Lamont Bentley was an American actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and rapper. He was known for his role as Hakeem Campbell on Moesha

Moesha

Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...

and the series' spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 The Parkers

The Parkers

The Parkers is an American sitcom . A spin-off of UPN's Moesha, The Parkers featured the mother-daughter team of Nikki and Kim Parker . The Parkers' signature "Heeyyy" greeting made its way into popular vernacular in the early 2000s.-Premise:The series centered around a mother and daughter who...

.

Career

Bentley was born Artimus Lamont Bentley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

 and moved to Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 with his mother, Loyce, who wished to pursue a career as a professional singer. He began his career as a child actor

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

 appearing in television commercials and guest spots on various television series before landing a role on the short-lived but critically acclaimed television series South Central

South Central (TV series)

South Central is an American comedy-drama series that aired on the Fox network from April 5, 1994 to June 7, 1994. It was cancelled following its first season, and the airing of only 10 episodes.-Synopsis:...

in 1994. In 1996, South Central creator Ralph Farquhar cast Bentley in the series Moesha, which ran for six seasons on UPN

UPN

United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

.

After Moesha ended, Bentley continued acting while pursuing a career as a rapper

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

. In 2001, he appeared as C-Money in The Wash

The Wash (film)

The Wash is a hip hop-styled film written and directed by DJ Pooh and starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and DJ Pooh, with appearances by Eminem and Ludacris. The film was released on November 16, 2001.-Plot:...

opposite Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...

 and Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

. That same year, he portrayed Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...

 in the television biopic Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story. Bentley made one of his last onscreen appearances in Spike Lee

Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....

's crime drama

Police procedural

The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...

 Sucker Free City

Sucker Free City

Sucker Free City is a 2004 film directed by Spike Lee. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film was intended to be the pilot for a Showtime television series. Showtime declined to pick up the series...

.

Death

In the early morning hours of January 19, 2005, Bentley was killed in a single-car accident in southern California's Ventura County

Ventura County, California

Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...

. He was driving on Highway 118

California State Route 118

State Route 118 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that begins running west to east through Ventura and Los Angeles counties in southern California. It travels from Saticoy in Ventura County east to Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles...

 near Simi Valley

Simi Valley

Simi Valley is a synclinal valley in Southern California in the United States. It is an enclosed or hidden valley surrounded by mountains and hills. It is connected to the San Fernando Valley to the east by the Santa Susana Pass & 118 freeway, and in the west the narrows of the Arroyo Simi and 118...

 (30 miles northwest of Los Angeles) when his vehicle went over an embankment, ejecting him (the sole occupant) from the vehicle and into traffic where five cars struck him. He is survived by two young daughters, Artesia and Brazil Bentley.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Gabriel's Fire Gabriel's Fire Gabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.-Overview:...	Teen	Episode: "Windows"
1991	Equal Justice	Childs	Episode: "Courting Disaster"
1994	South Central South Central (TV series) South Central is an American comedy-drama series that aired on the Fox network from April 5, 1994 to June 7, 1994. It was cancelled following its first season, and the airing of only 10 episodes.-Synopsis:...	Rashad	5 episodes
1995	Family Matters	Andre	Episode: "An Unlikely Match"
1995	CBS Schoolbreak Special After school special The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly...	Dom	Episode: "What About Your Friends"
1995	Tales from the Hood Tales from the Hood Tales From the Hood is a 1995 horror anthology film directed by Rusty Cundieff, and executive produced by Spike Lee. It presents four short African American-themed horror stories, presented within the frame story of three drug dealers buying some "found" drugs from an eccentric and story-prone...	Crazy K
1995	The Parent 'Hood The Parent 'Hood The Parent 'Hood is an American sitcom that aired on The WB airing from January 18, 1995 to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas....	Damon	Episode: "Robert in the 'Hood"
1995	Courthouse	Raymond	Episode: "One Flew Over the Courthouse"
1996	The Client	K-Boy-Kool	Episode: "Motherless Child"
1996–2001	Moesha Moesha Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...	Hakeem Campbell	127 episodes
1997	A Day in the Life of Mia
1997	The Sentinel The Sentinel (TV series) The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series that aired on UPN in the United States from 1996 to 1999. It premiered on March 20, 1996, and ran for 65 episodes . The series later reaired on Syfy.-Plot and characters:...	Marcus Watson	Episode: "Pennies from Heaven"
1997	Buffalo Soldiers	Corporal Sea	Television movie
1998	NYPD Blue NYPD Blue NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...	Arnell	Episode: "Honeymoon at Viagra Falls"
1999	The Breaks The Breaks The Breaks is an American 1999 comedy film written by and starring Mitch Mullany and directed by Eric Meza. The plot involves a day in the life of Derrick King, an Irish kid raised by a black family in Los Angeles, as he is kicked out of his house and suffers various other mishaps before eventually...	Darryl
1999	Clueless Clueless (TV series) Clueless is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name . The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season...	Hakeem	Episode: "Prom Misses, Prom Misses"
1999–2000	The Parkers The Parkers The Parkers is an American sitcom . A spin-off of UPN's Moesha, The Parkers featured the mother-daughter team of Nikki and Kim Parker . The Parkers' signature "Heeyyy" greeting made its way into popular vernacular in the early 2000s.-Premise:The series centered around a mother and daughter who...	Hakeem Campbell	3 episodes
2000	Soul Food	Pruitt	Episode: "Bad Luck"
2001	Gabriela	Nick
2001	The Wash The Wash (film) The Wash is a hip hop-styled film written and directed by DJ Pooh and starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and DJ Pooh, with appearances by Eminem and Ludacris. The film was released on November 16, 2001.-Plot:...	C-Money
2001	Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story	Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...	Television movie
2002	The Proud Family The Proud Family The Proud Family is an American animated television series that premiered on Disney Channel from September 15, 2001 to August 19, 2005.-Production:...	Gary (Voice)	Episode: "Hip-Hop Helicopter"
2004	Shards	Thomas
2004	Sucker Free City Sucker Free City Sucker Free City is a 2004 film directed by Spike Lee. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in San Francisco and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film was intended to be the pilot for a Showtime television series. Showtime declined to pick up the series...	Ahmir	Television movie
2005	The Tenants The Tenants The Tenants is a 2005 film drama starring Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dogg. Screened at only one theatre, the film received harsh criticism due to what some critics discerned as anachronistic depictions of the racial tension between the principal characters and a lack of multidimensionality...	Male Partygoer
2007	A Day in the Life	L Mob	Released posthumously

External links