Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Being funny comes as a natural gift for man – but only the really talented (and really daring) ones have answered the call to make the masses laugh with their comedy. The wild and crazy Tracy Morgan, the much heralded Whoopi Goldberg, the brassy Mo'Nique and the late, great Richard Pryor are just a few of the black, famous and funny people who made us laugh over the last 50 years. There are many more. And they all have stories behind the funny. Check out who they are and what they've done.
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Martin Lawrence
Started Out: Making an appearance on the national talent show 'Star Search,' which ultimately led to a gig on 'What's Happening Now!' Big Break: Hosting the groundbreaking comedy series 'Def Comedy Jam.' Hometown: Landover, Md. Also Was Seen: In the films 'Do the Right Thing,' 'House Party,' 'Boomerang,' 'Bad Boys,' 'Thin Line Between Love & Hate' and 'Big Momma's House.' In addition, he starred and executive-produced his own Fox sitcom 'Martin' for five seasons. Factoid: In 1989, Lawrence was engaged to 'Saved by the Bell' actress Lark Voorhies.
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Steve Harvey
Started Out: Began doing stand-up in the mid-1980s and was a finalist in the second annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search in 1989. Big Break: Hosting the nationally syndicated TV series 'Showtime at the Apollo.' Hometown: Welch, W. Va. Also Was Seen: On the series 'Me and the Boys' and his eponymous sitcom. Also appeared in the movies 'Love Don't Cost A Thing,' 'The Original Kings of Comedy' and 'The Fighting Temptations.' Factoid: Born in 1957, Harvey (real name: Broderick Steven Harvey) made his literary debut with the New York Times best-selling relationship/advice book 'Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,' in 2009.
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Wanda Sykes
Started Out: Began her stand-up career at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in Washington, D.C. Big Break: Played multiple roles on Chris Rock's Emmy Award-winning HBO show. Hometown: Portsmouth, Va. Also Was Seen: In the movies 'Monster-in-Law' and 'Pooty Tang' and on the TV shows 'Wanda At Large,' 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'The New Adventures of Old Christine.' Factoid: During a Las Vegas gay rights rally in November 2008, Sykes proclaimed she was "proud to be gay."
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Jamie Foxx
Started Out: Acting on a dare (from a girlfriend) and competing in an open-mic contest at a comedy club in 1989. Big Break: Playing the comely date-challenged Wanda on 'In Living Color' Hometown: Linden, Texas Also Was Seen: In the films 'Booty Call,' 'The Players Club,' 'Any Given Sunday,' 'Miami Vice,' 'Ali' and 'Ray,' for which he won an Academy Award for best actor in 2005. Also fronted his eponymous sitcom. Factoid: As of 2009, Foxx (real name: Eric Marlon Bishop) has released three music albums: 1994's 'Peep This,' 2005's 'Unpredictable' and 2008's 'Intuition.'
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Tracy Morgan
Started Out: Appearing on the sitcom 'Martin,' where he played 'Hustle Man.' Big Break: Morgan's claim to fame came in 1996 when he began appearing on 'Saturday Night Live.' Hometown: New York City Also Was Seen: In 'A Thin Line Between Love and Hate,' 'Martin,' 'Half Baked,' 'How High,' 'Head of State,' 'The Tracey Morgan Show,' 'Little Man,' 'First Sunday' and '30 Rock.' Factoid: Andrew Dice Clay inspired Morgan to pursue comedy.
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Chris Rock
Started Out: Doing stand-up comedy in 1985 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club. Big Break: Was a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series 'Saturday Night Live.' Hometown: New York City Also Was Seen: In the movie 'New Jack City,' where he played a crackhead informant. Factoid: Born in 1965, Rock won a Grammy for best spoken comedy album in 1999 for the project 'Bigger & Blacker.'
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Mo'Nique
Started Out: Appearing at the downtown Baltimore Comedy Factory Outlet. Big Break: Starred on the hit UPN sitcom 'The Parkers.' Hometown: Baltimore Also Was Seen: In 'Three Can Play That Game,' 'Hair Show' and 'Shadowboxer.' Factoid: Born in 1967, Mo'Nique (real name: Monique Imes) is the author of 'Skinny Women are Evil: Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World' and the cookbook 'Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted.'
