Funniest Black Male Comedians
by cleverthug | created - 22 Jul 2012 | updated - 22 Sep 2014 | PublicThis list is incomplete...
YES, this list is in order! Ha! And, you don't have to do stand up comedy to be a comedian...
1. Eddie Murphy
Actor | The Nutty Professor
Edward Regan Murphy was born April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York, to Lillian (Laney), a telephone operator, and Charles Edward Murphy, a transit police officer who was also an amateur comedian and actor. After his father died, his mother married Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyer's Ice Cream plant...
2. Richard Pryor
Actor | Superman III
Highly influential, and always controversial, African-American actor/comedian who was equally well known for his colorful language during his live comedy shows, as for his fast paced life, multiple marriages and battles with drug addiction. He has been acknowledged by many modern comic artist's as ...
3. Bill Cosby
Actor | The Cosby Show
Bill Cosby is one of the world's most well-known entertainers and comedians. William Henry Cosby, Jr. was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Anna Pearl (Hite), a maid, and William Henry Cosby, Sr., a U.S. Navy sailor. After tenth grade, Cosby joined the Navy and completed high...
4. Bernie Mac
Actor | The Bernie Mac Show
Bernard Jeffrey McCollough was born in 1957 in Chicago, the son of Mary McCullough and Jeffery Harrison. He grew up in the city, in a rougher neighborhood than most others, with a large family living under one roof. This situation provided him with a great insight into his comedy, as his family, ...
5. Kevin Hart
Actor | Ride Along
Kevin Hart was born on July 6, 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA as Kevin Darnell Hart. He is an actor and producer, known for Ride Along (2014), Central Intelligence (2016) and Grudge Match (2013). He has been married to Eniko Parrish since August 13, 2016. They have one child. He was ...
6. Redd Foxx
Actor | Sanford and Son
Redd Foxx began doing stand-up comedy on the infamous "Chitlin' Circuit" in the 1940s and 1950s. Foxx was one of the premier "blue humor" comedians. Blue humor was very dirty, too dirty for white audiences. For years his party albums were not available in white record stores. In the 1960s his ...
7. Dave Chappelle
Writer | Chappelle's Show
Dave Chappelle's career started while he was in high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC where he studied theatre arts. At the age of 14, he began performing stand-up comedy in nightclubs. Shortly after graduation, he moved to New York City where he quickly established ...
8. Will Smith
Music_department | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Willard Carroll "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden ...
9. Martin Lawrence
Actor | Martin
Martin Lawrence was born on April 16, 1965 in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany as Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence. He is an actor and writer, known for Martin (1992), Bad Boys II (2003) and Bad Boys (1995). He has been married to Shamicka Gibbs since July 10, 2010. They have two children. He was ...
10. Chris Tucker
Actor | Rush Hour 2
At one point in time, Chris Tucker was the highest paid actor in Hollywood.
Tucker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Mary Louise (Bryant) and Norris Tucker, who owned a janitorial service. After graduating from high school, Tucker made a change to move to Hollywood from Georgia to pursue a career in ...
11. Chris Rock
Actor | Top Five
Christopher Julius Rock was born in Andrews, South Carolina and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Rosalie (Tingman), a teacher and social worker for the mentally handicapped, and Julius Rock, a truck driver and newspaper deliveryman, whose own father was a preacher.
...
12. Katt Williams
Actor | Norbit
Multi-talented actor/comedian Katt Williams was born in Cincinnati and raised in Dayton, Ohio. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he is simultaneously working on several projects on camera and behind the scenes for your viewing pleasure in the near future. Throughout his journey...
13. John Witherspoon
Actor | Friday
John Witherspoon was born on January 27, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan, USA as John Weatherspoon. He is known for his work on Friday (1995), Next Friday (2000) and Littleman (2006). He has been married to Angela Robinson Witherspoon since 1988. They have two children.
14. Tyler Perry
Writer | Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Perry was born and raised in New Orleans, to Willie Maxine (Campbell) and Emmitt Perry, Sr. His mother was a church-goer and took Perry along with her once a week. His father was a carpenter and they had a very strained and abusive relationship, which led Perry to suffer from depression as a ...
15. Robin Harris
Actor | House Party
Best remembered for his raunchy humor, Robin Harris became famous in supporting roles in movies such as Do The Right Thing as Sweet Dick Willie and House Party. He has left a legacy that fans and actors will truly miss due to his career which was cut by a massive heart attack at the age of 36. ...
16. DJ Pooh
Writer | Friday
Mark (DJ Pooh) Jordan has produced records for LL Cool J, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and many others. In the mid-1980's, DJ Pooh co-produced LL Cool J's "Bigger and Deffer" album with his producing partner DJ Bobcat. In 1992, Pooh founded the Bomb Record label, and in only two shot years ...
17. Jamie Foxx
Actor | Django Unchained
Jamie Foxx is an American actor, singer and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in the biographical film Ray (2004). The same year, he was nominated for the Academy...
18. Cedric the Entertainer
Actor | Barbershop
Cedric the Entertainer was born on April 24, 1964 in Jefferson City, Missouri, USA as Cedric Antonio Kyles. He is an actor and writer, known for Barbershop (2002), Be Cool (2005) and A Haunted House (2013). He has been married to Lorna Wells since September 3, 1999. They have two children.
19. Tracy Morgan
Actor | 30 Rock
Tracy Morgan was born on November 10, 1968 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA as Tracy Jamal Morgan. He is an actor and producer, known for 30 Rock (2006), Cop Out (2010) and The Boxtrolls (2014). He has been married to Megan Wollover since August 23, 2015. They have one child. He was ...
