Here is some sad news regarding Cuba Gooding Jr. and his family. On Thursday, TMZ reported Cuba Gooding Sr. died at 72. According to law enforcement sources who spoke with the outlet, Gooding was reportedly found "slumped over" in his car, which was parked on Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills, California. TMZ was also reportedly informed that the fire department responded to the scene and performed CPR, but Gooding could not be resuscitated.
On Friday, KABC confirmed Gooding's death with local officials, who revealed that he was in his 2012 silver Jaguar. Officials also said that Gooding's car was seen arriving at the Ventura Blvd. location around 3:30 a.m. and he was last seen alive around 10:30 a.m. According to officials, his unresponsive body was noticed by someone, who then called the authorities around 1 p.m. KABC also reports that paramedics responded and Gooding was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to KABC, the cause of death is still being investigated and that as of right now it doesn't appear to be a homicide. The Los Angeles County coroner's office also spoke with KABC and said several bottles of alcohol, in addition to drug paraphernalia, were found in Gooding's car. Per the coroner's office, Gooding appears to have died from either natural causes or a drug overdose. The results of a toxicology report have yet to be determined.
Gooding wasn't just known for being the father of his Oscar-winning son, but made a name for himself as the lead singer of '70s soul group The Main Ingredient. You probably recognize two of their most popular hits, "Everybody Plays the Fool" and "Just Don't Want to be Lonely." There's no doubt that Gooding's memory will live on through these songs.
Gooding was married to Shirley Gooding — twice. They separated in 1974 and then got remarried in 1995. They had four children together, including Cuba, Omar Gooding, April Gooding, and Tommy Gooding.
In early 2017, Cuba appeared on Inside the Actors Studio, where he opened up about his father. He recalled an early childhood memory of watching his father perform and seeing his singing career expand. "I remember, one of my earliest memories … he would perform at Disneyland, and after his performances, they would close it off to the general public and all the performers’ kids would go on the rides as many times as they’d want," he said. "He would pull me up on stage with him and make me finish the song because I’d seen him perform all the time. It was a lot of feeling like, 'I come from royalty.'"
The American Crime Story actor has yet to release a statement on his father's death, but he did share the above Instagram Thursday of The Main Ingredient. Alongside it he simply wrote, "Eternal..."
