An autopsy was pending Friday for soul singer Cuba Gooding Sr., father of Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. The elder Gooding was found dead inside a silver Jaguar in Woodland Hills. He was 72.
There were still few details being made available by authorities, but at least one media report indicated alcohol and drug paraphernalia were found in the death car.
While police said the body was found Thursday afternoon, witnesses reportedly said the vehicle had been at the location for hours, having pulled up and parked in the pre-dawn darkness.
The Los Angeles Police Department reported that the body was discovered in the silver Jaguar about 1:10 p.m. Thursday in the 22100 block of Ventura Boulevard, between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Shoup Avenue.
Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed the body was that of Gooding. The vehicle Gooding was found in was seen pulling up to that street around 3:30 a.m., according to reports from the scene.
There were no obvious signs of foul play and an autopsy was pending to determine the cause of death, which could be natural or accidental, Winter said.
Gooding was lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient and sang the 1972 hit “Everybody Plays the Fool.”
–City News Service