Entertainment
Oz star and poet Craig ‘muMs’ Grant dies aged 52
Actor and poet Craig ‘muMs’ Grant has died aged 52.
The Oz star’s death was confirmed on Thursday by the LAByrinth Theatre company, of which Grant was a member.
A social media post read: ‘The LAByrinth Theater family is deeply saddened to share the news of the unexpected loss of Craig ‘muMs’ Grant.
‘We’ll forever miss our friend, brother, LAB member, Emcee, mentor, poet, actor, spoken-word giant, and fire-breathing teddy bear. muMs’ presence, performances, and words inspired a generation.
‘His legacy will live on, from the Bronx and into the beyond. Keep rocking the mic, Schemer!’
Grant’s rep confirmed that the actor died on Wednesday March 24, saying: ‘We are heartbroken over the loss of one of the most genuine, caring, loving souls we have ever had the pleasure of representing.
‘Craig was more than our client, he was our dear friend. We all just lost a phenomenal man.’
No cause of death has been determined.
Grant was best known for playing Arnold ‘Poet’ Jackson on the hit HBO drama Oz between 1997 and 2003.
He played the heroin addict imprisoned for attempted murder and armed robbery in 49 episodes across all six seasons of the show, with his role being bumped up to recurring in season three.
Grant – also known as muMs da Schemer – was a regular collaborator of Spike Lee, and starred as Cash Jackson in the Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It.
He also had an uncredited role in Lee’s 2018 film BlacKkKlansmen, and appeared in the 2000 film Bamboozled.
Grant also worked a number of times with Steven Soderbergh, having appeared in the 2013 film Side Effects, and had recently wrapped a role in No Sudden Move opposite Jon Hamm, Benicio del Toro and Don Cheadle.
His credits also include Birdman and Good Time, and at the time of his death, Grant was shooting the recurring role of Wayne on the Starz series Hightown in North Carolina, and was set to travel to Atlanta on Monday to wrap a recurring arc on the BET series All the Queen’s Men.
Other TV roles included Reggie in the Marvel series Luke Cage.
Grant joined the LAByrinth Theatre company with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who once referred to Craig’s writing as ‘Shakespearean’ in its complexity and richness.
The company staged Grant’s autobiographical one-man show A Sucker Emcee, which detailed his coming of age in the Bronx, and according to his agency, the prolific poet was in talks with the National Black Theatre and The Public to stage the show in open-air venues this summer.
Kirk Acevedo, who played Miguel on Oz, led the tributes on social media, tweeting: ‘Craig “muMs da Schemer” Grant has passed away.
‘My brother from OZ, I spent too much time with this man onset. Too many amazing stories.
‘An incredible poet. This is heartbreaking. God Bless U my brotha. U will be missed.’
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