List of Black Comedians

Comedy is an art that is appreciated by one and all but to be a successful comedian, one requires more than just an endless arsenal of good jokes. With the widespread use of tools on the Internet and the growing audiences of television, it is simple to understand why there are so many comedians around. In the midst of it all there is a list of black comedians who have stood out amongst their contemporaries. Some of these famous black stand-up comedians have achieved a lot of success and earned great plaudits for their work, some others have not got the recognition they deserve. There are also a few who have surpassed expectations and have gained popularity when they shouldn't have.

African-American comedians have a different take on matters of pertinent to religion, politics, race and lifestyle, and it is their uniqueness which makes them good comedians. They offer an insightful angle into things that may generally be overlooked, and the approach they adopt enables them to stand out in a sea of emerging comedians.

Black Comedians
This list of black comedians is in no particular order and it would be impossible to do that since these comedians have all emerged at different times. The general state of affairs of the country and the world at the time also plays a part in determining how readily a comedian is accepted.

Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy (April 3, 1961) is one of the most recognizable faces in the comedy circuit of Hollywood. He started out as a stand-up comedian and has slowly worked his way up the ladder to be included in the list of the 10 funniest African-American comedians of all time. He is probably known best for his role as 'The Nutty Professor', and you may also recognize him as the voice of 'Donkey' in the 'Shrek' series. He has performed a large number of stand-up shows as well and reached a position of prestige today.

Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor (December 1, 1940 - December 10, 2005) is considered to be the absolute best in the list of black comedians of all time. Every African-American comedian who has surfaced since his time has held aspirations to emulate his success. Even Eddie Murphy has vocally stated that Pryor has been his role model. He famously made a lot of extremely funny jokes about racism in particular. Jerry Seinfield has called Pryor "The Picasso of our profession". The true sign of greatness of a comedian is appreciation by his peers, and Pryor is looked up to by every single comedian, not least the people who appear in the list of black comedians.

David Chapelle
David Chapelle (born August 24, 1973) surged into the public limelight with his timeless show aptly called 'Chapelle's Show' on comedy central. To have a show named after you, you must be pretty darn good. Chapelle is popular for bringing the best out of sketch comedy on screen. This is a brand of comedy that utilizes various comic actors to create short scenes or vignettes that are also known as sketches. He is also a well-known actor and he also briefly held the record for stand-up endurance when he went on a stand-up spree of 6 hours and 12 minutes.

Chris Rock
Chris Rock (born February 7, 1965) began doing stand-up comedy in 1985, and has established himself as one of best black stand-up comedians of all time. Being mentored by Eddie Murphy can only be a good thing. Covering a wide range of topics, Chris Rock seems to derive inspiration for his material from his teenage experiences.

Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence (born April 16, 1965) has achieved levels of popularity and success that no one expected him to. He ran his own show called 'Martin' from 1992 to 1997, and this brought him so much adulation and appreciation that he had to be included in the list of black comedians. He has also managed to carve out a good acting career and has been the main man in numerous mainstream Hollywood movies.

Redd Foxx
Better known as Redd Foxx, John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 - October 11, 1991) was one of the first black stand-up comedians to dazzle American audiences. He was completely unafraid to speak his mind through troubled times, and it was he who paved the way for the greatest black stand-up comedian - Richard Pryor - to appear. 'Sanford and Son' was a very popular sitcom that was centered around Foxx, and it still remains one of the classics of African-American comedies. He routinely performed at various nightclubs which were considered to be too 'liberal' in those times.

Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby (born July 12, 1937) grew up in the tough neighborhoods of Philadelphia and his sheer longevity in the field means that he has to be included in the list of black comedians. Along with being a comedian he is also an actor, author, activist, musician and producer. He has been around for so long and is widely respected for being one of the veterans of the comedy circuit.

Dick Gregory
Dick Gregory (born October 12, 1932) is another black stand-up comedian who has seemingly been around forever. Mixing his shows with a lot of political humor, Gregory was another who paved the way for Richard Pryor. A hardened civil rights activist, Dick Gregory used sarcasm and satire to make his mark and his presence built the image of African-Americans as good comedians.

Flip Wilson
Flip Wilson (December 8, 1933 - November 25, 1998), also known as 'TV's first black superstar', was another renowned African-American stand-up comedian. People who have seen him claim that he was extremely hilarious, and he also managed to get his own television show when not many producers were offering roles to African-Americans.

Will Smith
Will Smith (born September 25, 1968) never did stand-up comedy in particular, but he has played so many comic characters on television and in movies that it would be just plain wrong not to include him in this list of black comedians. He has also carved out a career as a musician, and is well-known for many of his movies. 'The fresh prince of Bel-Air' was one of his breakthrough shows and it was absolutely hilarious.

Black Women Comedians
Apart from these black comedians there are a few black women comedians who deserve an honorable mention as well.

• Moms Mabley
• Whoopi Goldberg
• Tess Drake
• Mariana Franklin
• Wanda Sykes

There are many more names that could have been included in this list of black comedians, but these are some of the individuals who have made the most impact on this particular genre. Each one of them has their own uniqueness and characteristics that cannot be replicated by any other, and they are all widely appreciated and respected in the comedy circles.