On this day in comedy on January 27, 1942 Comedian, Actor, John Witherspoon was born in Detroit, MI!
Born John “Weatherspoon”, he changed his name because of course “Witherspoon” is an obvious improvement. He had other moniker alterations as well. For instance, he also went by the name of “Mexico” John Witherspoon and Johnny Witherspoon. Then again, he broke into show business as a male model (he was a “Duke Man” in Jet magazine) where aliases’ were a necessity, but in the late 60s he drifted into stand-up comedy.
John Witherspoon’s onstage persona was accessible and animated. In other words, it was a perfect combination for film and television. His first role was as a youth counselor on an episode of the CBS detective show, Barnaby Jones. He went on to guest star in such 70s hits as Good Times, The Incredible Hulk and What’s Happening!! Comedian / Writer, Paul Mooney pegged Witherspoon to be part of the ensemble for The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. The show only lasted 4 episodes, but Witherspoon made an impression. He also made a string of guest starring roles: WKRP in Cincinnati, Hill Street Blues, L. A. Law, You Again? Frank’s Place, 227, What’s happening Now!!, Amen, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and as a regular on Townsend Television.
Film work has been a constant thread throughout Witherspoon’s career. He started out in 1980’s The Jazz Singer as the M C and 1986s Ratboy, but in 1987 things went into overdrive. Hollywood began making black films again and Witherspoon was in practically all of them beginning with the Robert Townsend / Keenen Ivory Wayans parody, Hollywood Shuffle. After that they just kept coming: I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Bird, House Party, Talkin Dirty After Dark, The Five heartbeats, Boomerang, Meteor Man, Fatal Instinct, Murder Was the Case and Friday.
The Ice Cube / Chris Tucker blockbuster, Friday spawned a franchise and gave Witherspoon his largest role to showcase his talents. In Boomerang, he popularized in catchphrase “Bang, bang, bang, bang”, but in the Friday films he was able to utilize all his antics. He played Ice Cube’s father; the kind of dad that would call you into the toilet for a family conference / chastising session while he took a dump. Those same hilarious ticks and verbal assaults got a long-term workout back on television on the WB sitcom, The Wayans Bros. Witherspoon played father to Shawn and Marlon Wayans (Williams on the show). He ran a café by day and the attention to him in every scene he stole.
Witherspoon loved stealing scenes. He did it in 2003 on The Tracy Morgan Show for all 18 episodes. He did on Living Single, Black Jesus and Black-ish. He stole them in even more films: Vampire in Brooklyn, Sprung, Bulworth, I Got the Hook Up, Fakin Da Funk, Little Nicky, Soul Plane, Little Man, and A Thousand Words. He did it when he did voice-overs for animated series, Wayneshead, The Proud Family, Kim Possible and The Boondocks. He’s done it in music videos for Goodie Mob, L L Cool J, Field Mob, Hitman Sammy Sam and Jay-Z and John Witherspoon always steals the show whenever he tours as a stand-up comedian.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on January 26, 1892 Actress, Zara Frances Cully was born in Worchester, MA!
Once known as the oldest performer on television, Zara Cully received fame late in her career mainly because she was militant. She was recognized as the world’s greatest elocutionist following a 1940 stage appearance in New York for Cully had put her formal training (the Worchester School of Speech and Music) to good use. She wrote, produced, directed and starred in many plays in Jacksonville, Florida and opened her own studio where she taught for over 15 years. Cully’s irreconcilable obstacle became her intolerance for the ways of the old South and she packed her bags and headed west to Hollywood.
In California Cully found the respect she craved. She was a regular member at the Ebony Showcase Theatre and appeared in numerous films including, The Learning Tree, Sugar Hill, The Liberation of L. B. Jones and The Great White Hope. On the small screen, Cully was seen Playhouse 90, Run for Your Life, Cowboy in Africa, Name of the Game, Mod Squad, Night Gallery and All in The Family. It was on that latter program that Cully landed the role of her lifetime.
