Cuba Gooding Jr. reveals he was at the hospital with John Singleton when he died: 'I got the opportunity to tell him I love him'
Cuba Gooding Jr. opened up to reveal how he got to give an emotional final farewell to Boyz In The Hood filmmaker John Singleton before his death at the age of 51 in April.
'I was with John when he passed in the hospital, he was already in a coma when we got there,' the actor said in a TooFab exclusive.
'But I got the opportunity to tell him that I love him, and to thank him for starting my career, and Omar Gooding's career, my brother who was in Baby Boy.'
Emotional goodbye: Cuba Gooding Jr. got to say a final farewell to Boyz N The Hood filmmaker John Singleton before he died following a major stroke in April
Gooding Jr. choked back tears as he recalled the moment he got word his friend and mentor had suffered a stroke and rushed to the hospital.
The Oscar-nominated director suffered a major stroke on April 17, after which he was put into a medically-induced coma.
His family made the difficult decision to take him off life-support two weeks later on April 28.
Brotherhood: 'I got the opportunity to tell him that I love him, and to thank him for starting my career, and Omar Gooding's career, my brother who was in Baby Boy'; the Gooding brothers are pictured as bookends to Singleton in Jan 2016
Gooding Jr. has been very public about his praise of Singleton over the years for casting him iconic 1991 drama, Boyz In The Hood, which was his first major role.
The beautifully-brutal look at family life and gang culture in South Central Los Angeles was Singleton's directorial debut.
The film was shot with just a $6.5 million budget, and went on to gross $57.5 million in North America alone. As a result, the careers of Singleton, Gooding Jr as well as co-stars Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut soared.
Breakthrough: Singleton cast Gooding Jr. in Boyz In The Hood, which was his first major role, alongside co-star Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut; it was Singleton's directorial debut
During the interview, Gooding Jr., 51, shared that both he, Singleton and Chestnut were all born within six days of each other, between January 1 and 6, 1968.
'We were like three guys starting our careers on that movie, I'll always love him for that.'
In honor of Singleton, the Jerry Maguire star said he would continue his friend's legacy by 'doing good work and telling more stories. He's still got one brother left.'
The Los Angeles native's impressive directorial resume also includes Poetic Justice (1993), Higher Learning (1995), Baby Boy (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and Four Brothers (2005).
Leaving a legacy: Singleton's directorial resume also includes Poetic Justice (1993), Higher Learning (1995), Baby Boy (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and Four Brothers (2005)
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