Black History Month Special: 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians

This idea actually started as a school project years ago. It came from Comedy Central's list on the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comics of All-Time. I watched that 5 part special and I noticed there was a lot of folks missing (not just blacks comics, but others in general.) I did pay attention to the "others" and noticed there were 18 blacks and 2 Latins, and an Asian. You're telling there are basically 80 funny white comics out of the 100 greatest? Well, that's how this list got started back about five years or so ago for a class ... Well, recently going through my hard drive, I forgot that I had even did this. I updated it a bit, added a few more comics and BAM, there you have, over 100 comics that will be coming throughout the month of February.



There will be comics we all know and love, then they

[IMG]http://images.starcraftmazter.net/4chan/for_forums/cool_story_sis.jpg[/IMG]

Black History Month; the shortest month of the year.

When will the oppression end?

[QUOTE=bdreason]Location: 4 Homes & 10 Cable Connections[/QUOTE]

your that parasite user, cavs_mo some sh[I]i[/I]t??

[I]I‘m gonna start off with a little bonus at the 101. These three comics (all from New York City) were in the stand up comedy circle before they even knew it. They are the younger (and one older) brother’s of a couple of comedy legends (and are somewhat legends in their own right ...)[/I]


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[B]101.[/B]
Tony Rock
Charlie Murphy
Shawn Wayans
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[IMG]http://www.buddytv.com/articles/All-Of-Us/images/tony-rock-2.jpg[/IMG]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVnSYTei3NY"]Tony Rock[/URL]

Tony Rock is the latest to get started in the business, in 2000 to be exact. His brother was in the game almost 15 years before he decided he wanted to try his hand at comedy. Since then, he has hosted his own stand up comedy show on TV One titled “The Funny Spot.” He alsa made an appearance on the comeback of Def Comedy Jam in 2006.


[IMG]http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Sony+PlayStation+3+Launch+Party+r0KA9GbB7sal.jpg[/IMG]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eio-pArmp2U"]Charlie Murphy[/URL]

Charlie Murphy is a few years older than Eddie but it was more than after a decade of his little bro performing when he got his career of the ground. After doin’ bit parts on some SNL skits, he made an appearance in ‘Harlem Nights' in 1989. He started doin’ stand around 1991. He finally made a name for himself on the sketch show ‘Chappelle’s Show’ in 2003 and hosted an episode of ‘Live at Gotham’ in 2009. Latter this year, like his brother, he'll be in theaters with a stand-up special.



[IMG]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PyZ0aV-8im0/SNSnR8XsKcI/AAAAAAAAAbU/ioFpLE5pjD4/s400/081010_ShawnWayans.jpg[/IMG]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcStVvA4IHE"]Shawn Wayans[/URL]

Shawn Wayans is the youngest of the three here, but actually started doing stand-up before the other two, way back in 1987 to be exact! He learned the game buy following his older brothers Keenen & Damon on the road and eventually opening up for one of them, Damon. He hosted "Comics Come Home 4" on Comedy Central and the MTV Movie Awards in 2000 with brother Marlon. Sister Kim is also a stand-up comic.

All three comics are currently still doing stand-up. There are many more brother duo's to appear ...

How come there is no Latino History Month special, Asian History Month special or Native American History month special?

[QUOTE=godofgods]How come there is no Latino History Month special, Asian History Month special or Native American History month special?[/QUOTE]
Be my guest, start them all, or do you want me too do all of them?

[i]Back with a dose of ten comics, numbers 100 through 91.[/i]



[b]100. Kim Whitley[/b]
[img]http://www.thicksational.com/wp-content/uploads/kymhitley.jpg[/img]

This young lady from Ohio started out her career in the early 90s

Godfrey physically assaulted my boy. Dude isn't funny.

[QUOTE=AtomSmasher]Godfrey physically assaulted my boy. Dude isn't funny.[/QUOTE]
LOL, for real??

[QUOTE=L.Kizzle]LOL, for real??[/QUOTE]
Ha, yeah. It was in the middle of one of his stand up bits too. My buddy and him started yapping at each other and Godfrey wanted to throw down!

I've actually never heard any of his stand up.