The Jeffersons was a spin-off of the Norman Lear hit, All in the Family. At the age of 82, Cully was introduced on an episode featuring her son, George (Sherman Hemsley), his wife Louise (Isabel Sanford), who Cully’s character, “Mother Jefferson”, did not approve of and her grandson, Lionel (Mike Evans). From there the dynamics was set. Mother Jefferson would make visits to her successful son’s high rise apartment in Manhattan, argue with Louise, praise George and Lionel and generally pout about how she’s neglected. Cully pulled it off masterfully until the third season. The venerable performer had contracted pneumonia and had a collapsed lung. Regardless, that didn’t stop her from returning to the show after a 17-episode absence where she was embraced by cast and audience alike. However, that hug tragically ended on November 12, 1977 when Mother Jefferson made her last appearance on The Jeffersons. Three months later the woman who brought the adorable character to life passed away on February 28, 1978 in Los Angeles, California of lung cancer. She was 86 years old.
The NAACP awarded Zara Cully a posthumous special Image Award on June 9, 1978.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on January 25, 1980 Black Entertainment Television (BET) was launched!
Following the model of urban radio and print media, Bob Johnson, a former DC cable lobbyist, founded BET using his connections in the fledgling cable and satellite television industry. After consulting with an investor looking to target the elderly for a niche station, Johnson (with permission) altered and used that pitch to begin the first black targeted network. He secured funding ($500,000) from entrepreneur friendly media executive, John Malone and that, along with a $15,000 loan got Johnson’s dream off the ground. It was headquartered in Washington, DC.
The initial programming for BET consisted of music videos, direct-to-video movies, reruns of old sitcoms and a smattering of theatrical films. It was only on for two hours per week as part of Nickelodeon and wouldn’t be its own fully operational station until July 1, 1983, but it made inroads right away and built its target audience. By 1988 there was BET News with anchorman, Ed Gordon and BET Tonight, a talk show hosted by Tavis Smiley (and later by Gordon) in 1996. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991 (the first black-owned company to ever do so) and in its heyday BET was known for Comic View (the stand-up comedy showcase hosted alternately by D. L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Sommore, Don DC Curry, Rickey Smiley, J. Anthony Brown, Sherryl Underwood and others), Video Soul with Donnie Simpson, Video Vibrations, Teen Summit, Screen Scene, Lead Story, Softones, Unreal/Planet Groove/Caribbean Rhythms and Jam Zone/Cita’s World.
In the late ‘90s BET went digital and expanded its brand with BET Jazz (targeting that specific market) and later partnering with John Malone to launch BET / Starz (later known as Black Starz and Starz in Black). The station added hit show 106 & Park in 2000.
In 2001 Johnson sold off his holdings to Viacom for $3 billion. It instantly lost its status as a black-owned company even though Johnson stayed on as president and CEO until 2005 when he stepped down and turned over his duties and titles to his long-standing vice-president, Debra Lee. In 2007 the network launched BET Hip Hop, BET Gospel and slated a slew of reality shows. Reginald Hudlin, who had been the president in charge of entertainment left in 2008 and was replaced by Stephen Hill; the executive VP of music programming and talent.
BETs official slogan “We Got You” took on a negative connotation to some. Over its run, BET has experienced its share (if not more) of criticism for its programming. Celebrities and black organizations came out against the way women were portrayed in rap videos and black stereotypes in general. This prompted the station to launch BET Uncut from 2001 to 2006 so they could display this suggestive themes with a warning to the target audience of young adults over the age of 17 (without any way to monitor such a requirement). Most of these videos came from lesser known artists with poor production quality. However, they never did come up with an off-shot to combat the stereotypes.
Despite its bumpy history, BET became more than just a basic cable station for black people. It became an institution and brand for African-Americans (regardless of who owned it at the time). In 1993 it started broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1995 the BET Walk of Fame Awards was established. In 1997 BET became available in Canada. The BET Awards began in 2001 to celebrate black accomplishments in the acting, music, sports and other forms of entertainment. In 2004 proceeds were shared between the United Negro College Fund and the BET Foundation and in 2008 The BET Honors was established to pay tribute to the achievements of black luminaries and soon afterwards the station was licensed to be broadcast in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and is an associate member of the Caribbean Cable Cooperative.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on January 23, 1996 Moesha premiered on UPN!
