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‘New Jack City’ Writer Barry Michael Cooper Dies, 66 Years Old
Screenwriter/Producer BARRY MICHAEL COOPER recently died (1/22) at the at the age of 66 in BALTIMORE, MD. He was best known for writing the films NEW JACK CITY, ABOVE THE RIM, and SUGAR HILL. A cause of death has not been disclosed. COOPER is survived by his son MATTHEW. There’s no word yet about services.
NELSON GEORGE, a former colleague at THE VILLAGE VOICE, confirmed COOPER’s death on his SUBSTACK and wrote about his impact on culture. “BARRY helped define pop culture in the ‘ 80s, and ’90s. Though he lived much of the last decades of his life in BALTIMORE, he was HARLEM to his core.”
Career Highlights
BARRY MICHAEL COOPER began his career as a journalist at THE VILLAGE VOICE, where he gained recognition for his investigative reporting. His 1987 cover story, “KIDS KILLING KIDS: NEW JACK CITY EATS ITS YOUNG,” covering DETROIT’s drug wars, was the foundation for his film, NEW JACK CITY.
COOPER co-wrote the 1991 film, which was directed by MARIO VAN PEEBLES and starred WESLEY SNIPES, ICE-T, and CHRIS ROCK. The film grossed nearly $50 million at the domestic box office and is credited with paving the way for films about inner-city life featuring rappers in lead roles.
He completed his “HARLEM TRILOGY” with SUGAR HILL and ABOVE THE RIM in 1994. SUGAR HILL reunited COOPER with SNIPES, who played a drug dealer seeking to leave the violent lifestyle. ABOVE THE RIM, directed by JEFF POLLACK, featured TUPAC SHAKUR, DUANE MARTIN, and LEON.
Later Career
After a hiatus, COOPER returned to HOLLYWOOD in 2005 with the web series BLOOD ON THE WALLS$, reuniting him with SUGAR HILL star MICHAEL WRIGHT. In 2017, he joined SPIKE LEE’s NETFLIX series SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT as a producer and writer for three episodes.