Cuba Gooding Sr. Dies At 72

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Cuba Gooding Sr. was found dead in his car in Woodland Hills on Thursday afternoon, April 20, officials said. The hitmaker of "Everybody Plays the Fool" would have turned 73 on April 27.

According to ABC, the body of the soul singer Cuba Gooding Sr. was found around 1 p.m. Thursday in his 2012 silver Jaguar. The car was parked in the 22100 block of Ventura Boulevard.

Police said that there were no direct signs of murder at the crime scene where Cuba Gooding Sr’s body was discovered. They are in the process of investigating what may have caused his death.

There were several bottles of alcohol and drug paraphernalia inside the legendary singer's car according to a report from the office of Los Angeles County coroner. The agency didn't give any further details but it said that Cuba Gooding Sr. may have died either due to natural causes or a drug overdose. The cause of his death can only be confirmed once the toxicology report will be released.

Cuba Gooding Sr. was last seen alive around 10:30 a.m. and earlier around 3:30 a.m. his car was noticed in the crime scene, the officers reported. Someone saw his unresponsive body inside the car and called for a help around 1 p.m.

Paramedics rushed to the location but they couldn’t revive the singer via cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Variety reported. They then declared the death of Cuba Gooding Sr. in the scene.

Cuba Gooding Sr. is a father of four including Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. He was the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, and their famous hits were "Everybody Plays the Fool" and "Just Don't Want to be Lonely." Both songs were released in the early 1970s.

Before turning as a lead vocalist for “The Main Ingredient,” Cuba Gooding Sr. first served as a backup singer. He became the front liner of their group in 1971 after the death of former lead singer Donald McPherson.