Originally ordered by CBS, the Tiffany Network got cold feet at the prospect of a sitcom starring a teenage black R&B singer (Brandy Norwood) set in South Central L. A. so they pulled out and gave the new UPN network its first hit and one of the greatest successes in the history of that network.
Moesha centered on the escapades of the title character, her prank playing younger brother (Marcus T. Paulk) and her friends (Yvette Wilson, Shar Jackson, Countess Vaughn, Lamont Bentley). The show tackled issues such as teen pregnancy, premarital sex, drugs, gang violence, racism, parental death and infidelity. On the show, Moesha’s father, Frank (William Allen Young) is a car salesman and a widower. The latter part is where we get our conflict because he married Moesha’s vice-principal (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Moesha doesn’t like it. Additional conflict comes in a pivotal episode when it’s discovered that Frank was unfaithful to Moesha’s mother and his nephew is actually his son. Moesha moved out and the show got very real.
Created by Ralph Farquhar and written by Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears, Moesha featured Fredro Starr as Moesha’s love interest and real life brother Ray J as TV brother, Dorian. Bernie Mac was a recurring character as were Ricky Harris, Kara Brock, Jo Marie Payton, Antwon Tanner, Jon Huertas, Merlin Santana, Jazsmin Lewis, Ginuwine, Olivia Brown, Usher, Lahmard Tate and Master P. The list of guest stars was staggering: Kobe Bryant, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Doctor Dre, Faith Evans, Jamie Foxx, Adele Givens, Meagan Good, Robert Guillaume, Bo Jackson, Quincy Jones, Jermaine Dupri, Sanaa Lathan, Lisa Leslie, Marsha Warfield, Kym Whitley, Russell Simmons, Sinbad, A Tribe Called Quest, Lil Kim, Nancy Wilson, Octavia Spencer, DMX, Deion Sanders, Keith Sweat, Shaquille O’Neal, Nia Long, Jessica Simpson, MC Lyte, Shemar Moore, Vanessa Bell Calloway, LeAnn Rimes, Silk, Kellita Smith, Gabrielle Union, Morris Day, Johnny Gill, Boyz II Men, Maureen McCormick, Ja’Net DuBois and Loretta Devine.
Moesha was nominated for almost 40 awards over its six-season run, winning an Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for Countess Vaughn and an Outstanding Youth Actress for Brandy as well as The SHINE Award for Comedy Episode for Brandy. The highly-acclaimed series also spun-off the sitcom, The Parkers, starring Countess Vaughn, Mo’Nique and Yvette Wilson.
Moesha aired its last episode of May 14, 2001, but its appeal internationally is impressive for an American sitcom. Not only was it syndicated in the UK, but since 2008 it’s also been seen in Spain, Italy, Russia, Jamaica, France, Korea, Singapore, South Sudan, India, China, Israel, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, The Netherlands, Kenya, Germany, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Brazil, Ireland and Ethiopia.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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In the mid-2000s, there was nothing bigger than Chappelle’s Show. It was a cultural tour de force that turned the television world upside down, and recreated what people thought sketch comedy could be. The very first episode was a statement of intent; Chappelle’s performance as a black white supremacist, Clayton Bigsby, showed no topic would be off limits.
But there is no Chappelle’s Show without Charlie Murphy. There were more frequent collaborators on the show, but no one aside from the show’s namesake made a bigger impact than Murphy did. He was part of several of the show’s most popular sketches, which have allowed it to live on despite being off the air since 2006. His impact has been felt on several levels, from catch-phrases that live on to this day to the introduction of phrases that can be used to sum up everyday occurrences people go through.
It’s hard to pin down’s Murphy’s career and influence to just a few bits or sketches, but these are the moments that will live on long beyond his passing.
