Former “American Idol” finalist Rickey E. Smith Jr. was killed Friday morning in a car crash in Oklahoma, Variety has confirmed. Smith was 36.
Smith was involved in a multi-car, wrong-way collision on I-240 just outside Oklahoma City at around 3:15 a.m. According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Paul Timmons, 27-year-old Gerardo Cerda Jr. was traveling in a pickup truck headed westbound in the eastbound lanes, and slammed head-on into Smith’s vehicle.
Smith died on the scene of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Cerda was treated for injuries at a hospital and released. He now faces DUI charges.
The eastbound interstate was shut down for more than three hours after the accident, but has since been opened.
“OKC: I-240 east bound at Penn is still closed due to an injury collision,” the Oklahoma Highway Patrol tweeted early this morning.
Smith appeared on Ruben Studdard’s season of “American Idol” (Season 2), finishing in eighth place. Smith was honored by the state of Oklahoma in 2003 for his performance on the show.
Studdard wrote on Instagram that he was in “utter disbelief” following the news.
“As I sit here in utter disbelief about the fact that you went to be with the Lord, I think back on all the fun times we had. How we set up for hours in our room in the ‘Idol’ mansion talking and listening to music. How much fun we all had on our very first tour. You were the heart of our season and the true definition of a real friend. I will miss you my friend. RIP Ricky Smith. I’m sure you’re in heaven singing you’re heart out!”
It’s official – Hall of Fame Basketball forward Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving, will host the 2nd annual Julius Erving Golf Classic Sept. 10-12 at the ACE Club, the most exclusive Corporate Golf Club, in Lafayette Hill, PA. The event will welcome celebrities, golfers and fellow legends and athletes for a one-of-a-kind weekend of lifestyle, sports and entertainment.
The Julius Erving Golf Classic will kick-off on September 10, at 10 a.m., with the Erving Youth Basketball Clinic in partnership with the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to those in need. During the clinic, Erving will be joined by his daughter, Jazmin Erving, Founder and Executive Director of GRAB A BALL & PLAY Foundation an organization that makes donations of new athletic balls to underserved youth. The clinic will be followed by a special Erving Media Day at 2:30 p.m., where Erving along with fellow NBA Legends and notable Philadelphia personalities will discuss the betterment of sports, local initiatives and community development within Philadelphia.
The following day, September 11, The ACE Club will host guests for the Elite Partner Practice Rounds followed by the Erving “Black Tie” Ball with special guests and musical performances. At 7:30 p.m. The Julius Erving Golf Classic will welcome celebrities, sponsors and guests to a Red Carpet Pairings Party. Event Co-Hosts ESPN SportsCenter Anchor, Jay Harris and Professional Golfer and Fashion Designer, Seema Sadekar will introduce celebrity guests and Erving himself. On the final day of September 12, all golfing guests will head to the ACE Club to tee-it-up in the Official Julius Erving Golf Classic Tournament. Meanwhile, the ladies will enjoy a Ladies Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Experience with Dorys Erving.
Invited celebrity guests include: Broadcaster Ahmad Rashad, Former NBA stars Alonzo Mourning, Bill Russell, Rick Berry, Jalen Rose and Gerald Henderson, Musicians Philip Bailey, Smokey Robinson, Eddie Levert, Jeffrey Osborne, and actors Alan Thicke, George Lopez, Vivica A. Fox, Chris Tucker, Anthony Anderson and Cedric The Entertainer.
U.S. comedian Arsenio Hall is suing singer Sinead O’Connor for defamation.
With the sad news that one of the partners of the former show Charles Patrick Gooch had to move to another state, Joey Wells had to continue to move on, and now with his tour just ending with Kevin Hart, Joey decided to keep it moving! With that being sad, Joey has some new partners in Emmanuel and Jere to keep the show entertaining, and every week they will bring you some new guests! Check out the latest episode above!
Watch this brand new video first posted on World Star Hip Hop from comedian Reedo Brown, easily one of social media’s rising comedic stars.
In 2007 following the release of his book, Black Comedians on Black Comedy, comedian / writer, Darryl Littleton was approached to be part of the advisory board to the Comedy Hall of Fame. Head Curator and Founder, Jeff Pancer, wanted to expand the Hall’s influence and felt Littleton would be a valuable addition. He was selected to be the first African-American board member and wasted no time in recruiting fellow comedian / historians, Robert Townsend and Franklyn Ajaye. Besides diversifying the 26 members board which consists of talents such as Adam MacKay, Gary Sanchez and Jay Roach as well as entertainment attorneys and network CEOs, Littleton has been instrumental in archiving living Black comedy figures for the Hall. Those he’s recorded for prosperity include Reynaldo Rey, D. L. Hughley, Joe Torry, Franklyn Ajaye, Robert Townsend, Katt Williams and Comedy Act Theater Founder, Michael Williams.