I like your list though. Nicely done.

[QUOTE=AtomSmasher]Ha, yeah. It was in the middle of one of his stand up bits too. My buddy and him started yapping at each other and Godfrey wanted to throw down!

I've actually never heard any of his stand up.

I like your list though. Nicely done.[/QUOTE]
Your boy was heckling a comic, comics heckle back, lol.

cool list...keep going! no, take your time.

[QUOTE=AtomSmasher]Godfrey physically assaulted my boy. Dude isn't funny.[/QUOTE]

I think that shit is though

Haw Haw!

[B]90. Byron Allen[/B]
[img]http://209.237.160.150/dinnerofchampions/ByronAllen.jpg[/img]

Mr. Host, Byron Allen got started with comedy in the early 70s

[b]80. Donnell Rawlings[/b]
[img]http://www.coolinyourcode.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/bootleg-comedy_535x230.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEJLjfYcu0Y"]DOnnell Rawlings stand up[/URL]

[b]70. Bruce Bruce[/b]
[img]http://www.broadwayworld.com/columnpic/852bruce-bruce.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xOiWxatxmk"]Bruce Bruce stand up[/URL]

“Not Fat Bruce, not Big Boy, it’s Bruce, Bruce.” He’s best known as a two time host of BET Comic View in 2000 and 2001. He’s had a special on Comedy Central, his own CC Presents and put out a Live DVD that same year (2003). Also that same year was a performer on Latham Entertainment Presents. HE also been on 1st Amendment Stand Up and The Tom Joyner Show.


[b]69. Reggie McFadden[/b]
[img]http://www.comedycentral.com/images/comedians/m/mcfadden_r/ccp_mcfadden_s1_m5.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di0VvAGSTA8"]Reggie McFadden stand up[/URL]

[b]UNDERRATED!![/b] Another member of the later In Living Color seasons, he was a staple of Def Comedy Jam in the 90s. Reggie McFadden is one hilarious dude. He’s also had many specials on Comedy Central including a Comedy Central Present in 1998, and appeared on may of their programs like Premium Blend and Comic Groove. He was hilarious on a n episode of Martin.


[b]68. Mario Joyner[/b]
[img]http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/9405837.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KYNZQ-fxa0"]Mario Joyner stand up[/URL]

The man was the host of MTV’s

Kevin Hart is hilarious. You're right...he keeps getting funnier! Ricky Smiley as Precious is funny as hell. I gotta believe Mr.Foxx will be up there. Probably my personal favorite. Dude is just too funny. You should leave off Steve Harvey. lol I'm just hatin..

Great thread.

This thread is ****ing awesome. :applause:

[b]60. Shirley Hemphill[/b]
[img]http://panachereport.com/channels/old_school_update/images/shirleyoval210op.jpg[/img]

A big star from the 70s

Mike Epps should not even be on the list. :ohwell:

[QUOTE=Dasher]Mike Epps should not even be on the list. :ohwell:[/QUOTE]
I remember saying he was the funniest un-funny guy.

[url]http://prince.org/msg/100/329355?&pg=3[/url]

That one has gone to #31 already, why is ISH still on #51?

I don't know if you've seen Aries Spears rap impressions but they're pretty amazing. Here's the link if your interested: [url]http://www.break.com/usercontent/2008/6/Crazy-Rap-Impressions-521520.html[/url]

Just close your eyes and enjoy lol.

L. Kizzle, why is it so hard for you to accept that white are better than black people at some things?

[QUOTE=iamgine][url]http://prince.org/msg/100/329355?&pg=3[/url]

That one has gone to #31 already, why is ISH still on #51?[/QUOTE]
That's my thread also, you're on the org??

[QUOTE=GatorKid117]I don't know if you've seen Aries Spears rap impressions but they're pretty amazing. Here's the link if your interested: [url]http://www.break.com/usercontent/2008/6/Crazy-Rap-Impressions-521520.html[/url]

Just close your eyes and enjoy lol.[/QUOTE]
I've seen it many times, that's why he's number 71.