Murphy will forever be associated with his retelling of Rick James’ cocaine-induced mania in the 1980s, and it is arguably the peak of the show. After Chappelle sets the sketch up to the audience by talking up his co-worker’s storytelling, Murphy launches into a story that features a wigged Chappelle standing in for James, and the audience watches him antagonize the Murphy brothers to the tune of destroying Eddie Murphy’s couch and slapping Charlie Murphy across the face.
Chappelle himself has alluded to the singular popularity of the sketch in stand-up performances since it released. In his stand-up special, For What It’s Worth, he tells the crowd he can’t even go to Disney World without being accosted by passersby (including Mickey Mouse!) with the episode’s signature line: “I’m Rick James, bitch!”
Murphy’s retelling of the story is an all-time classic, and small details from the story will help him live on even as Chappelle’s Show begins to fade from popular culture. One moment in particular, where Murphy describes James as a “habitual line-stepper,” is a perfect summation of the friend we all have who doesn’t know the difference between having a good time and taking things too far:
The genius in this sketch is in that moment. It’s a story about a group of celebrities who are living lavishly in ways most can’t dream of, but they’re experiencing relatable problems friends deal with when their wild card buddy gets out of control. Murphy makes Rick James feel like the kid you knew in college who couldn’t handle their liquor, and it’s an extraordinary feat.
If the strength of the Rick James sketch was rooted in real life, “Playa Haters’ Ball” succeeds for the exact opposite reason. A group of swashbuckling pimps assembling in a conference room like they’re holding an annual finance seminar is a premise so absurd there is almost no margin for error. Yet thanks to a talent like Murphy, Chappelle’s Show pulled it off.
The mockumentary begins with a series of interviews with participants in the Playa Haters Ball, as they explain the art form of being a hater and why they’re a cut above the competition. But the first one-liner of the sketch was held for nearly two minutes, when Chappelle’s Silky Johnston character enters the building with a walking cane in his hand and a mink coat on his back.
Murphy is unfazed. “Man, you oughta take that cane and beat whoever made that suit to death.”
It sets the stage for another five minutes of Murphy, Chappelle, Rawlings, and Patrice O’Neal trading barbs back-and-forth in an effort to one-up the next guy. Each man struggles to hold it together throughout the bombardment, but Murphy is the most outwardly affected by the jokes. You can see him visibly swaying in an attempt to save face after Chappelle says his coat is made out of O’Neal’s mother’s pubic hair, and after an insult is lobbed at Rosie O’Donnell in the speed round, Murphy is so beside himself he has to physically exit the semi-circle to avoid breaking character.
Murphy’s joy is evident even in the outtakes for the sketch, which show him preparing to shoot with a giant smile on his face.
For as gruff as Murphy could be—his character accosts a female companion late in the sketch when she fails to clap for him— his inability to hold back emotions of any kind is what made him such a beloved comedian. Everything he did was outsized and expressive, which allowed him to inject life into even the smallest moments. For a sketch like “Playa Haters’ Ball”, that worked like a dream.
Later on in the series, Chappelle showed off a number of failed premises that never became full sketches. One of those showed off the Playa Haters traveling back through time just to insult (and shoot) former slave masters, and it really deserved to be turned into a fully-developed episode.
In this over-the-top lampooning of MTV’sReal World series, Chappelle and an extended cast of characters poked fun at the fact that the show was often dominated by white people, with the lone minority in the house being painted as the wild or crazy one. Chappelle’s version of the “Mad Real World” features an unsuspecting guy realizing he’s the lone white person in his new setting, and things quickly go off the rails when he doesn’t fit in.
The first sign of trouble for young Chad is when he stares down Murphy’s character, Tyree, who gleefully greets the audience with an assertion about his stint in jail. Making sure his roommate knows what time it is, Tyree quickly establishes the bathroom habits Chad should follow, has sex with Chad’s girlfriend, and yells at Chad when he breaks up a back-alley dice game between other roommates in the house.
“Mad Real World” was a brilliant flip of the paradigm that plagues most reality shows. Murphy’s dad-stabbing, cigar-smoking character was a key ingredient in making it as great as it was.
