‘That Girl Lay Lay’ Creator: David A. Arnold Dead At 54
That Girl Lay Lay creator David A. Arnold, who was also a comedian, actor, writer and producer, has died. He was 54.
According to Deadline, the Arnold family issued a statement on Wednesday (Sept. 7) to confirm the news of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm the untimely passing of our husband, father, brother and friend, David A. Arnold. David passed away peacefully today in his home and doctors have ruled the cause of death due to natural causes. Please keep our family in prayer and respect our privacy at this time, as we are all shocked and devastated by this loss.”
Arnold got his start in the comedy business performing stand-up on Jamie Foxx’s Laffapalooza on Comedy Central and at the Montreal Comedy Festival, among other events Currently, he has two comedy specials on Netflix, David A. Arnold: Fat Ballerina, and It Ain’t For The Weak.
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He has written for several comedy series’ including Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, Meet The Browns, The Rickey Smiley Show and Raising Whitley.
Arnold is also one of a few Black showrunners in Hollywood after creating and executive producing the Nickelodeon series That Girl Lay Lay.
At the time of his death, Arnold was three stops into a four-month national comedy tour.
He is survived by his wife Julie L. Harkness, and two children, Anna-Grace and Ashlyn.
The Nickelodeon Family released an official statement in response to the devastating news of David A. Arnold:
We are shocked and incredibly saddened by the sudden passing of our dear friend and creative partner, David A. Arnold.
David was an immense talent and a gifted storyteller with a wide range of fans, from adults through his stand-up, to kids and families through the Nickelodeon show he created and executive produced for us, That Girl Lay Lay. On behalf of everyone at Nickelodeon, we send our thoughts and condolences to his family, his friends and his fans.
