News Spike Lee mourns his longtime star Thomas Jefferson Byrd, 70, killed in apparent shooting October 4, 2020 Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY Comments Off on Spike Lee mourns his longtime star Thomas Jefferson Byrd, 70, killed in apparent shooting Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a Tony-nominated actor best known for his roles in Spike Lee films including 'Clockers,' was killed Saturday in Atlanta at 70.