20. Flip Wilson
Writer | Flip
Flip Wilson was born on December 8, 1933 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA as Clerow Wilson. He was a writer and actor, known for Flip (1970), The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). He was married to Cookie Mackenzie and Lovenia Patricia (Peaches) Wilson. He died...
21. Mike Epps
Actor | Resident Evil: Extinction
Mike Epps was born on November 18, 1970 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA as Michael Elliot Epps. He is an actor and producer, known for Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Next Friday (2000) and All About the Benjamins (2002). He was previously married to Mechelle Epps.
22. Gerald 'Slink' Johnson
Actor | Grand Theft Auto V
Gerald 'Slink' Johnson is an actor and producer, known for Grand Theft Auto V (2013), Black Jesus (2014) and The Super Rumble Mixshow (2008).
23. Mark Curry
Actor | Armageddon
A class clown since his earliest years, Mark quickly learned that a wild sense of humor could take him places. While working at a drugstore after quitting college he honed and polished a comedy act that he regularly practiced on customers. It was these customers, as well as his family and friends, ...
24. David Mann
Actor | Meet the Browns
David Mann was born on August 7, 1966 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA as David Anthony Mann. He is an actor and producer, known for Meet the Browns (2009), Meet the Browns (2008) and Madea Goes to Jail (2009). He has been married to Tamela J. Mann since June 9, 1988. They have four children.
25. Bill Bellamy
Actor | The Bounce Back
1 brother (deceased) - per TV series "UnSung Hollywood - Bill Bellamy" (S3 Ep7)
Recently aired on TVOne as a repeat on 11/16/2016, It's a Documentary show which details archival film footage and personal, revealing interviews, about the lives and careers of some of the world's most highly talented ...
26. Steve Harvey
Producer | The Steve Harvey Show
Steve Harvey was born on January 17, 1957 in Welch, West Virginia, USA as Broderick Stephen Harvey. He is a producer and actor, known for The Steve Harvey Show (1996), Family Feud (1999) and Think Like a Man (2012). He has been married to Marjorie Harvey since June 25, 2007. They have one child. He...
27. Arsenio Hall
Actor | Coming to America
Arsenio Hall was born on February 12, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Coming to America (1988), Black Dynamite (2009) and The Real Ghostbusters (1986).
28. Brandon T. Jackson
Actor | Tropic Thunder
Brandon Timothy Jackson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Beverly Yvonne (Bozeman) and Wayne Timothy Jackson. His parents are both pastors, and his maternal grandfather was a Pentecostal child preacher. He credits his sense of humor to both his father and his life straddling the ...
29. Lavell Crawford
Actor | Breaking Bad
Lavell Crawford is an actor and writer, known for Breaking Bad (2008), American Ultra (2015) and The Ridiculous 6 (2015). He is married to DeShawn. They have one child.
30. D.L. Hughley
Actor | Inspector Gadget
Hughley is the second of four children. His father was an airline maintenance worker and his mother was a homemaker.
He grew up in L.A.'s South Central where he was a member of the Bloods gang after getting kicked out of high school. However, he turned his life around after a cousin was shot. He ...
31. Aries Spears
Actor | Jerry Maguire
Chicago native Aries Spears discovered his comedic abilities at the young age of 14, when he started doing his own comedy routine around his hometown. By the age of 17, he landed a part in the movie Home of Angels (1994), starring Abe Vigoda, Sherman Hemsley and Joe Frazier. Spears' additional film...
32. Eddie Griffin
Actor | A Star Is Born
Eddie Griffin was born on July 15, 1968 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He is known for his work on A Star Is Born (2018), Def Comedy Jam 25 (2017) and The Comedy Get Down (2017).
33. George Wallace
Actor | The Ladykillers
George Wallace was born on July 21, 1952 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Ladykillers (2004), Batman Forever (1995) and Little Nicky (2000).
34. Tommy Davidson
Actor | Vacation Creation
Davidson started his career as a stand-up comedian in Washington DC, earning an ardent following with sheer hard work in various comedy clubs. As one of the cutting-edge, young stand-ups, he was spotted by major concert promoters, who booked him as the opening act for A-list touring acts, including ...
35. Anthony Anderson
Actor | The Departed
Anthony Anderson was born on August 15, 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Departed (2006), Kangaroo Jack (2003) and Transformers (2007). He has been married to Alvina Renee Stewart since September 11, 1999. They have two children.
36. Emmanuel Hudson
Actor | Ride Along
Emmanuel Hudson is a comedian and actor who began his career in Atlanta, GA. His career took off after making a video, titled "Asking All Them Questions," that went viral. He is popularly known for his comedic music videos on social media and as one of the veterans of MTV's "Wild'N Out." He is also...
37. Chris Spencer
Actor | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Chris Spencer was born on January 2, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), Postal (2007) and Black Dynamite (2009). He is married to Vanessa Spencer. They have two children.
38. Patrice O'Neal
Actor | 25th Hour
O'Neal was born in New York in 1969, but moved to Boston when he was just 1 year old. He was educated at West Roxbury High School and went on to attend Northeastern University, both in Boston. After this, various jobs followed including a sausage cart vendor at a train station, flower seller and ...
39. Corey Holcomb
Actor | The Wedding Ringer
Corey Holcomb is an actor and writer, known for The Wedding Ringer (2015), Dance Flick (2009) and Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling (2011).
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