Cuba Gooding Jr. Puts Gunshot Victim Before His Own Chicken And Waffle Eating Needs
On Memorial Day, Oscar-winner and Horatio Sanz's onetime gay-cruising partner Cuba Gooding Jr. had pulled up to Roscoe's House of Chicken n Waffles on Gower to pick up some deep-fried dinner for the family. What followed, reports Gatecrasher, was an astounding act of celebrity selflessness, as a quick-thinking Cuba leaped to the aid of a young gunshot victim:
The 39-year-old Oscar winner was waiting in his car outside a Hollywood restaurant "when he heard four gunshots," says a source.
"Cuba was picking up dinner for his family on the night of Memorial Day," says the spy. "He saw a young kid holding his head and walked toward him. The kid was bleeding from his neck and collapsed."
Gooding cradled the victim, described as a man around 20 years old, and called into the restaurant for towels. "They came out with paper towels and he said, 'No, we need real towels!'" says the source.
The actor stemmed the bleeding and hailed a passing police car. He waited on the scene until an ambulance arrived.
Gooding's rep, Nancy Kane, confirmed the story.
Tales of strangers courageously lending a helping hand to their fellow Angelenos-in-need never fail to pluck our heartstrings, but when the guardian angel in question also happens to be the beloved star of Radio and popularizer of the phrase "show me the money," darn it if we aren't reduced to a useless puddle of warm sentiment. We only hope the uplifting anecdote remains just that, and some opportunistic producer doesn't attempt to option the news item for Batter, a gritty urban docudrama set in and around the world of inner-city waffle-and-fried-chicken houses—a project to which Terence Howard will quickly be attached following an awkward phone call to Gooding informing him that they've passed on him in favor of someone "a little more hero-y."
