Boyz in the Hood: The tragic death of Lloyd Avery II

Boyz in the Hood iconic scene

One of the most iconic scenes in the 1991 John Singleton film Boyz n the Hood was when Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut) received his college acceptance letter, but was shot and killed the same day. Lloyd Avery II portrayed the unnamed assailant as a gangster.

This character had less than 10 lines of dialogue in the classic hit, but his intensity and grit made him stand out. Now, looking back, there was a certain realism in the portrayal, as Avery's life mirrored that of his unnamed character.

He came from a working-class family but was said to have had a privileged background. He met Singleton at USC, but less than a decade after his iconic film role, his life had taken a dark turn.

Avery had two personalities

Avery was complex, according to Brent Rollins, the art director and graphic designer who created the logo for Boyz n the Hood. In 2021, Rollins revealed the following to LEVEL.

He had a mischievous streak and a really sweet streak,” i. “The day before Christmas Eve, he would drive around to people’s houses to give them Christmas cards. Who does that?

His troubles began in 1988, three years before the film was released. After leaving a party at UCLA, Avery and some friends passed a group of frat boys. Lloyd cracked a joke, which led to a fight, and gunshots were fired. Avery was not the one who fired the gun, but was subsequently arrested for carrying a fake ID.

He spent three days in jail and later joked about it. The actor was cast in Singleton's next film, Poetic Justice, which did not do well at the Box Office. Other directors said he did not prepare for his roles or did not show up.

Avery confused fantasy with reality

Lloyd Avery II portrayed a Bloods gang member in Boyz in the Hood, but was only credited as Knuckloehead #2. He also played G-Ride in "Shot" and appeared in an episode of "Doogie Howser, M.D." He moved to a "Bloods" neighborhood, Jungle, and enjoyed the way he was treated. Allegedly, he began claiming to be a gangster in real-time, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality and alienating himself from friends.

On July 1, 1999, Avery stepped deeper into this lifestyle when he allegedly shot two people — Annette Lewis and Percy Branch — while attempting to collect a drug debt. The crime went unsolved for months, during which time Avery’s behavior became increasingly erratic.

Erratic behavior

Lloyd's behavior became more volatile, and he had altercations with members of the Nation of Islam. He moved out of the Jungle and began filming the movie Lockdown, in New Mexico. The actor was caught smoking a Sherm Stick (marijuana or tobacco dipped in embalming fluid or PCP), which led to erratic behavior.

He tried to attack a makeup artist, broke into a prison, and eventually he was asked to leave the state. Not long after he returned to LA and completed filming Shot, where he portrayed a drug addicted inmate, he was arrested for the murders of Branch and Lewis. However, Branch told police before he died that Avery was not the shooter. He was charged with double homicide and did not contest the charges.

An untimely death

Lloyd Avery II was imprisoned at Pelican Bay State Prison, where he became a Christian. In 2005, he received a new cellmate Kevin Roby who had raped his two sisters and murdered one of them. Avery decided to convert an unwilling Roby, who strangled him to death.

In 2020, Roby, a Satanist, admitted on the Podcast Criminal Perspective that his cellmate tried to convert him. Roby placed Avery on his cot and covered him up. Two days later, he laid him on the floor and drew a pentagram around him with his blood.

This is what led prison authorities to find out the actor was deceased. Roby was already living out a life sentence, so he was not formally charged. Avery's family, friends, and co-workers were distraught at his death at 36. Roger Roth, who wrote and directed Shot, lamented that the promising actor never got to fully showcase his potential.