Badja Djola

Badja Djola
Born
Bernard Bradley

(1948-04-09)April 9, 1948
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 8, 2005(2005-01-08) (aged 56)
OccupationActor
Years active1979–2005
Notable workMississippi Burning, Who's the Man?, Penitentiary, A Rage in Harlem

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.[1][2] He is best known for Mississippi Burning,[1] Penitentiary,[3] A Rage in Harlem,[1] and Who's the Man?.[4] 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.[3][1] He starred alongside Danny Glover in the 1991 film A Rage in Harlem and Doctor Dré in Who's the Man? (1993).[1][4] In addition to movies, Djola appeared in several television shows, including The X-Files, Nash Bridges, and NYPD Blue.[5][6][7] He also starred in theatre performances, with shows including Once in a Wife Time (1981),"[8] Edmond (1984),[9] 227,[10] Southern Rapture (1993),[11] and Dancing on Moonlight (1995),[12]

Personal life

Djola died of a heart attack on January 8, 2005, in Los Angeles, California.[2]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleRef
1979The Main EventHeavyweight in Gym[13]
Penitentiary"Half Dead" Johnson[14]
1982Night ShiftCleon[15]
1984The Lonely GuyNative[16]
1985The LightshipNate[17]
1988The Serpent and the RainbowLieutenant Gaston[18]
Mississippi BurningFBI Agent Monk[19]
1989An Innocent ManIA Detective John Fitzgerald[20]
1991A Rage in HarlemSlim[21]
The Last Boy ScoutAlley Thug[22]
Christmas on Division StreetScorpio[23]
1992The WaterdanceDecton[24]
Eddie PresleyThe Drycleaner (uncredited)
1993Who's the Man?Lionel Douglas[4]
Marked for Murder[25]
1994Knight Rider 2010Zeke[25]
1996Heaven's PrisonersBatist[26]
1997RosewoodJohn Bradley[27]
The BraveRider
First Time FelonDisciple Leader[28]
1998GunshyAbel[29]
The Players ClubThe Doctor[30]
ButterRoscoe[25]
1999DeterrenceHarvey[31]
The HurricaneMobutu[32]
2000Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel"Fast Eddie"
The Price of AirSugar[33]
2001Night at the Golden EagleGabriel[34]
2005Back in the DayGrant Brown
SlipdreamSahdu