After the success of the Rick James escapade, Murphy returned to share another one of “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories.” It featured another mega-star from the 80’s, but the legend of Prince grew after Murphy was done telling this one.
Describing the pop/rock star with comparisons to Iverson, Murphy’s storytelling is accompanied by a dramatic reenactment of a pickup basketball game between Murphy’s crew and Prince’s, with the Revolution stunting all over Murphy’s pals despite being decked out in the same clothes they wore to the club. Unlike most stories about games between friends, Murphy does not try to paper over the beatdown Prince laid on him, and says it was a “landslide victory” in favor of his opponent.
Chappelle turns in a haunting performance as Prince, floating down from the rim after dunking like some sort of purple-clad ghost, but the best moment in the episode once again goes to Murphy. As his story is winding down, he talks to his interviewer off-camera and is asked what happened after the basketball game is over. With every ounce of seriousness he can muster, Murphy looks into the camera and says simply, “He took us inside the house and made us pancakes.”
Thanks to Murphy, we all know Prince is gracious in defeat.
Source: BY KYLE NEUBECK/COMPLEX
SiLVER SPRING, MD – April 12, 2017 –In memoriam of the life of Comedian Charlie Murphy, TV One will present two special airings of Unsung Hollywood: Charlie Murphy, scheduled tonight at 11 p.m. ET and Thursday, April 13 at 8 a.m. ET.
In Unsung Hollywood: Charlie Murphy, don’t call him Eddie’s brother! Stand up-comic-actor-writer Charlie Murphy was a star in his own right, and his journey to the top has been extraordinary. A gang member as an adolescent in Long Island, Charlie did some hard time, enlisted in the Navy, worked security for his famous baby brother, and then broke out with iconic riffs in the Dave Chappelle Show in 2003. An accomplished writer, he wrote the screenplays for Vampire in Brooklyn and Norbit, and had prominent acting roles on Black Jesus and Boondocks. His one man stand up special, Charlie Murphy–I Will Not Apologize, premiered on Comedy Central in 2010.
In this episode of Unsung Hollywood, Charlie gets real about his tough early years (including a near death experience), his arduous path to fame and the satisfaction of finding his purpose in life.
For more information on Unsung, visit TV One’s YouTube Channel and tvone.tv/Charlie. Catch the full episode the day after premiere on www.tvone.tv/unsung. Viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on TV One’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
(@tvonetv) and the Unsung Facebook (@tvoneunsung) using the hash tag #UNSUNG.
Unsung is narrated by actor Gary Anthony Williams and is Executive Produced by Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Frank Sinton of A. Smith & Co. Productions for TV One. Mark Rowland is Co-Executive Producer. Lamar Chase is Producer and Jubba Seyyid is Executive in Charge of Production for TV One. Robyn Arrington Greene is Vice President and D’Angela Proctor is Head of Original Programming and Production for the network.
Charlie Murphy, Chappelle’s Show star and Eddie Murphy’s older brother, has died, publicist Domenick Nati told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 57.
Murphy died from leukemia on Wednesday, said Nati.
“Our hearts are heavy with the loss today of our son, brother, father, uncle and friend Charlie, The Murphy family said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Charlie filled our family with love and laughter and there won’t be a day that goes by that his presence will not be missed. Thank you for the outpouring of condolences and prayers. We respectfully ask for privacy during this time of great loss for all of us.”
Murphy became a household name through Dave Chappelle’s Comedy Central skit show thanks to his amazing stories of interactions with other celebrities during the height of his brother’s fame in the 1980s. The most popular short turned into a skit was about the late Rick James.
Concerning his friendship with James, Murphy once said there were way more wild tales to tell, but they would never had made TV.
“He went there, where I was like, ‘Yo, Rick, you took the shit too far.’ And his response, ‘There’s no such place. Darkness, let’s go to the abyss!'” Murphy once said on a Chappelle’s Show outtake. “I don’t want to go the the abyss, man. Rick wants to go to the abyss. In fact, he dwells in the abyss. And he wants company sometimes, and for some reason, he likes to reach out for me. And I’m not with it. And that’s when we would end up tussling.”
