Badja Medu Djola (April 9, 1948 – January 8, 2005) born Bernard Bradley, was an American actor from Brooklyn, New York. Djola appeared in 47 films and TV shows during his career.
Career
Djola’s breakout role was as Leon Isaac Kennedy’s cellmate, the villainous “Half Dead” Johnson, in the 1979 movie Penitentiary, which led to many more feature films, including a supporting role in Wes Craven’s 1988 movie The Serpent and the Rainbow. Djola was best known for playing a thug who Bruce Willis’s character kills after making him laugh in The Last Boy Scout and as an FBI agent in Mississippi Burning who intimidates a racist mayor played by R. Lee Ermey.
Djola’s other film and TV credits include A Rage in Harlem, The Lonely Guy, NYPD Blue, Rosewood, Who’s the Man?, The Hurricane, Night Shift, The Waterdance, ER, The X-Files, Millennium and Roc. He also had a role in The Players Club starring Ice Cube. Djola’s final performance was in Back in the Day alongside Ja Rule, Pam Grier and Frank Langella.
Death
Djola died of a heart attack on January 8, 2005, aged 56. He is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.
