Granville Adams, who portrayed Zahir Arif in HBO’s Oz, died after a battle with cancer. He was 58.
The news was confirmed on Sunday by multiple friends including Oz‘s showrunner/executive producer Tom Fontana, and costars Kirk Acevedo and Harold Perrineau.
“I lost my brotha today after a long battle with cancer,” Acevedo shared via Twitter. “I don’t do well with loss because I’m unfamiliar with it. Yo Granny we’ll be chopping it up on the other side one day. Until then… Rest easy my friend.”
Added Perrineau via Instagram, “You can’t always cry, sometimes you’ve got to CELEBRATE the time you had together. Brittany and I LOVE this man and the entire group of family/friends that we all created. Sleep well Prince! We’ll see each other again.”
Fontana wrote, “Goodnight, sweet prince/and flights of angels sing thee to they rest #granvilleadams #oz”
Adams documented his battle on social media with his last post shared from what appears to be his hospital room in August.
“135 pounds of post radiation badness,” he posted.
Fontana and actor Dean Winters launched a GoFundMe campaign in Feb. to help alleviate Adams’s medical debut which raised nearly $100k.
Adams appeared in all six seasons of Oz, first in a guest role and was later upped to recurring. He also appeared on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Streets, and Fox’s Empire. He played the role of Scout in 2011’s Magic City Memoirs.
Read the tributes from his friends below.
I lost my brotha today after a long battle with cancer.
I don’t do well with loss because I’m unfamiliar with it.Yo Granny we’ll be chopping it up on the other side one day.
Until then…
Rest easy my friend.Granville Adams🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/mL04Mw4wjY
— KID VICIOUS🔪 (@kirkacevedo) October 10, 2021