Edward Regan Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. He has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comedian.
Christopher Tucker is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series Def Comedy Jam, where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He made his feature film debut in House Party 3 in 1994 and gained greater recognition in Friday the following year. In 1997, he co-starred in the films The Fifth Element and Money Talks, and appeared in a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. Tucker gained widespread fame and popularity in the 2000s for playing Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.
Richard Philip Lewis was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Lewis came to prominence in the 1980s and became known for his dark, neurotic, and self-deprecating humor. As an actor, he was known for starring in the ABC sitcom Anything but Love from 1989 to 1992, and for playing the role of Prince John in the 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lewis also had a recurring role as a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm from 2000 to 2024.
Brian Joseph Regan is an American stand-up comedian who uses observational, sarcastic, and self-deprecating humor. He is known for incorporating body language and facial expressions into his act. His performances are often described as clean as he refrains from profanity as well as taboo subject matter. Regan's material typically covers everyday events, such as shipping a package with UPS, mortgages, and visits to the optometrist. While he does not define himself as youth-oriented, Regan makes frequent references to childhood, including little league baseball, grade school spelling bees, and science projects.
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most important stand-up comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Dynamite Chicken is a 1971 American comedy film. Described in its opening credits as "an electronic magazine of American pop culture", it presents a series of interviews, stand-up comedy, countercultural sketches, documentary segments, and agitprop relating to the peace movement, based around a stream-of-consciousness free-form format.
Eddie Murphy Raw is a 1987 American stand-up comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Robert Townsend. It was Murphy's second feature stand-up comedy film, following Eddie Murphy Delirious. However, unlike Delirious, Raw received a wide theatrical release. The 90-minute show was filmed at the Felt Forum, a venue in the Madison Square Garden complex in New York City. The film was released in the United States on December 18, 1987. As of January 2022, it is the highest-grossing stand-up comedy concert film ever released, making $50.5 million in the United States and Canada.
Paul Gladney, better known by the stage name Paul Mooney, was an American comedian, writer, and actor. He collaborated with Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle, wrote for comedian Richard Pryor and the television series Sanford and Son, In Living Color and Chappelle's Show, as well as acting in The Buddy Holly Story (1978), the Spike Lee-directed satirical film Bamboozled (2000), and Chappelle's Show.
Still Smokin is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong, featuring Cheech & Chong sketches with a wraparound story involving the duo arriving in Amsterdam for a film festival. While the film grossed $15 million, it received predominantly negative reviews.
Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) is a two-CD compilation of live stand-up comedy recordings by comedian and actor Richard Pryor, that predates his 1974 mainstream breakthrough album That Nigger's Crazy.
Richard Pryor is the debut album of comedian Richard Pryor. It was recorded live in 1968 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling is a 1986 American biographical comedy-drama film directed, produced by and starring Richard Pryor, who also wrote the screenplay with Paul Mooney and Rocco Urbisci. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling was Richard Pryor's first and only directorial effort, although he is credited as such on the screen version of his 1983 stand-up comedy concert film.
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert is a 1979 American stand-up comedy concert film starring and written by Richard Pryor, and directed by Jeff Margolis.
Craps (After Hours) is the second album by American comedian Richard Pryor, released in 1971 on the Laff Records label.
Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip is a 1982 American stand-up comedy film directed by Joe Layton. It stars and was produced by Richard Pryor, who also wrote the screenplay with Paul Mooney. The film was released alongside his album of the same name in 1982, and the most financially lucrative of the comedian's concert films. The material includes Pryor's frank discussion of his drug addiction and the night that he caught on fire while freebasing cocaine in 1980.
Michael Elliot Epps is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and its sequel, Friday After Next, and also appeared in The Hangover and The Hangover Part III as "Black Doug". He was the voice of main character Boog in Open Season 2, replacing Martin Lawrence, with whom he starred in the comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, playing "Reggie", cousin of Roscoe. He played Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wayne in the films Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). He has had starring roles in the sitcoms Uncle Buck and The Upshaws.
Greer Barnes is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for clever wordplay, observational humor, sketch comedy, mimicry, and energetic physical comedy. He has performed in comedy festivals, in commercials, on television and in films. He regularly appears at The Comedy Cellar in New York City’s West Village.
Jerry Before Seinfeld is a 2017 stand-up comedy film that follows comedian Jerry Seinfeld as he returns for a stand-up routine at the New York City comedy club, Comic Strip Live, which started his career. The album of the special was nominated for a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. This is his third special and his first with Netflix.
Deztin J. Pryor, known professionally as D.J. Pryor, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. In January 2019, Pryor participated in the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase. He has acted in short films.
