St. Louis-born comedian Rodney Winfield, whose name was often mentioned in the company of legends like Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, died Monday, reportedly due to kidney failure.
He was 76.
“I told him that I patterned myself after him since he was so real and said whatever he wanted to say,” local comic Jessie Taylor said.
“And he told me, ‘Don’t do what I did – drinking and stuff – it will mess you up and mess up your career,’” a devastated Taylor said.
Taylor, who hosts a weekly comedy show on Sundays at Lights on Broadway, likened Winfield to Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. He praised his elder for continuing to work and love comedy into his 70s.
“He was a pioneer and he was still performing,” said Taylor, who is dedicating his show this Sunday to the late comedian.
“He didn’t do it for the money – he really loved comedy,” Taylor said.
“Some nights around town he only got paid $50, but he still performed for an hour.”
Winfield started doing professional comedy in the 1970s, opening for the legendary Pryor, The Temptations and the O’Jays.
He landed a movie role in the 1991 indie film Talkin’ Dirty After Dark. He pretty much played himself – a frank, fun-loving, sharp-tongued standup comic, alongside Martin Lawrence and John Witherspoon.
In the film, Winfield made his already popular joke about an “ugly person” even more widely known: “If you follow an ugly person home, an ugly person is going to open the door,” he joked in a kitchen scene.
Winfield thus insured his legacy will live on in one of the most recycled jokes in comedy.
Winfield also landed a role alongside Chris Tucker and Lorenz Tate in the 1995 cult classic Dead Presidents, and he voiced Card Player #3 in late comedian-actor Robin Harris’ hit cartoon film Bebe’s Kids in 1992.
“Rodney lived his life to the fullest,” said photographer Maurice Meredith, a close friend to Winfield over the years. “He enjoyed his life – whatever problems he had, he always had a good time.”
Meredith said that while Winfield made the most of his career, he always hoped for more recognition.
“He was just really hurt that he couldn’t make it bigger,” Meredith said. “When he made Talkin’ Dirty After Dark, he thought he was really going to start rolling into things.”
Still, he blazed trails for the St. Louis comedy scene. Even though he didn’t reach the level of popularity achieved by Foxx and Pryor, the show went on for Winfield until the end.
