Cuba Gooding Sr. and his son actor Cuba Gooding Jr. (USA Today via Twitter)

Cuba Gooding Sr., the singer who had popular hits in the 1970s with the group the Main Ingredient, was found dead in a car in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, officials said.


Gooding, who is the father of actors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Omar Gooding and who would have turned 73 next week, was found in a 2012 Jaguar on Ventura Boulevard around 1 p.m., ABC7 reports.

While his cause of death was still under investigation, police said there were no immediate indications of homicide at the scene.

According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, several bottles of alcohol as well as drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle, and it appears that he either died of natural causes or a drug overdose; toxicology report results were pending.


According to ABC7, Gooding’s car was seen pulling up to the location around 3 a.m. and he was last seen alive around 10:30 a.m. the day before. Someone alerted authorities after noticing an unresponsive body in the vehicle. Paramedics tried treating him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gooding was the lead singer for the Main Ingredient, whose biggest hits were “Everybody Plays the Fool” and “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely.”

Rest in paradise, Brother Gooding.