Television

YearTitleRoleEpisode/sRef
1981Palmerstown, U.S.A."The Threat"[35]
1982Tales of the Gold MonkeyOomupwah"Legends Are Forever"[36]
1984Maximum SecurityPrisoner Preacher"Pilot"
1987Spenser: For HireTyrone Blackwell"Among Friends"
1990B.L. Stryker"Grand Theft Hotel"[25]
WiseguyEtoile de Joie"Black Gold"[37]
1991The 100 Lives of Black Jack SavageFrancoise Benoir"The Not-So-Great Dictator"[38]
1993—1994RocWilliam Lawn"Final Analysis" and "Citizen Roc: Part 2"
1995The X-FilesNapoleon "Neech" Manley"The List"[5]
1997Nash BridgesJack Archer"Inside Out"[7]
NYPD BlueClyde Bell"Bad Rap"[6]
The Last DonPhil Sharkey"Part III"[25]
MillenniumLacuna"Sense and Antisense"[39]
1998Brooklyn SouthClude Miller"Skel in a Cell"
ERMike Lembreaux"Shades of Gray"[40]
Chicago HopeJean Baptiste Marche"Austin, We Have a Problem"
Born FreeMotumbo"Celebration of Life"
2001The FugitiveDominick"Lagniappe"
The Lone GunmenSpike"Maximum Byers"[41]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Russell, Candice (1989-02-16). "Oscar Bound?". Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, FL. ProQuest 389336554. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  2. 1 2 "Badja Djola". U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. n.d. Retrieved 2021-12-26 – via ancestry.com.
  3. 1 2 Berry, S. Torriano; Berry, Venise T. (2007). Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema. Vol. 12. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810855458. ProQuest 2132055196.
  4. 1 2 3 Barone, Matt; Zirm, Jordan (2018-02-22). "The Best Bad Movies Of All Time". Complex. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  5. 1 2 "THE WEEK". Entertainment Weekly. 1995-10-20. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  6. 1 2 Vest, Jason P. The Wire, Deadwood, Homicide, and NYPD Blue: Violence is Power. p. 68.
  7. 1 2 "Inside Out: Nash Bridges Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. n.d. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  8. ↑ Chamberlain, Carl (1981-02-19). "'Once in A Wife Time' Instant Hit". Los Angeles Sentinel. Los Angeles, CA. p. A8. ProQuest 565403320. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  9. ↑ "Article 6 – No Title: Incomplete Source". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. 1984-06-25. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  10. ↑ "Gertrude Gipson's Candid Comments: Stephanie Stars In "The Wiz"". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. 1984-01-05. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  11. ↑ "Southern Rapture". Variety. 1993-04-05. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  12. ↑ "Theater review: 'Moonlight' eclipsed by visuals". Daily News. New York, NY. 1995-04-24. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Film review: The Main Event". Variety. Vol. 295, no. 7. Los Angeles. 1979. p. 19. ProQuest 1401355720. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  14. ↑ Harris, Will (2012-06-13). "Ernie Hudson talks Oz and losing out on the Ghostbusters cartoon". AV Club. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  15. ↑ Thomas, Don (1995-04-27). "Horsford and De Shields: 'Giving You Heavy Drama!, Hooray!'". New York Beacon. New York City, NY. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  16. ↑ Hiller, Arthur (1984). "The Lonely Guy". Aspen Film Society. ProQuest 1746393277. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  17. ↑ Kehr, Dave (1987-06-12). "Jerzy Skolimowski meshes details with emotions in 'The Lightship'". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Campos, Leonardo (2019-08-31). "CRÍTICA – A MALDIÇÃO DOS MORTOS-VIVOS" (in Portuguese). Plano Critico. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  19. ↑ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1988-12-15). "A Perversion of the Past". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  20. ↑ "Cast of 'An Innocent Man'". The York Dispatch. York, PA. 1989-10-05. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Rice, Briana (2020-03-26). "20 best-ranked movies ever filmed in Greater Cincinnati". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  22. ↑ ANDRÁS, HUSZÁR (2016-03-07). "Hollywood megalázta, bosszúból megcsinálta a legjobb filmjét" (in Hungarian). Origo. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  23. ↑ "Sunday Prime Time". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. 1995-12-24. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Douglas, John (1992-07-11). "Film is entertaining despite story line". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, MI. p. A7. ProQuest 284439514. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 "Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. n.d. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  26. ↑ Johnson, Malcolm (1996-05-17). "'Prisoners' a captivating film noir'". Hartford Courant. Hartford, CT. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Rosewood". Variety. 1997-02-08. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  28. ↑ "First-Time Felon". Variety. 1997-09-05. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  29. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (1998). "Gunshy". Variety. Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  30. ↑ Bunke, Joan (1998-05-14). "Clubbed into submission". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, IA. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Deterrence". Variety. 1999-05-24. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  32. ↑ Leo, Carmelo (2019-08-24). "Hurricane – Il grido dell'innocenza: trama, cast e streaming del film di stasera su Rai 3" (in Italian). The Post Internazionale. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  33. ↑ Foundas, Scott (2000). "Film Reviews: The Price of Air". Variety. Los Angeles. ProQuest 1438533231. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  34. ↑ "Night at the Golden Eagle". Variety. 2002-04-25. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  35. ↑ "Tuesday on Radio". The Minneapolis Tribune. Minneapolis, MN. 1981-04-19. ProQuest 1879376891. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  36. ↑ "The series". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, MO. 1982-10-20. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  37. ↑ "Could Wiseguy's language get any more stupid and boorish?". The Miami Herald. Miami, FL. 1990-11-24. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ "Sunday highlights". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, OH. 1991-05-19. Retrieved 2012-12-26 – via newspapers.com.
  39. ↑ Bertola, Renata; Turdo, Giuseppe. Le Oscure Visioni di Frank Black – Guida non ufficiale alla serie televisiva Millennium. p. 100.
  40. ↑ "Shades of Gray: ER Season 4". Rotten Tomatoes. n.d. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  41. ↑ "Lone Gunmen Review – "Maximum Byers"". Bureau 42. 2001-04-14. Retrieved 2021-12-26.