Paul Gladney  (August 4, 1941 – May 19, 2021), better known by the stage name  Paul Mooney , was an American comedian, [1]  writer,  social critic , and television and film actor. He is best known as a writer for comedian  Richard Pryor , [1] [2]  playing singer  Sam Cooke in  The Buddy Holly Story  (1978) and Junebug in  Bamboozled  (2000), and his appearances on  Chappelle's Show .