Katt Williams, Kym Whitley, and Marla Gibbs Are All In: Marcus Head Breaks Down the Reynaldo Rey Biopic

Before Katt Williams became one of the most electrifying stand-ups of his generation, before Sinbad knew how to take his comedy to the next level, before Master P understood the power of merchandising, there was Reynaldo Rey. He was the man in the room who saw what you couldn’t yet see in yourself and helped you get there anyway.

Now, his story is finally getting the treatment it deserves.

Harry Reynolds, known to the world as Reynaldo Rey, was born January 27, 1940, in Oklahoma. He later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became a teacher, a role that, in many ways, he never truly left. Comedy was his calling, and the classroom simply expanded to include stages, sets, and mentorship circles that shaped some of the biggest names in Black entertainment.

Rey came up under the guidance of legends. Redd Foxx, the gentleman who discovered him, took him under his wing early. Richard Pryor poured into him. He rubbed shoulders with Rudy Ray Moore, “Dolemite” himself, and absorbed everything the era had to offer.

Early in his career, Reynaldo Rey earned widespread recognition for his recurring role as the mailman on the ’80s sitcom 227. He later co-hosted BET’s Comic View for multiple seasons and delivered memorable performances in films like House Party 3 and Friday.

But his reach went far beyond any single role or credit. As filmmaker Marcus Head discovered while making the documentary, Rey was at the center of moments in entertainment history that most people never knew about, advising Master P on merchandising, elevating Sinbad’s comedic instincts, and mentoring Katt Williams at a pivotal point in his development.

That legacy is what Head set out to capture in The Reynaldo Rey Story: The Unforgettable Legend, a documentary directed by Head of MHeadFilm Productions, with production from Rey’s own family, his son Todd Murphy, grandson Michael “Murf” Rey, cousin Deuandra T. Brown, and actor Clifton Powell. 227 co-star Marla Gibbs serves as narrator, lending the project an intimacy that only someone who knew Rey personally could bring.

The film draws on an extraordinary roster of voices. Comics and actors interviewed include Katt Williams, Sinbad, Ali Sadiq, George Wallace, Luenell, Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong, Joe Torry, Marsha Warfield, Retha Jones, Melanie Comarcho, Stacy Hall, Scruncho, Myra J, Greg Carter, Bruce Bruce, Rodney Perry, George Wilburn, Miss Laura Hayes, Roy Fegan, Michael Colyar, Don “DC” Curry, Tasha Scott, Cocoa Brown, Tommy Davidson, Corey “Zoo Man” Miller, TP Hearns, Hal Williams, Pierre, and more.

The documentary has already earned serious recognition on the festival circuit, taking home a Telly Award, an Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the Gary International Black Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the Las Vegas Premier Film Festival. A biopic is also in development, with Kym Whitley serving as executive producer and Katt Williams attached as narrator.

Reynaldo Rey passed away on May 28, 2015, following complications from a stroke he suffered in 2014. But as this documentary makes clear, his influence never stopped moving.

Head sat down with The Quintessential Gentleman to talk about the legacy of Reynaldo Rey, The Reynaldo Rey Story, and what’s coming next with the biopic.

[Interview has been edited for length and clarity]

QG: Would you say the key moment in the conversation that you had with Rey’s grandson started the idea for the documentary?

Marcus Head: No, you know what, it was funny. I said, “Somebody needs to do something for you,” and it wasn’t even a thought that I should be that person. Then I called him back like two weeks later saying, “You know what? I’m gonna see what I can do about putting something together.” And everybody I reached out to Marla Gibbs, Sinbad, DC Curry, Bruce Bruce I’m talking; these are icons. Kym Whitley, Tommy Chong, they all said yes. So I’m sitting up here like, I’m getting all these yeses. Luenell, all these people say they want an interview. I’m like, okay, well, we got something here.

QG: What do you hope younger audiences take from the work you created and from this documentary?

MH:  Well, what I hope that they realize is this is someone that put the work in. Okay, I’m a comedian. There’s more than just being a comedian. I can write. I can act. And I just want people to realize that this man was a pioneer. You know, when everybody’s talking about who’s the top five comedians and things like that, Rey has to be in that conversation because of the body of work, because he was hilarious. There’s a difference between being funny and being hilarious. He was hilarious on stage. He can do any club. He could do multiple clubs, Black audience, white audience, young and old. Just like they say, there is a Richard Pryor in every comedian, there is a Reynaldo Rey in every comedian.

QG: The Reynaldo Rey Story has won a Telly Award, an Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the Gary International Black Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the Las Vegas Premier Film Festival. What does that mean for his legacy?

MH: Well, it means that this was a man that touched a lot of lives. This was a man that had a bigger scope, and once you realize and you hear his story, you realize that he was bigger than just a comedian. He was bigger than just an actor. He was a teacher who left the classroom and pretty much developed the next generation.

QG: Was there any footage that didn’t make the cut that you would still like to acknowledge?

MH: There is a lot of footage that didn’t make the cut. Like, 25 minutes of Katt Williams telling some of the stories. Him and Luenell told stories. Sinbad tells an incredible story about how Rey had allowed him to take his comedy to the next level, he didn’t know how to do that until he met Rey. Same thing with Katt Williams.

QG: After spending so much time directing this documentary, what did you discover about Reynaldo Rey that you didn’t already know?

Marcus Head: What I discovered about Rey is just the scope of the people he helped develop, like Master P. Master P was probably one of the first people to take rap and transition it into doing movies. He produced his own movies, and Rey was right there in all of his movies. He was the one who told Master P about merchandising and about product placement. Just like I said, he elevated so many people, so that’s probably the biggest thing: how he didn’t just influence them, but he elevated them.

QG:  Is there anything you can tease about The Reynaldo Rey biopic that is in the works?

MH: Kym Whitley is an executive producer on the project. Marla Gibbs, like I said, we’re going to tell her story. We’re going to talk about how Rey got on 227 and how he got on BET. We’re going to talk about how he met Katt Williams and his relationship with the OJs and Eddie Levert. Katt Williams is also the narrator.

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