Taraja Ramsess, a stuntman known for his work in “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Panther,” died on Oct. 31 in Atlanta. He was 41.
Ramsess died in a car accident alongside his two daughters Sundari and Fujibo, who were 13-years-old and 8-weeks-old, respectively.
His mother Akili Ramsess confirmed the death of Ramsess and his daughters in an Instagram post. She also wrote that two of Ramsess’ daughters survived, with his three-year-old being hospitalized, and that his 10-year-old son Kisasi was on life support, but later posted that he had died as well.
“All who knew and met him know how special Taraja was. He had a deep capacity for love and loved his children more than all. He loved his martial arts, motorcycles and all things related to filmmaking. He a very droll yet wicked sense of humor & yet could be as cornball corny as can be,” her post read.
In addition to “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Panther,” his stunt work was featured in “Avengers: Infinity War,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Atlanta” and “Creed III,” among others. Ramsess also worked in the art department on several projects including “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Walking Dead” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
Ramsess was part of the crew at Ava DuVernay’s distribution company ARRAY. DuVernay honored Ramsess in an Instagram post.
“I remember one day on set, we didn’t have enough Black background actors for a key scene. I had to recruit my crew members to be on-camera. Taraja was the first to say yes. Yes, I’ll do my real job and then jump into this wild scene playing a tough guy with a gun for you. From there — everyone else said yes too. He was that kind of person. A leader. A light,” she wrote.
Ramsess is survived by his mother, Akili, and his surviving children.