[i]Now, we reach the top 50, who will make the cut, where will they be listed at ...[/i]


[b]50. Richard & Willie[/b]
[img]http://lpcoverlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/img_3383-500x498.jpg[/img]


The second comedy team to make the list (Skillet & LeRoy.) But, were they a comedy team in reality ... They are more than Willie Tyler and Lester, Richard could stand on his own as a comic. Richard Stanfield and his dummy Willie formed the team Richard and Willie in the mid 1960s

[b]40. John Witherspoon[/b]
[img]http://pic.leech.it/i/85a29/fb8a852e691.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYOtK-MrexU"]John Witherspoon stand up[/URL]

katt williams cracks me up!

Guy Torry > Joe Torry

[b]30. Bill Bellamy[/b]
[img]http://www.avclub.com/assets/images/articles/article/14716/satinbill.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgbv4axfDC8"]Bill Bellamy stand up[/URL]

The inverter of the term “Booty Call.” He titled his first stand up special after the term in a 1994 high rated Showtime special. He was born in 1965 in Newark, New Jersey (same for his little big cousin Shaq.) He started his career in 1985. He did his comedy on Showtime at the Apollo than appeared on Def Comedy Jam in 1992 and 1993. He was actually the first performer to make it big from Def Jam, getting a hosting job on MTV for many years and appearing on their Rock N Jock B-Ball Jam specials in the 90s'. He host two stand up show’s Last Comic Standing and Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes and with these went back to his roots for his 2005 Comedy Central Special, Back To My Roots. The next year he appeared on the return of Def Comedy Jam.



[b]29. Pigmeat Markhum[/b]
[img]http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/amg/pop_albums/cov200/drd900/d923/d92311lgc90.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZY6qW2Aktk"]Pigmeat Markhum stand up[/URL]

“Here Comes The Judge, Here Comes The Judge.” This man might be the first black stand-up comic as we know it today. He was born Dewey Markhum in 1904 and by 1917 was performing as a dancer with Bessie Smith. Later on he went on to perform with the likes of Milton Berle, Red Buttons in blackface. Pigmeat was in the Vaudeville era of Step'n Fetchit, Sleep'n Eat: Willie Best, Mantan Moreland and Hattie McDaniel. After World War II, he decided to lose the blackface and started doin' something called "stand-up comedy" slightly different from the comedy he and his vaudevillian buddies came from. By this time, Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx and Nipsey Russell joined the trade. By 1950, he was THE KING OF COMEDY releasing comedy albums like "Tune Me In" "The Crap Shootin' Rev" and "Would The Real Pigmeat Markham Please Sit Down." He's best know for the top ten hit from 1968 "Here Comes the Judge." He appeared on "Toast of the Town" "Rowan & Martin's Laugh In." He was the man on the Chitlin' Circuit, performing at the Regal in Chicago, Howard in DC, the Uptown in Philadelphia and of course the Apollo Theater.


[b]28. Arsenio Hall[/b]
[img]http://pics.livejournal.com/stepliana/pic/000kqby5[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-8KG9CEmj4"]Arsenio Hall stand up[/URL]

After hosting many shows in the early 80s and staring in films, this 'Black Pack' member became the first black with a late night TV show, “The Arsenio Hall Show.” Wat was goin' on before than, he was born in 1955 in Cleveland and by the age 6, was performing on stage, but not stand up just yet, he was a magician. He started performing comedy in 1977 during his college years an Ohio State then Kent State. BY the early 80's he became "Mr. Host" hosting everything from Soul Train, Solid Gold, Thicke in the Night and Half Hour Comedy Hour. When Joan Rivers decided to step down, he stepped right in as the Host for the Late Late Show on Fox. He was so good that they gave hihis own syndicated show, "The Arsenio Hall Show." His stand up was seen on Evening at the Improv, his best friend Eddie Murphy's produced Uptown Comedy Express and HBO's Comic Relief in 1989. Speaking of Eddie, he starred with him in Coming to America. He's been making a comeback this past decade hosting Star Search and many shows on the tube. Little know fact, the movie Coming to America was originally titles Quest and was to star another 'Black Pack' member, the guy is actually next on the list ...


