Trivia: Worked as an airplane mechanic for nine years before becoming a stand-up comic. Got his break opening for In Living Color's Tommy Davidson. Has performed all over the world as an entertainer with the USO comedy tour. Won Season 3 of Last Comic Standing and was the runner-up the previous season. In 2007, he appeared on the NBC reality competition as a talent scout/judge, alongside fellow LCS alums ANT and Kathleen Madigan.

Trivia: Wayne Brady may have made one of his most lasting marks serenading unsuspecting audience members with love ballads on the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Hosted by Drew Carey, the show featured Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, and other regulars, who played improvisational games in front of a studio audience. Brady's brilliant interaction with the other players on the show earned him not only three Emmy nominations (one of which actually found the comic taking home the prize), but enough attention to spawn his own Emmy award-winning series, The Wayne Brady Show, in 2001.Born June 2, 1972, in Orlando, FL, Brady began performing the central Florida theater circuit when he was still a teenager. After a brief stay in Las Vegas, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1996, where he gained a lot of stage and television experience as a dramatic artist. He made appearances on several dramatic series including I'll Fly Away and In the Heat of the Night. In 1998, he hosted the VH-1 series Vinyl Justice, in addition to his late-'90s appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyway? The TV-movie musical Geppetto featured Brady in the role of a magician, alongside Whose Line host Drew Carey, who starred in the comedy.The Wayne Brady Show debuted in 2001. Written by, produced by, and starring Wayne Brady, the series showcased both his comedic and dramatic talents. A sketch comedy show that had a relatively brief run on daytime television, The Wayne Brady Show nevertheless paved the way for a similarly-titled talk show that would hit the airwaves the very same year the original Wayne Brady Show was cancelled. His popularity growing at a rapid rate thanks to his amiable, down-to-earth persona and everyman attitude, Brady proved that he had a sense of humor about his nice guy image but memorably portraying himself as a drug-dealing psychopath on a particularly memorable episode of the wildly popular Comedy Central series Chappelle's Show in 2004. Numerous appearances in a variety of television series' including Reno 911, Stargate SG-1, and Kevin Hill were quick to follow, and in February of 2006 the versitile comic would serve as host to the thought-provoking TV Land series That's What I'm Talking About; a free-flowing look at the Black lifestyle in America that featured such special guests as Spike Lee, Wanda Sykes, DL Hughley, and Paul Mooney. As a recurring role in the popular television series Girlfriends continued to keep Brady busy on the small screen, additional performances in such wide-release features as the retro-minded roller-skating comedy drama Roll Bounce and the high-stakes streetball drama Crossover found the comic's film career continuing to gain momentum as well. In 2007 he began a three-year run hosting the music-related game show Don't Forget the Lyrics, and followed that up by filling the substantial shoes of Monty Hall as the MC of the relaunched Let's Make a Deal.

Trivia: The youngest of seven siblings. After graduating high school, designed t-shirts and sold them on the streets of New York. Performed at his first open mic night at age 26. Made his stand-up television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. Named one of Variety magazine's 10 Comics to Watch in 2013. Was a correspondent on The Daily Show for only three months in 2014; he left the job to write for Saturday Night Live. Was the first stand-up comedian to perform on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2014.

Trivia: Adopted by a social worker in Mississippi when he less than 2 years old. Began his entertainment career as a stand-up comedian in Washington, D.C. Gained notoriety in the early '90s for his adept impersonations of celebrities like Sugar Ray Leonard and Sammy Davis Jr. Made his feature-film debut opposite Halle Berry in the 1991 movie Strictly Business. Honored in 2012, along with his In Living Color castmates, with the Groundbreaking Award at the TV Land Awards 10th Anniversary ceremony.

