JamesG
03-26-2021, 02:08 AM
Craig “muMs” Grant Dies: Prolific Actor who Played “Poet” on "Oz" was 52
by Erik Pedersen
March 25, 2021
Craig “Mums” Grant, an actor and poet who appeared in all six seasons of HBO’s prison drama "Oz" among dozens of film, TV and stage credits, died Thursday, apparently of natural causes, according to his representatives.
He was 52.
“We are heartbroken over the loss of one of the most genuine, caring, loving souls we have ever had the pleasure of representing,” his longtime representatives Ellipsis Entertainment Group, Headline Talent Agency, and Ellis Talent Group said in a joint statement.
“Craig was more than our client, he was our dear friend. We all just lost a phenomenal man.”
Billed as muMs da Schemer, the name he used during his early slam-poetry years, Grant portrayed Arnold “Poet” Jackson on "Oz" during its entire 1997-2003 run, appearing in all but seven episodes.
His character was a heroin addict who is released from “Emerald City,” only to return after killing a drug dealer. A member of the Homeboys prison gang, the character often recited poems about social and political injustice endured by Black Americans.
Born and raised in New York City, Grant competed in at the 1996 National Poetry Slam as a member of the Nuyorican team and was featured in the 1998 feature documentary Slam Nation: The Sport of Spoken Word.
His more recent roles include recurring as Cash Jackson on the 2017-19 Netflix dramedy "She’s Gotta Have It" and guest-starring on TBS' "The Last O.G." and CBS' "Bull".
https://deadline.com/2021/03/craig-mums-grant-dead-oz-hightown-slam-poetry-1234721763/
by Erik Pedersen
March 25, 2021
Craig “Mums” Grant, an actor and poet who appeared in all six seasons of HBO’s prison drama "Oz" among dozens of film, TV and stage credits, died Thursday, apparently of natural causes, according to his representatives.
He was 52.
“We are heartbroken over the loss of one of the most genuine, caring, loving souls we have ever had the pleasure of representing,” his longtime representatives Ellipsis Entertainment Group, Headline Talent Agency, and Ellis Talent Group said in a joint statement.
“Craig was more than our client, he was our dear friend. We all just lost a phenomenal man.”
Billed as muMs da Schemer, the name he used during his early slam-poetry years, Grant portrayed Arnold “Poet” Jackson on "Oz" during its entire 1997-2003 run, appearing in all but seven episodes.
His character was a heroin addict who is released from “Emerald City,” only to return after killing a drug dealer. A member of the Homeboys prison gang, the character often recited poems about social and political injustice endured by Black Americans.
Born and raised in New York City, Grant competed in at the 1996 National Poetry Slam as a member of the Nuyorican team and was featured in the 1998 feature documentary Slam Nation: The Sport of Spoken Word.
His more recent roles include recurring as Cash Jackson on the 2017-19 Netflix dramedy "She’s Gotta Have It" and guest-starring on TBS' "The Last O.G." and CBS' "Bull".
https://deadline.com/2021/03/craig-mums-grant-dead-oz-hightown-slam-poetry-1234721763/