Rudy Ray Moore, a raunchy 1970s comedian who played the title role of a fast-talking flashy pimp in the 1975 movie Dolemite (and its 1976 sequel, The Human Tornado) and influenced a generation of rappers, died Sunday evening, October 19, at the age of 81 at an Akron nursing home from complications of diabetes, said his brother, Gerald Moore.

Unlike similar comedians like Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, he never achieved that mainstream status. Instead, he grew a large cult fanbase, especially amongst fans of rap music, because particular style of speaking was the forbearer to rap.

In later years, Moore collaborated with 2 Live Crew, Big Daddy Kane, and Snoop Dogg. In 2000, Moore starred in Big Money Hustlas, a movie created by and starring the Insane Clown Posse, in which he played Dolemite for the first time in over 20 years. In 2008, Moore reprised the character Petey Wheatstraw for the song “I Live for the Funk” featuring Blowfly and Daniel Jordan. This marked the first time Blowfly and Rudy had collaborated on the same recording together, and the 30-year anniversary of the 1978 movie Petey Wheatstraw. It’s also the final recording Rudy made before his death.

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