the musical tapestry upon which Will Smith and Kevin James boogied in the final wedding scene. Try as we might, we can't hate "Hitch." And we will [i]always [/i] dig early '90s rap.

[b]"Tower Heist"[/b]
His final appearance was brief, but memorable: Heavy D had a cameo appearance in this past weekend's "Tower Heist" as a courthouse guard. Nothing too fancy, but he was surrounded by fantastic actors and previous collaborators in his final cinematic effort.

[i]Leave your thoughts for Heavy D in the comments section and on [url="http://twitter.com/mtvmoviesblog/"]Twitter[/url]![/i]



[url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/08/heavy-d-dead-movies/]View the full article[/url]