Weaver is widely recognized for his role as Brian Kincaid, the brother of Chet Kincaid, Bill Cosby’s gym teacher, on The Bill Cosby Show (1969–71). He also portrayed Buck Naked on Hill Street Blues (1982–84) and appeared in NYPD Blue (1994).
Some viewers may recall Weaver from the NBC comedy Easy Street (1986-87), where he starred alongside Jack Elam as two struggling roommates who move into a mansion inherited by a former Las Vegas showgirl, played by Loni Anderson. The series, created by Hugh Wilson of WKRP in Cincinnati fame, lasted only one season.
In the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Weaver played a blind man who gave three escaped convicts (George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson) a ride on a railroad handcar and offered cryptic advice about their futures.
According to IMDb, Weaver’s filmography includes notable titles such as Vanishing Point (1971), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Bulworth (1998), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Donnie Darko (2001), and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005).
Born Lee Wellington Weaver on April 10, 1930, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was raised by his aunt and uncle until age 14 before attending high school in Tallahassee and later Florida A&M University.
At 22, Weaver enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving for four years. Afterward, he relocated to New York, working as a linotype engineer for The New York Times and promoting acts at the Birdland jazz club, booking artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.
Early in his career, Weaver appeared in the 1955-56 syndicated series Sheena: Queen of the Jungle as various native characters and played a reporter in the 1959 film Al Capone.
Weaver collaborated with Bill Cosby on several projects, including guest roles on the NBC series I Spy in 1967 and 1968. He also featured in a recurring gag on The Tonight Show when Cosby guest-hosted, where he was announced as a guest but never appeared on air due to time constraints.
He later appeared on The Cosby Show and A Different World, both created by Cosby.
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Weaver appeared in TV shows such as Love, American Style, Adam-12, Kojak, Sanford and Son, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Soap, and Starsky & Hutch. His film credits from this period include Cleopatra Jones (1973) and House Calls (1978).
He provided the voice of Alpine in the animated series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985-86) and two related films.
Additional film appearances include The Lost Man (1969), Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), The Buddy System (1984), Wildcats (1986), The Two Jakes (1990), The Scout (1994), The Thirteenth Floor (1999), and Max Rose (2013). He also guest-starred on 227, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His latest role was Mel Cordray in two episodes of Grace and Frankie.
Weaver was married to actress Ta-Tanisha (Room 222), and they had a daughter named Leis La-Te.