Christopher Julius Rock is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and observational comedy. His success branched off into productions in film, television, and on-stage, having received multiple accolades including three Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Rock was ranked No. 5 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. He also ranked No. 5 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time.
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premired on HBO with a hour-long special in October 17, 1999, with the rest of the episodes airing from October 15, 2000, to April 7, 2024. David stars as a fictionalized version of himself and it follows his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and, for one season, New York City. Also starring are Cheryl Hines as his wife Cheryl, Jeff Garlin as his manager and best friend Jeff Greene, Susie Essman as Jeff's wife Susie, and J. B. Smoove as Larry's housemate Leon Black. It often features celebrity guest stars, many of them playing fictionalized versions of themselves, including Ted Danson, Richard Lewis, Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell, and Jon Hamm.
William Maher is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is popularly known for the HBO political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher (2003–present) and the similar late-night show called Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC. In 2022, Maher started the podcast Club Random.
Politically Incorrect is an American late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that aired from July 25, 1993, to July 5, 2002. It premiered on Comedy Central in July 1993 and aired for three seasons until November 5, 1996; amid its success on Comedy Central, ABC expressed interest in bringing the show to the network to shore up its late-night lineup, moving there on January 5, 1997.
Wayne Alphonso Brady is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular cast member on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? He was the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show, the original host of Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics!, and he has hosted Let's Make a Deal since its 2009 revival.
Wanda Yvette Sykes is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her recurring roles on CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10), and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001–2011). She received Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for her roles in ABC's Black-ish (2015–2022), and Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2020). She currently stars in the Netflix original series The Upshaws (2021–), the HBO Max comedy series The Other Two (2019–2023), and The Good Fight (2021).
Real Time with Bill Maher is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and later on ABC, Real Time features a panel of guests who discuss current events in politics and the media. Unlike the previous show, guests are usually better versed in the subject matter; more experts such as journalists, professors, and politicians participate in the panel, and fewer actors and celebrities are included.
I'm Telling You for the Last Time is a 1998 stand-up comedy special and the second starring Jerry Seinfeld. The special aired live on HBO on August 9, 1998, from the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. It was then released as an album on cassette and CD by the same title that same year. In 1999, a VHS and DVD titled Jerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You for the Last Time - Live on Broadway was released.
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance was a Creative Arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. It was awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice actors could be nominated for their performance in the live-action acting categories. The award was first given in 1992 when six voice actors from The Simpsons shared the award. From 1992 to 2008, it was a juried award, so there were no nominations and there would be multiple or no recipients in one year. In 2009, the rules were changed to a category award, with five nominees.
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. The award categories are divided into three classes: the regular Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards to honor technical and other similar behind-the-scenes achievements, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards for recognizing significant contributions to the engineering and technological aspects of television. First given out in 1949, the award was originally referred to as simply the "Emmy Award" until the International Emmy Award and the Daytime Emmy Award were created in the early 1970s to expand the Emmy to other sectors of the television industry.
John Craig Moffitt is an American television director who is best known for his work on Mr. Show.
Troy Miller is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in comedy and has directed four feature films as well as directing and producing numerous TV shows and specials.
Freak is a solo performance written by and starring John Leguizamo that debuted on Broadway in 1998. In Freak, subtitled "A Semi-Demi-Quasi-Pseudo Autobiography ," Leguizamo tells his own coming-of-age story by portraying dozens of different characters—friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.—that he knew growing up in Queens. Freak was also released that same year as a live television special on HBO directed by Spike Lee.
Chris Rock: Bring the Pain is a television special that premiered on HBO on June 1, 1996, starring comedian Chris Rock. This was Rock's second special for the network, following 1994's Big Ass Jokes as part of HBO Comedy Half-Hour. Rock was already a well-known comedian, but Bring the Pain made him one of the most popular comedians in the United States. The special included subjects about then-D.C. mayor Marion Barry, the O. J. Simpson murder case, dating, marriage, and race relations in America.
It's Bad for Ya is the 19th album as well as the 14th and final HBO stand-up comedy special by stand-up comedian George Carlin. It was televised live on March 1, 2008, on HBO, less than four months before his death.
Joel Gallen is an American director and producer. He is the founder of Tenth Planet Productions, a Los Angeles-based film and television production company.
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) is a category at the Primetime Emmy Awards. It is awarded annually to the singularly best pre-recorded varietal, musical or comedic special of the year. It was previously presented as Outstanding Variety Special until it was restructured alongside Outstanding Special Class Program for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.
This is a timeline documenting events and facts about stand-up comedy in the year 2016.
Bill Maher: Live from Oklahoma is American comedian, political satirist, and television personality Bill Maher's eleventh HBO stand-up comedy special.