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Eddie Griffith
Started Out: Griffith began his acting career the 1991 action-thriller 'The Last Boy Scout.' Big Break: In 1996, Griffith showcased his talent on a national scale when he landed the role of Eddie on the TV series 'Malcolm & Eddie.' Hometown: Kansas City, Mo. Also Was Seen: In 'Foolish,' 'Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo' and 'Undercover Brother.' Factoid: Suffered a heart attack in 1996 while taping an episode of 'Malcolm & Eddie' following a scene in which he did the salsa dance.
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
Famous, Black & Funny
Bill Cosby
Started Out: While in his early twenties, Cosby appeared on various well-known variety programs including 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Big Break: In 1965, he appeared as Alexander Scott in the Emmy Award-winning flick 'I Spy.' Hometown: Philadelphia Also Was Seen: In 'Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,' 'Uptown Saturday Night,' 'Let's Do it Again,' 'Ghost Dad,' 'The Meteor Man' and the groundbreaking NBC sitcom 'The Cosby Show.' Factoid: Beginning in 1965, Cosby scored the Grammy Award for best comedy album six years in a row.
Famous, Black & Funny: An Inside Look At Popular Black Comedians
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By: jeromequigley on 2/17/2011 5:15PM
I would really love to see him have a hand in a project like this!! Now being 42 I grew up on Cosby, oh no it did not start out with the "Cosby Show". My admiration and respect for Bill was due to Fat Albert!! I watched and know every Fat Albert shown on TV. I always assumed that because I grew up in a very diverse lower-middle income neighborhood that I never cared or was influenced one way are another becuase he or the characters were black!! I knew they were black, but never gave it a thought that it made Bill, his cartoon or his message some thing I could not relate too!! I loved that he always had a moral to the each show, whether you agreed or not you understood what Bill was saying, because he would lay it out for you at the end!! Oddly enough my father, who I barely ever saw after my mom booted him when I was 2, liked Bill even more than I did! I had already loved Bill and when I was a little older and was on a rare week-end to my Dad's. I had mentioned Fat Albert(now understand my dad was a 280 lb irish man who was the "stero-type" of he made everyone laugh. my dad of all his faults was funny as all get up) when all of a sudden my dad started to do a Bill C imitation that was Dead On!! I never heard the material before(any one who knows his recordings it was: Noah and Ajax liquor store), it was one of the fewe times my father and I spent that much time together laughing!! I think The Cosby Show was able to do for peepz what my enviroment had done for me and that is to get peepz to stop grouping peepz and to get to know some one before you make a judgement!! Bill Cosby is an inspiration to Many Peepz for Many reasons!! I have friends who are middle-east and muslim. Again I know it but it does not register to me that it makes them different(I am talking core different)! But the one thing I worry about and some of my friends who are muslim have talked to me about it also is, It's the extremist of that culture that are Very Dangerous!! Not that it would change how I treat some one I just met, But it does Concern me in a manner of.....hard to put into words...when a muslim goes bad they REALLY GO BAD!!! Doesn't mean the majority should be treated bad or different, but peepz are going to be worried about that small percent. The guy in MI that went on the stabbing spree, peepz were all up in arms because they knew it was a white guy...but did you notice how the Anger and Rage was quickly down played when it was discovered he was Muslim??? Just saying, it will be interesting to see how that relationship works out in this country??
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By: sharkchops on 2/17/2011 7:25PM
I think it's a good idea. We've seen just about every other kind of race and nationality realized as an American family while keeping their cultural customs. The interesting thing is that the family would have to consist of members of the family who are old school about their religion and those who are more modern and even possibly rejecting of it and eager to blend in with christian culture. It would definitely get alot of people talking about it as well as teaching people about a culture that has been very controversial and polarizing to say the least.
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By: sas on 2/18/2011 9:01PM
The fact that this questions is presented lets me know this beloved brother doesn't have Alzheimer's like the rumors say:-). I believe he would give a fair and wholesome direction to such a show. I think he would give the realistic picture of Islam in America. That picure is very abstract and includes much more similarities to Christianity, Judism and other religions than many people would like to be known. There, I think, would be the challenge to present the truth about the religion and how people live it in America. The multiplicity of Islam coloured with the various cultures that carry it would make a very entertaining and informative show.
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