Anthony Johnson

Anthony Johnson February 1 1966 September 6 2021 sometimes credited as A J Johnson was an American actor and comedian He was best known for his role as Ezal in the 1995 comedy film Friday Born in Compton California his father Eddie Smith was a stuntman and a cofounder of the Black Stuntmens Association Johnson had credited his father for helping him enter the film industry by getting him to work in film productions He had also credited the comedian Robin Harris for helping him earlier on in his career as a standup comedian and giving him another chance even when he was jeered for his bad performance Johnson began acting in his early twenties In 1990 he landed a starring role as EZE in House Party after which he started doing standup in bars in Los Angeles He later appeared in Lethal Weapon 3 as a drug dealer and in Menace II Society His biggest role was in the 1995 comedy Friday as Ezal a crackhead and thief He also appeared in Panther The Players Club BAPS I Got the HookUp Def Jams How to Be a Player and Repos and in rap videos in Dr Dres Dre Day 1992 he played SleazyE a parody of EazyE and he appeared again as SleazyE in the video for EazyEs Real Muthaphuckkin Gs 1993 this time being assaulted