Story highlights He appeared in skits on Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube albums

Harris played a neighbor on "Everybody Hates Chris"

(CNN) Ricky Harris, whose yin-yang comedic career went from raunchy standup on one end to family-friendly sitcoms on the other, has died. He was 54.

Harris died Monday, his publicist Cindy Ambers told CNN.

In his 20-plus year career, the comedian never quite became a household name, but he worked with some of the greatest.

He first gained attention in the 1990s with his racy routines on HBO's "Def Comedy Jam," and he parlayed similar material to hilarious success for skits on albums by Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.

To a wider audience though, recognition would come in the form of Malvo, the good-for-nothing neighbor he played in the Chris Rock-narrated comedy "Everybody Hates Chris."

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