The comedian’s Twitter account sent a final note Tuesday evening that read: “One to Sleep On: Release the past to rest as deeply as possible.”
“You’ll be missed but never forgotten,” fellow Chappelle’s Show actor and good friend Donnell Rawlings said in an Instagram post featuring an image together. “Charlie was a lion. It’s time for Darkness to see the light.”
Murphy also appeared in numerous movies, TV shows and even lent his voice to some video games.
The actor and comedian was on record as saying he was a hothead when he worked as a bodyguard for his brother. He said he loved Eddie so much, and thought he was so funny, that he would pick fights with people who did not laugh at his brother’s jokes when he performed.
“It was to the point that, if I went to a show and you were the hater in the audience that was like, ‘That shit wasn’t funny’ POW! I’m jamming you, man,” Murphy once said. “Because the shit was funny. There was 10,000 people laughing, and you that one joker that wanna try and squeeze a lemon. F— you. I don’t even want you to be there. And I took it as a personal crusade, and they were like, ‘You know what, you’re a little overzealous with your job.’ So, that is how I ended up not doing that anymore.”
Murphy is also remembered for his amazing tale about the legendary musician, Prince, which was made into a skit for Chappelle’s Show. Murphy said he and friends played basketball against Prince and his entourage one night in the 1980s. Murphy said he was shocked how good Prince was at the game. Afterward, Prince made everyone pancakes. Prince was on record saying the story was true, even the breakfast.
“We just lost one of the funniest most real brothers of all time. Charlie Murphy RIP,” Chris Rock wrote on Twitter. Mogul Russell Simmons tweeted: “Just came out of meditation and learned that one of my friends and my biggest comedy idol passed. Damn I loved Charlie Murphy.”
“Terribly saddened … Charlie,” comedian Paul Mooney wrote.
Source; The Hollywood Reporter
AXS TV celebrates the life and laughs of entertainer Charlie Murphy with a special encore presentation of his July 2013 GOTHAM COMEDY LIVE episode—re-airing Thursday, April 13, at 2aE/11pP. Over the course of three decades, Murphy enjoyed a successful career as a multi-talented comedian, voice actor, and writer, co-penning some of ‘The Chappelle Show’s most unforgettable sketches—including the series’ legendary Rick James and Prince segments—which he also appeared in. Murphy passed away today, April 12, at the age of 57.
In the clip, the Brooklyn native talks about his love for the Gotham Comedy Club as a venue that gives performers freedom to truly express themselves, saying, “When I had the opportunity to come down here and entertain y’all, I said I’m comin’ right down here! ‘Cause I know it’s uncensored, and I can say some s—t that I normally wouldn’t be able to say.” Going on to talk about some of the strange things he’s experienced in his daily life, Murphy recalls the time he saw a woman walking with a baby stroller at the mall, and the unconventional cargo he found riding inside.
Stand-up comedian Charlie Murphy, Eddie’s older brother, has died from leukemia, his manager said. He was 57.
According to his manager, Charlie had been undergoing chemotherapy and died in a hospital in New York City.
Charlie was recently on tour with Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, George Lopez and D.L. Hughley on The Comedy Get Down Tour.
Universal Pictures has acquired Warrior Queen, a pitch from Mark Rosenthal that is based on the true story of the young African Queen Amanirenas. Will Packer will produce through his Uni-based Will Packer Productions banner with his head of motion pictures James Lopez also producing. This reunites Packer with Rosenthal after they worked together on the Emmy-nominated Roots remake for The History Channel.
Queen Amanirenas ruled over the Kush Kingdom of Nubia, one of the richest Kingdom’s in Ancient Africa. She successfully led her army of Nubians into battle against the mighty invading Roman Empire forcing them to withdraw and negotiate peace. Uni production veep Sara Scott will oversee the project. Rosenthal’s script work includes the Tim Burton-directed Planet of the Apes, Mighty Joe Young, Mona Lisa Smile and Jewel of the Nile. He’s repped by UTA and Packer is represented by CAA and Ziffren Brittenham.
Source: Deadline