Trivia: David Alan Grier may be best known as a dexterous TV comedy star, but he is also a multi-talented veteran of musicals, plays, and numerous films. Born in Detroit, Grier graduated with a B.A. in radio, TV, and film from the University of Michigan. Shortly after earning his master's degree at the Yale School of Drama, Grier made his Tony award-nominated Broadway debut in 1981, starring in the musical The First. Along with a stint in the hit musical Dreamgirls, Grier also did Shakespeare and acted in the off-Broadway drama A Soldier's Play. Moving to film, Grier earned the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor prize for his first feature, Robert Altman's Streamers (1983). Grier was subsequently one of several cast members to make the transition from stage to screen when A Soldier's Play was adapted into the critically lauded, Best Picture nominee A Soldier's Story (1984). Grier moved to lighter cinematic fare with a starring role in the advertising parody Beer (1985) and appeared in a series of undistinguished films, including From the Hip (1986) and Almost an Angel (1990). Grier's brief role in Keenen Ivory Wayans' dead-on blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988), however, turned into an even more fruitful collaboration when Wayans cast Grier in his comedy sketch show In Living Color. Throughout In Living Color's 1990-1994 run, Grier created some of the show's most memorable characters, including flamboyant, circle-snapping critic Antoine Merriweather of "Men On. . ." Grier maintained his film career by appearing as himself in Altman's Hollywood satire The Player (1992) and co-starring in the Eddie Murphy vehicle Boomerang (1992), as well as Damon Wayans' superhero spoof Blankman (1994). After the show ended, Grier continued to alternate between TV and films, executive producing and starring in the short-lived series The Preston Chronicles (1995), as well as appearing in the Robin Williams hit Jumanji (1995). Grier re-teamed with his "Men On" cohort Damon Wayans for the latter's 1998 sitcom Damon, but it failed to match In Living Color's popularity. Grier notched a ratings hit, and got to display his dramatic chops with his performance as a Black Panther in the miniseries The 60s (1999). After appearing in the lackluster Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) and Return to Me (2000), Grier took another shot at sitcom success as the title Secret Serviceman in DAG (2000). He subsequently tried starring in a number of sitcoms that failed to take off, but always found consistent supporting work, with recurring roles on Life with Bonnie, Crank Yankers, and in several feature films. Grier also returned to the stage in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and in 2008, he was given his own show, a no-holds-barred mock-news program in the style of the Daily Show called Chocolate News, which presented both real and fictional news stories from an African American perspective. In 2009 he competed on the eighth season of the reality show Dancing With the Stars, and also appeared in the spoof film Dance Flick. He lent his voice to the animated project Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil.

Trivia: Grew up in foster care after her biological mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and began attending Laugh Factory Comedy Camp at the age of 15 at the recommendation of her social worker. Developed Chuckles Not Knuckles, a comedy-show program that promotes nonviolence to inner-city students. Performed on a USO Comedy Tour in Japan for U.S. troops. In 2011, was cast in David E. Talbert's national tour of What My Husband Doesn't Know. Performed in Jenny McCarthy's stand-up comedy tour Dirty, Sexy, Funny in 2014.

Trivia: After cutting his teeth on the stand-up comedy circuit on the East Coast, comic Kevin Hart got his big break when he was cast in the Judd Apatow series Undeclared in 2000. The then 21 year old had grown up using his sense of humor to help his family cope with issues like his father's drug addiction and incarceration, and eventually learning to thrive in the stand-up scene helped give Hart the tenacity to make it on a national scale, both on stage and on screen. Hart would headline several successful national stand-up tours over the coming years, in addition to his successful movie career, which would find him appearing in a host of films like Soul Plane, Fool's Gold, The Five Year Engagement, This is the End. In 2014, he had a trio of hits, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too. His success continued into the following years, headlining The Wedding Ringer and Get Hard in 2015, and Ride Along 2 and a stand-up film, What Now? in 2016.

Trivia: A longtime standup comic in addition to his work in television and radio, outspoken funnyman Steve Harvey has time and again proven his dedication to changing the public perception of African-American humor by means of his unique gift for humor. Though his universal truth-style and observant eye have gained Harvey a loyal following with his top-rated show on the WB, Harvey still vocally articulates his frustrations with the racial sliding scale of prime-time success. Harvey grew up in Cleveland and began his career as a standup comedian in the early '90s. With his popularity leading to a long-running stint on television's popular Showtime at the Apollo a few short years later, Harvey's small-screen career was soon on the rise and he next landed a leading role (as well as a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series) in television's Me and the Boys in 1994. With his own series, The Steve Harvey Show, close on the horizon, the comic's influence was gaining even more momentum in addition to a wider audience. And though he would earn four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for his show, Harvey was quick to point out that that doesn't necessarily entitle him to the perks of a role in a more Caucasian-oriented sitcom. One of four black comics featured in director Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), Harvey was soon joined in prime time by fellow King Bernie Mac when Mac debuted his own namesake television series in early 2001. In addition to serving as host of KKBT-FM's The Beat, Harvey frequently takes part in speaking engagements in which he stresses the importance of goals and the dangers of drugs to impressionable youths.

