Ricky Harris dead: Everybody Hates Chris actor dies of heart attack at 54

Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Warren G and Cedric the Entertainer are just some of the hip-hop stars who have paid tribute to him

Snoop Dogg, a childhood friend of Harris from Long Beach who sang in the church choir with him, posted a solemn video to Instagram paying tribute to the actor (Getty Images)

Comedian Ricky Harris has died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Harris, rose to fame for his roles in Heat, Poetic Justice and Chris Rock’s sitcom Everybody Hates Chris and his skits on Snoop Dogg’s albums, passed away on Boxing Day.

His manager, Cindy Ambers, told the Hollywood Reporter Harris had died of a heart attack on Monday.

The son of a preacher, Harris was a Long Beach native. He was involved in the 1990s West Coast rap scene, contributing to many a hip-hop record in his time and rising to prominence for his appearance on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam in the 1990s.

He collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Dr Dre and performed on popular hip-hop songs such as Snoop Dogg’s “W-Balls” and Ice Cube’s “Turn Off the Radio”.

Harris made his acting debut with 1993 drama Poetic Justice, a film about which starred Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson.

More recently, he had roles in The Tracy Morgan Show and The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story. He most recently starred in Thomas J Churchill’s Check Point which is due to be released on 20 January.

Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Warren G and Cedric the Entertainer are just some of the hip-hop stars who have paid tribute to him.

Dogg, a childhood friend of Harris from Long Beach who sang in the church choir with him, posted a solemn video to Instagram paying tribute to the actor. He called Harris “my big brother, my homeboy” and a “Long Beach original”.

Harris is survived by his mother, his former wife and two daughters.