[b]27. Keenen Ivory Wayans[/b]
[img]http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/R/htmlR/racismethni/racismethniIMAGE/racismethni1.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQjr8-plEWc"]Keenen Ivory Wayans stand up[/URL]

Another 'Black Pack' member, he shot to fame with the family series In Living Color in 1990, but was a fixture in comedy a decade earlier. He started his career in 1978 as a part time comic while still attending Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. By 1980, he was the hottest comic in NY not named Eddie Murphy. Eddie is actually quoted saying "I thought I was the only funny black guy in New York. Now I see there are two." He went to Hollywood to audition to pilots and got some roles like "For The Love of War" in 1983 a series and that same year did his stand up on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. After years of small roles, he finally got with his 'Black Pack' member Robert Townsend and they came up with the film "Hollywood Shuffle" in 1987. That same year, his other 'Black Pack' buddy Eddie Murphy got with him and Robert for his concert film, RAW. Now Keenen was in business, was a main performer on Townsend' specials on HBO and his own films like I'm Gonna Git U Sucka! and than In Living Color hit. This sketch show was the ultimate sketch show and nearly every member of the cast is here on this list. After ILC, he went into movies and actually back to stand up in 1999. He's performed his stand up on Evening at the Improv.


[b]26. Whoopi Goldberg[/b]
[img]http://www.celebrityheights.net/g/whoopi-goldberg/image.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0ok_e-daMw"]Whoopi Goldberg stand up[/URL]

Yep, she is a stand up comic peoples. Born in 1949 in New York City. She started her stand up career in 1981 in New York. In 1985, HBO gave her Whoopi Goldberg; Direct from Broadway, which was a success. That same year, she appeared in The Color Purple. The next year, along with comics Robin Williams and Billy Crystal, she created the Comic Relief series, that was on HBO for many years and included many comics. She hosted each of the specials, 11 in total. In 1990 and 91, had an HBO Comedy Hour; In Performance (1990) and Chez Whoopi (1991.) She’s a mainstay on the gameshow, Hollywood Squares. Over the years her movie credits include Burglar, Ghost and Sister Acts. She came back in 2007 on a stand up special on the Bravo Network.

[b]25. Tommy Davidson[/b]
[img]http://jokes.mtvnimages.com/images/jokes_vertical/video/j_pbl/j_pbl_03_0307/j_pbl_03_0307_01_v6.jpg[/img]
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e-ABdgDu7A"]Tommy Davidson stand up[/URL]

This brother rose to fame probably faster than anyone else on this list. He was born in 1964 and was raised by white foster parents after his mother a Civil Right activist could no longer care for him. He started his career in 1987 in Washington, DC, and by 1988 was in Hollywood where he was discovered by friends Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans. Rob put him on HBO as part of Robert Townsend

[img]http://www.pe.com/imagesdaily/2008/05-08/lavell_crawford3_400.jpg[/img]

Lavell Crawford is a funny mofo :oldlol: me and my wife cracking the f* up at him just standing there wheezing.

person: Lavell! what the hell you doing over there?

Lavelle: Im breathing! what the hell it look like? :roll:

I would have put Bill Bellamy in the top 10, hell maybe the top 5. He is the greatest pretty boy comedian of all time. "How To Be A Player" should be required viewing for anyone trying to juggle playmates.

[QUOTE=Dasher]I would have put Bill Bellamy in the top 10, hell maybe the top 5. He is the greatest pretty boy comedian of all time. "How To Be A Player" should be required viewing for anyone trying to juggle playmates.[/QUOTE]
Top 10 is a stretch, he's in the top 30, that's good company, don't you think? I got him over the likes of Jamie Foxx, the Torry brothers, Steve Harvey, ect.

Well Steve is one of those unfunny cats. I generally never laughed at his standup.

[QUOTE=Dasher]Well Steve is one of those unfunny cats. I generally never laughed at his standup.[/QUOTE]
He's the least funniest from the Kings of Comedy, that's for sure.

Cedric at 23??:wtf:

Dude is top ten to me.

Osama-wear was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

[QUOTE=phoenix18]Cedric at 23??:wtf:

Dude is top ten to me.

Osama-wear was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.[/QUOTE]
Who's your top 10?