Trivia: Decided that he wanted to become a comedian at the age of 11. Was not professionally trained and considers Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor his biggest influences. At the age of 19, began his stand-up career by self-promoting and performing at The Lion's Den in Chicago. Worked as the house emcee at Jokes and Notes comedy club in Chicago. Performed at the NBC Diversity Showcase in Los Angeles and Aspen Showcase in New York. Launched The Lil Rel Company in 2009. In 2012, was named by Variety magazine as one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch.

Trivia: As an advocate of black comedians' talent, D.L. Hughley worked to support their careers, leading by example. After years of experience in the standup circuit, Hughley took on the role of host of BET's Comic View in 1992, in addition to various other television appearances on comedy programs and sitcoms. He was born on March 6, 1963, named Darryl Hughley, and raised in Southern California, where he would spend the majority of his performing life as well. On February 22, 1986, he wed his wife LaDonna, with whom he had three children.Once Hughley had gained some attention as a standup comedian, he appeared on an HBO special, which led to his status as host of Comic View. In 1995, he played Marlon on the TV series Double Rush, and starred in his self-monikered sitcom The Hughleys as himself in 1998. The following year, he performed the voice for the Gadgetmobile in the live-action film Inspector Gadget (starring Matthew Broderick), inspired by the 1980s cartoon series of the same name.He appeared in the Spike Lee documentary The Original Kings of Comedy, which also featured several other accomplished black comedians including Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. In 2001, Hughley expanded his performance horizons with his role in the dramatic comedy The Brothers, a film by Gary Hardwick exploring the realms of friendship and marriage. After The Hughleys wrapped in 2002, he continued to remain a constant fixture in the comedy scene, appearing in additional films like 2004's Soul Plane. He also took on the recurring role of Simon Stiles on the critically acclaimed but short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in 2006 and 2007 as well as the comedy series Glory Daze in 2011. Venturing back into film, Hughley signed on to appear in the action comedy Cat Run later that same year.

Trivia: American writer/director/producer Norman Lear was a graduate of Emerson College. After wartime air force service, Lear became a radio and TV comedy writer, gaining his first "fame" when he was publicly fired by Martin and Lewis. With his friend and longtime collaborator Bud Yorkin, Lear established Tandem Productions in 1959, for the purpose of turning out quality TV specials and comedy theatrical films. While Divorce American Style is a masterpiece of disciplined filmmaking, many of the Lear/Yorkin productions, notably The Night They Raided Minsky's (1967), and Cold Turkey (1971), ran hot and cold; each uproarious comic setpiece would be followed by a groaner, and by the end of the film the humor level had dwindled to chaotic shouting and running about. Lear's best work of the '70s would be concentrated on television. In 1968, he began adapting the British comedy series Till Death Do Us Part for American consumption; the result, which premiered in 1971, was All in the Family, which, in addition to winning a warehouse full of Emmies, literally changed the face of TV comedy. Now a high-roller, Lear churned out one top-rated network project after another, many of them spinoffs of earlier series: Maude (1972), Sanford and Son (1972), Good Times (1973), The Jeffersons (1975). So successful was Lear's output that he was forgiven the occasional flop like The Hot L Baltimore (1975). When all three major networks rejected Lear's soap opera parody Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, the producer released the series via non-network syndication in 1976, spawning a brief vogue for late-night syndicated comedy programs (most of them Lear's). During his glory years, Lear became a convenient target for clean-up-TV brigades and political extremists; he also came under fire from some of his own stars, who accused Lear of stifling their artistic potential. The producer responded to the efforts of self-styled censors by helping to create the People for the American Way, an organization dedicated to the perpetuation of freedom of expression on television. He was less successful in counteracting his personal travails; most of his stars left for greener pastures, while his longtime marriage broke up in a highly publicized fashion, with the ex-Mrs. Lear using her settlement money to establish a trendy magazine called Lear's. In the last fifteen years, Norman Lear has been justifiably canonized as a pioneer and innovator in the world of socially conscious television; but his most recent TV projects, such as the very shortlived Sunday Dinner, tend to be sourly reactionary efforts, lacking the cutting-edge brilliance of his best work.

