Archives: Comedians
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Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart: The Philadelphia Comic Who Built a Comedy Enterprise Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 4 The scale of a personal story Kevin Hart has made a career of turning intimate embarrassment into a public event. Onstage, he often seems to be recounting something that happened just moments earlier: a family argument,…
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Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish: The Storyteller Who Turned Survival, Candor, and Comic Momentum into Stardom Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 3 A breakout built on years of work When Tiffany Haddish became a widely recognized movie star in 2017, the speed of her rise could make it seem as though she had arrived overnight.…
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Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence: The Electrifying Performer Who Turned Stand-Up Energy into Television History Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 3 A comic built for the room and the camera Martin Lawrence made the leap from live stand-up to television without surrendering the electricity that first made him compelling. His comedy is physical, fast, and…
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Chris Rock
Chris Rock: The Architecture of an Uncomfortable Laugh Chris Rock | Born February 7, 1965 | Stand-up comedian, actor, writer, director and producer | United States The voice behind the microphone Chris Rock’s stage persona has long depended on a remarkable contrast: the physical energy of a performer who seems unable to stand still, and…
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Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg: The Unclassifiable Performer Who Made Room for More Than One Kind of Stardom Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 3 An artist who refuses a single category Whoopi Goldberg’s career resists the tidy labels that entertainment industries prefer. She has been a stand-up performer, dramatic actor, comic scene-stealer, television moderator, Broadway…
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Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy: The Star Who Rewrote Hollywood's Comedy Rules Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 2 The unmistakable arrival Eddie Murphy emerged at a moment when American comedy was being reshaped by television, stand-up albums, and an expanding film industry. His ascent was extraordinary even by show-business standards. Before reaching his mid-twenties, he…
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Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle: The Comedian Who Made Control Part of the Story Dave Chappelle | Born August 24, 1973 | Stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer | United States The stage as a place of negotiation Dave Chappelle has built a career around a question that extends beyond comedy: who controls the meaning of a performance…
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Richard Blackwood
Richard Blackwood: The entertainer who learned to reinvent the spotlight Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 5 Richard Blackwood's career is a story about what happens after a breakthrough. At the turn of the millennium he was everywhere: on music television, in a prime-time chat show, on the pop charts and in the…
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Gina Yashere
Gina Yashere: Two Cultures, Two Continents, and a Voice Entirely Her Own Black Comedy News | Definitive Profiles — Volume 4 The art of belonging to more than one place Gina Yashere’s comedy begins with an observation that many children of immigrants recognize: the world inside the family home can operate by different rules from…