You may not remember the name, but you definitely remember the laugh of Anthony “AJ” Johnson. He’s the actor and comedian best known for his performance as Ezal in “Friday” with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. His short stature but quit-witted jokes had people laughing all over the place. So the comedy world was mourning when they found out Johnson has died in 2021. He was only 55 years old.
“The world of comedy has truly been shaken, again. Our BH Talent family is heartbroken about the loss of the iconic legend of stage and screen Mr. Anthony ‘A.J.’ Johnson,” his rep LyNea Bell, owner and president of BH Talent, said in a statement. “He has left with us amazing memories of his laughter, dynamic acting skills, but most of all his enormous personality and heart of gold. We will be in constant prayer for his entire family including his wife Lexis, three children, brother Edward ‘Peanut’ Smith, sister Sheila, and lifetime manager and friend Mike D. Please give them the time they need to process and grieve such a huge loss.”
Per TMZ, Johnson’s nephew revealed the actor “was found lifeless in a store earlier this month in Los Angeles and rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”
While there were many speculations about his cause of death: from COVID rumors, to some say he died of diabetes complications, Johnson’s cause of death was ultimately ruled as multi-system organ failure.
Symptoms vary depending on which organs are affected but can include:
This is the primary step and may involve antibiotics for infections, surgery for injuries, or fluids and medications to improve blood pressure in shock-related cases.
Providing assistance to failing organs is crucial. This can include mechanical ventilation for lung failure or dialysis for kidney failure.
Johnson, who was born in Compton, Calif., began his career performing stand-up comedy in the ’90s. He continued to practice stand-up even as his acting credits became more prominent. Sometimes credited as “A.J. Johnson,” his breakthrough role came in the form of the character E.Z.E. in the 1990 Kid n’ Play comedy House Party, and he went on to appear on several other ’90s television shows including The Parent ‘Hood, Malcolm & Eddie, Martin, and The Jamie Foxx Show.
On the big screen, Johnson’s credits included ’90s films like Menace II Society, Lethal Weapon 3, and I Got the Hook-Up.
“Friday” co-star Ice Cube took to Twitter to pay tribute, writing, “Sad to wake up to the news about AJ Johnson passing away. Naturally funny dude who was straight outta Compton at the same time. Sorry I couldn’t bring your character Ezal back to the big screen in Last Friday…”
Sad to wake up to the news about AJ Johnson passing away. Naturally funny dude who was straight outta Compton at the same time. Sorry I couldn’t bring your character Ezal back to the big screen in Last Friday… https://t.co/gKbYZDZ4Br
— Ice Cube (@icecube) September 20, 2021
AJ was great at delivering a great stand up routine as evidenced in this Def Comedy Jam clip below.
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“RIP Anthony Johnson….some of the most quotable lines in the original Friday were his,” wrote the popular Twitter account Wu-Tang Is For The Children, fetching nearly 2,000 likes so far for sharing an iconic clip from “Friday” which shows the character Ezal demonstrating his convenience store slip scam.
Fans continued to point out Johnson’s quotability. One fan even went on to say “more in one movie than a lot of people’s careers.”
Rest In Peace AJ.
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