Trivia: Another of Julliard's illustrious alumni, Garrett Morris' first significant professional job was as performer and arranger with the Harry Belafonte singers. Morris went on to appear in such Broadway productions as Porgy and Bess, Hallelujah Baby, and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. He also wrote two plays, The Secret Place and Daddy Picou and Marie LeVeau. His first film gig was as a makeup artist on This Property is Condemned (1967); he made his movie acting bow in 1970. After a season's worth of supporting appearances on the 1973-74 sitcom Roll Out, Morris was hired as one of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC's Saturday Night Live. After his SNL stint, Morris could be seen in film supporting roles, most amusingly as "Famous Amos" takeoff Chocolate Charlie in the otherwise indifferent 1985 horror film The Stuff. He also made a return visit to Broadway, starring in I'm Not Rappaport. Back on TV, Garret Morris was seen regularly as Stan Kemrite on Martin (1992-1994) and on the weekly sitcoms of Ellen Cleghorne and Jamie Foxx.

Trivia: African-American comedian Sherri Shepherd debuted on the small screen in the mid-'90s, with appearances on such popular series programs as Friends, Emeril, and Less Than Perfect -- typically as aggressive and outspoken, spunky women. Shepherd then broke through to national acclaim and recognition in the mid-2000s -- both cinematically, with prominent billing in the features Beauty Shop (2005) and Who's Your Caddy? (2007), and on television, as one of the hostesses on the popular daytime talk program The View. Shepherd grew up in the Chicago area. When her parents divorced at an early age, the mother took custody of Sherri and her three sisters and moved with them to California. An experience watching a comedian do a standup act inspired Shepherd to step behind the microphone. As an actress, she debuted on the sitcom Cleghorne!, then landed guest appearances on the aforementioned series. As an outspoken and committed, born-again Christian, Shepherd is extremely guarded about which roles she accepts and which scenes and dialogue she will perform onscreen, guidelines that distinguish her from many of her contemporaries but have reportedly not hindered her career or her popularity. She appeared in the Oscar-winning Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, and joined the cast of the Madagascar animated franchise as Alex's mother.In 2011 she was cast in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, and in 2012 she played opposite Katherine Heigl in One for the Money.

Trivia: Best known for his 2005 live-action rendering of the Bill Cosby character Fat Albert on the big screen -- a character he brought to life with the aid of a trusty fat suit and the trademark, "Hey, Hey, Hey!" -- wunderkind comic Kenan Thompson honed his skills as a small fry by entertaining classmates with uproarious comedy routines on the playground in his childhood home of Atlanta. Thompson landed his big break by auditioning at age 15 for All That, a Nickelodeon sketch comedy series that (like The Mickey Mouse Club of years prior) functioned as a kind of unofficial petri dish for burgeoning young talent. Series producer and director Brian Robbins reportedly viewed Thompson's audition, tagged his ability to mimic and his comic timing as "dead-on," and hired the young man on the spot. The young comic wowed Nickelodeon, and network heads not only offered him his own sitcom within a year, co-starring another young schtickmeister, Kel Mitchell, but a network-produced movie, the 1997 Good Burger (also starring Mitchell). Numerous additional film roles ensued, and though Mitchell began with goofy, schtick-heavy comedies (Master of Disguise [2002], My Boss' Daughter [2003]), he periodically revealed an interest in stretching his ability into other genres, such as avant-garde/experimental video (Public Lighting [2004]) and action-saturated horror (Snakes on a Plane [2006]). In 2008, however, Thompson hearkened back to comedy by voicing one of the titular primates in the goofy live-action fantasy Space Chimps. Meanwhile, alongside his film work, Thompson achieved even greater success on the small screen. His debut series, All That, had been conveniently described by more than one critic as "SNL for the small set," and paved the way for Thompson's involvement in the real Saturday Night Live; he joined the SNL cast in 2003.

