Ray Vitte

Raymond Vitte (1949–1983) was an American actor who starred mostly in comedy and drama films in the 1970s and early 1980s. He made numerous guest appearances on television shows and was a cast member of the show Doc in 1976.[1]

Ray Vitte
Born(1949-11-20)November 20, 1949
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 20, 1983(1983-02-20) (aged 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1973–1983

Vitte, who had been fevered for days and acting strangely for hours in his Los Angeles home, died in 1983 following a scuffle with two Los Angeles Police Department officers who were transporting Vitte to a nearby hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.[2]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1974Airport 1975PassengerUncredited
1976Car WashGeronimo
1978Thank God It's FridayBobby Speed
1978–1979 David Cassidy: Man Undercover Officer T.J. Epps
1978Mother, Jugs & SpeedMotherTV short
1978Up in SmokeThe Band: Bass - James
1979A Force of OneNewton
1979The Man in the Santa Claus SuitEddie
1980Cruising
1980Heart BeatUndercover Agent
19809 to 5Eddie
1981Grambling's White TigerRags
1982The Quest (1982 TV series)Cody Johnson

In 1981, Vitte also appeared on Gimme a Break as Ken.

Only five episodes of his final show "The Quest" had aired when the series was cancelled in Nov 1982.

Death

In February of 1983, police were called to Vitte's home in Studio City by neighbors claiming that a man had been making "religious shoutings laced with references to Muhammad" for more than 12 hours".[2] Vitte allegedly lunged at one of the officers who subsequently struck him with a baton. Vitte attempted to run away, but was struck again by officers who also used tear gas with no effect.[3] After Vitte ran away again, he fell down at the side of a swimming pool where officers handcuffed him and placed him into a squad car. En route to a hospital for a mental evaluation, the officers noticed Vitte had stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.[2]

A group including singer Donna Summer and the president of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood chapter of the NAACP protested Vitte's death in a news conference,[4] with Summer saying "...a man who's basically minding his own business in his own home, who happens to be creating a disturbance somehow, is now dead because his neighbors called the police".

A spokesman for the coroner's office said preliminary results of an autopsy showed "superficial injuries consistent with a struggle" but which were "not responsible for his death".[4] According to the coroner's report, Vitte died of complications from sickle cell disease.[5]

References
  1. Fearn-Banks, Kathleen. "Ray Vitte." The A to Z of African-American Television, Scarecrow Press, 2009, pp. 464–464.
  2. Barabak, Mark (February 22, 1983). "Actor Raymond Vitte dies in police scuffle". United Press International. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  3. "Raymond Vitte, 33, an Actor, Dies After Scuffle With Police". New York Times. February 22, 1983. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  4. "Actor Raymond Vitte, who died minutes after a weekend..." United Press International. February 22, 1983. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  5. Siegel, Lee (April 20, 1983). "Actor Raymond Vitte - Cell disease death cause, coroner says". The Desert Sun. Retrieved July 30, 2023.


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