Soul Singer Cuba Gooding Sr. Reportedly Died of an Overdose

Cuba Gooding Sr. was found dead in his Jaguar Thursday.

Stephen Lovekin
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Stephen Lovekin

Cuba Gooding Sr., a soul musician and father to the actors Omar and Cuba Gooding Jr., was found dead Thursday in his parked silver Jaguar, according to TMZ. Gooding Sr. was 72.

Gooding Sr. died in the San Fernando Valley of California.

The fire department responded to the scene shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday and performed CPR, but Gooding Sr. could not be resuscitated.

The cause of his death is not yet known, though TMZ is reporting it is believed to have resulted from an overdose.

Gooding Sr. and his longtime wife, Shirley, had four children together.

Gooding Sr. was known for more than being the father of Cuba Jr. He was the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, known for its 1972 hit “Everybody Plays the Fool” and 1974 hit “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely.”


Gooding Sr. was reportedly in the process of making a movie about the generations of his family titled Everybody Plays the Fool: The Cuba Gooding Story.

Fans of Gooding Sr. reacted on Twitter:

This story is developing.

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