Trivia: Born September 18th, 1970, actress, comedian, author, reality-show host, and occasional scriptwriter Aisha Tyler came of age in San Francisco and studied poly sci at Dartmouth College before mounting a (brief) career as an advertising executive in her hometown. Dissatisfied by this pursuit, and pining to launch herself as a full-time entertainer, Tyler "dropped out" of the corporate world and hit the road with a solo standup comedy act in the mid-'90s.Around 2001 -- after five years in Los Angeles with occasional standup bookings and concomitantly limited acclaim and recognition -- Tyler landed two huge breaks, first as the host of the irreverent Talk Soup during that program's final year (a position she inherited from Greg Kinnear, John Henson, and others), and then as the primary host of the dating series The 5th Wheel. Riding the crest of popularity generated by reality television during the first several years of the millennium, Wheel coupled the unscripted spontaneity of The Real World and Survivor with the format of the dating series Blind Date. Its premise involved setting two couples up on blind dates, having them "swap" partners, and adding an unforeseen fifth member (the "wheel" of the title) to stir things up and add provocation. The program placed a greater emphasis on erotic and suggestive content than Blind and -- perhaps as a result -- it unsurprisingly became a massive, runaway hit.The ever-ambitious Tyler, however, continued to expand her horizons. She maintained a short tenure with Wheel and quickly moved on to other endeavors, placing a particularly strong emphasis on television work. This included a stint as Charlie (the only recurring African-American cast member) in the final two seasons of the popular sitcom Friends, and a recurring role as covert terrorist Marianne Taylor on the weekly suspenser 24. Tyler also portrayed attorney Andrea Moreno (who dies in a car crash but is then "ushered" over to the other side by Jennifer Love Hewitt's psychic) in the first season (2005-2006) of the supernatural drama The Ghost Whisperer. After that, Tyler segued into feature-film work, with bit roles in such pictures as The Santa Clause 3 and .45.Six feet tall and one of the most physically breathtaking young actresses of her generation, Tyler frequently provides beauty tips in such magazines as Ebony and Glamour; she is also an outspoken proponent of physical fitness and a strenuous exerciser who pushes herself to an almost unimaginable degree. A February 2007 issue of In Style magazine reported, "In addition to scaling walls, Tyler runs, uses a rowing machine, lifts weights, snowboards and scuba dives. But for her, nothing beats the mental rush of rock climbing." In 2004, Tyler also authored and published the best-seller Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl, a free-form, witty expostulation on such "hot" topics as men, bikini waxing, reality television, dating wars, sex, and body image.After filming several unremarkable movies throughout the mid-2000s, the actress found success on Archer, a television series that features Tyler as a dedicated but deadly agent for ISIS, a secret intelligence unit in New York City. While she continued work on Archer, she landed the job of co-host on The Talk, and later, host of the revamped Whose Line Is It Anyway? As if that weren't enough, Tyler also landed a recurring role on Criminal Minds in 2015.

Trivia: Thin, jug-eared, and rubber-faced black comedian Jimmie Walker is best remembered for playing J.J. on the sitcom Good Times (1974-1979). His exuberant "Dyno-mite!!" was briefly a popular catch phrase back then. Walker made his feature film debut in Sing Thanksgiving (1974). Following the demise of his show, Walker embarked upon a modest film career and carried on with his standup career. He occasionally showed up on television talk shows and in 70's retrospectives, not afraid to poke fun at his '70s persona.

Trivia: Burly black comedienne Marsha Warfield is best remembered for playing the caustic bailiff Roz on the popular television sitcom Night Court. Warfield made her film debut in the television movie The Marva Collins Story (1981). Prior to that she was a member of the sketch comedy cast on the short-lived, controversial Richard Pryor Show (1977). In addition to acting, Warfield is also a funny standup comedienne who often uses graphic language and descriptions of sex to describe the foibles of male/female interactions. Following the end of Night Court, Warfield hosted a short-lived talk show in 1990.

Trivia: An outrageous comedian who clearly pulls from such influences as Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor -- but somehow ups the irreverence quotient many times over -- standup comic-turned-actor Katt Williams built a career vulgarly riffing on such subjects as Michael Jackson, middle-American evangelism, the incarceration of Martha Stewart, and the ironies of race in America (a favorite topic that found him making fervent use of incendiary epithets), to name only a few touchstones -- all of which gave him a widespread and loyal following, particularly among young African-American males. Born in Cincinnati, OH, but raised in nearby Dayton, Williams grew up as the child of politically and socially active parents and received outstanding grades and a slew of academic honors in school. In his late teens, he moved to San Francisco and temporarily joined the Nation of Islam, meanwhile honing a standup act at local nightclubs. Favorite venues that hosted Williams in the late '90s included the Hollywood Park Casino, The Icehouse and The Improv; he also became a staple on BET's standup programs. In 2002, Williams accepted one of his first screen assignments with a small role (as Money Mike) in Marcus Raboy's Friday After Next. Five years later, Williams finally had the opportunity to team up onscreen with longtime idol Eddie Murphy, who cast him as Lord Have Mercy in the farce Norbit (2007). That same year, Williams appeared in a minor capacity in the gag-laden Epic Movie and displayed a more sober side in the family-oriented Christmas drama The Perfect Holiday. Meanwhile, the comic continually headlined standup performance films via such cable outlets as Comedy Central and HBO.