Reynaldo Rey

Reynaldo Rey, born Harry Reynolds on January 27, 1940, in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, was an American actor, comedian, and television personality who died on May 28, 2015, from complications following a stroke suffered a year before his death. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.

Rey's professional path began in Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent seven years as a teacher and became affiliated with the Karamu House Theatre, an institution recognized internationally for cultivating actors, directors, and producers. His time there marked the start of his comedy career, and he subsequently toured with the O'Jays before relocating to New York City. In New York, he joined the Harlem Theater Group, through which he made his first film appearance. He later performed across Europe, Asia, and Africa for two years before returning to build a career in American entertainment.

His Broadway work includes a 1980 appearance in The Roast. He also became a member of the Harlem Theater Group, which served as an early platform for his stage and screen work.

Over the course of his career, Rey accumulated credits in 52 films, among them Friday, White Men Can't Jump, House Party 3, A Rage in Harlem, and Harlem Nights, the latter of which featured co-stars including Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Della Reese, and Arsenio Hall. Foxx served as a mentor to Rey, for whom Rey frequently opened shows. His television work spanned 32 programs, including 227, in which he played Ray the Mailman, BET's Comic View as a co-host during the 1998–1999 and 2000–2001 seasons, The Tonight Show, Robert Townsend's Parents in Crime, The Parent Hood, and Noah's Arc. In 1973, Rey appeared twice as a contestant on Match Game, was brought back due to a technicality, and ultimately won three games and a total of $650.

Rey also recorded three comedy albums and three videos. He produced an independent video featuring a rap he wrote titled "I'm Scared A U," which he developed following audience response to the piece on Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam.