Erica Ash, a Mad TV alum who starred in Scary Movie V and Real Husbands of Hollywood, has died. Ash was just 46.
Ash’s family has confirmed her passing after a long battle with cancer but did not elaborate beyond that.
“After a long and courageous battle with cancer, she transitioned peacefully surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement from her family, reads, per NPR. “Erica was an amazing woman and talented entertainer who touched countless lives with her sharp wit, humor, and genuine zest for life. Her memory will live eternally in our hearts.”
Ash gained recognition as a regular on the first two seasons of Logo’s The Big Gay Sketch Show in 2006-07, followed by a stint on Fox’s Mad TV. In the 2010s, she appeared in films such as Scary Movie V, the documentary Horror Noire, Sister Code, and the 2018 basketball comedy Uncle Drew, featuring stars like Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O’Neal.
One of her significant roles was also a recurring part in the parody series Real Husbands of Hollywood from 2013 to 2016, featuring stars like Kevin Hart, Duane Martin, Nick Cannon, JB Smoove, and Nelly. During this period, Ash also appeared in all four seasons of Survivor’s Remorse, alongside Jessie T. Usher, RonReaco Lee, Tichina Arnold, and Mike Epps.
Peers and Friends Pay Tribute to Erica Ash
Of course, as news spread of Ashe’s passing, friends and peers shared heartfelt memories of the actress.
“Erica Ash had a booming laugh that filled the set of Survivor’s Remorse every day,” Survivor’s Remorse creator and showrunner Mike O’Malley told Deadline. “It was a loud and generous laugh. The kind of loud and genuine laugh that made you turn your head to see what you were missing. The kind of laugh that signified life being lived to the fullest. Erica did. As M-Chuck, she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2017. She deserved that accolade and many more.”
“[Ash] loved being on a show, working as an actor, and crafting a character that she could call her own,” O’Malley continued. “She was fearless, hilarious, compelling. But most of all — she was a good person. A team player. A woman you loved being around. To work with her was to know what the good life could look like.”
Christopher Landon, who directed Ash in the 2023 comedy We Have A Ghost, wrote a tribute to her on X.
“Erica Ash was a light. Beautiful, funny, beyond talented,” Landon wrote.”I was blessed to work with her and call her my friend. My heart goes out to her family and friends right now.”
Singer and songwriter Siedah Garrett also penned a tribute to Ash. “Moved to tears at the passing of beautiful, talented & funny actor from Survivor’s Remorse… Erica generously worked with me on an original jailhouse skit I submitted to Netflix,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, in place of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Ash’s memory to the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation or to other breast cancer charities.