RIP Zuri Craig! Tyler Perry Is 'Struggling' After Zuri Craig's Death

Zuri Craig, a finalist who wowed judges on America's Got Talent and actor who appeared in a few Tyler Perry films, died Friday at the age of 44.

His family shared the news on social media. "It is with profound sadness that we announce the transition of our beloved son, brother and friend, Zuri Craig," the statement read. "We thank you in advance for your prayers. Please honor our privacy at this unimaginable time of mourning."

Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. In 2011, Forbes listed him as the highest-paid man in entertainment, earning US$130 million between May 2010 and May 2011.

Perry created and performs the Madea character, a tough elderly woman.[4][5][6] Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmaking techniques to filmed productions of live stage plays. Many of Perry's stage-play films have been subsequently adapted as feature films.

Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. Perry has developed several television series, most notably Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which ran for eight seasons on TBS from June 21, 2006 to August 10, 2012. On October 2, 2012, Perry struck an exclusive multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey and her Oprah Winfrey Network. The partnership was largely for the sake of bringing scripted television to OWN, based on Perry's previous success in this area.[7] Perry has created multiple scripted series for the network, The Haves and the Have Nots crime drama being its most successful. The Haves and the Have Nots gave OWN some of its highest ratings during its 8 year series run,[8] the program hailed as "one of OWN's biggest success stories with its weekly dose of soapy fun, filled with the typical betrayals, affairs and manipulations."

Perry has also acted in films not directed, written or produced by himself, including as Admiral Barnett in Star Trek (2009), the titular character in Alex Cross (2012), Tanner Bolt in Gone Girl (2014), Baxter Stockman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), Colin Powell in Vice (2018), Arthur in Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) and Gus the Truck Driver in PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021).

Perry is included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.[10] In 2020, Perry was awarded the Governors Award from the Primetime Emmy Awards and the following year, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Awards.

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