The Comedy Hall of Fame’s goal is to elevate comedy to the status if the other recognized art forms: painting, music, dance, acting and sculpting. Based in New York, the Hall has a strong academic outreach program and comedians such as Hannibal Buress hold workshops and seminars in as part of the school curriculum educating students on the appreciation and application of comedy in its various forms. Due to his parallel efforts and his recent production work on the acclaimed Joan Rivers documentary, Exit Laughing, including enlisting the talents of Luenell Campbell, Deon Cole and Cocoa Brown, Littleton was named Associate Curator. The new title involves duties on a number of upcoming projects for the Comedy Hall of Fame, including televised inductions and specials.
Littleton is currently working on a new book on what else – comedy, as well as traveling as a lecturer on comedy.
On this day in comedy in May 2, 1986 Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling was released by Columbia Pictures
Richard Pryor stars in and directed this take on his own life. Starting once he’s set himself on fire freebasing cocaine, his spirit leaves his hospital bed-confined smoldering body to relive his existence and see where he went wrong. Up from his youth raised in a brothel to his early struggling stand up days on the chitlin circuit, the film hits all the major beats of the legendary entertainer’s true story.
Jo Jo overindulges once he makes it. Sound familiar? Then again, it’s hard to overindulge before you make it because – how? Anyway, Pryor’s character overdoes it with women, drugs and his own ego. After he’s made his journey through his life, Jo Jo returns to the hospital and climbs back into himself; hopefully a better and more enlightened man.
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling is the only film Richard Pryor ever directed. It co-starred Paula Kelly, Carmen McRae, Billy Eckstine, Debbie Allen, Art Evans, Diahnne Abbott, Barbara Williams. Michael Ironside and Wings Hauser. The film was written by Paul Mooney, Rocco Urbisci and Pryor with music by Herbie Hancock. It made $18,034,150 at the box office.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
On this day in comedy on May 1, 1997 Martin series finale aired on Fox, 1997
Created by Martin Lawrence, Topper Carew and John Bowman, the timing was impeccable. As the fledgling Fox network grew, Martin grew right along with it and was a consistent ratings champ for them.
Starring Martin Lawrence as a Detroit radio station DJ and later a public access television host, the sitcom showcased his talent and wide array of characters weekly. Lawrence played Mama Edna, his own mother complete with moustache; his ghetto girl neighbor, Sheneneh with too many weaves and too much back talk for Martin’s liking; the pot-bellied security guard, Ol Otis; gold-tooth sporting, Jerome, the pimp from the bygone era; snotty-nosed, Roscoe, the little boy who Lawrence plays by standing on his knees with shoes at the end; Dragonfly Jones, the martial arts instructor who gets beaten up by his students; Bob, the white surfer, redneck who is Gina’s boss; Elroy, the mechanic who claims he was the Godfather of Black Surf Music and King Beef, Martin’s favorite Blaxploitation superstar with a penchant for dancing under any harrowing circumstance.
Martin was popular with all age groups. It had catchphrases (“Get to Steppin”). It had funny writing. It had a perfectly balanced cast. Tisha Campbell co-starred as Martin’s college educated (and knowing it) girlfriend (and later wife) Gina. Tommy Mikal Ford played Martin’s childhood, job unknown, buddy, Tommy. Tichina Arnold was Gina’s friend and Martin’s non-friend and verbal sparring partner, Pam. Carl Anthony Payne II had the role of Martin’s other diaper buddy Cole, not-too-smart with a thing for the big girls, but a man with a steady job cleaning jets at the airport. The common theme being Martin’s friends love him but he’s an inconsiderate, self-centered, arrogant kind of guy and not too in touch with his feelings. In other words, he talks too much trash and always has to eat it.
The show was on top of Fox’s heap for five seasons. It had a talented supporting cast including Reginald Ballard as Bruh Man from the fifth flo, who’d climb through Martin’s window to fetch whatever he needed. Tracy Morgan as Hustle Man who once tried to sell Martin and his friends fried pigeon on a branch when they were snowed in and starving. Garrett Morris was Martin’s cheap boss, Stan at the radio station. Comedians Charlie Murphy, John Witherspoon, Laura Hayes, Lawanda Page, David Alan Grier, Roxanne Reese, Kim Coles and rapper Yo-Yo had recurring roles.
Martin won a number of awards. It was recognized with a People’s Choice Award for Best Comedy Series and Acting (Lawrence – Best Actor; Marla Gibbs – Best Supporting Actress) and a NAACP Award to Tisha Campbell for Best Actress. Unfortunately, the show’s longevity was cut short in 1996 when a lawsuit was brought by Tisha Campbell for sexual harassment against Lawrence and the show’s producers. The studio settled and the final season was completed with neither co-stars making any contact.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
On this day in comedy on April 30, 1992 The Cosby Show aired its series finale on NBC.
Premiering September 20, 1984, this sitcom revitalized the tired formula that was a few short steps away from being declared a dinosaur and pronounced extinct. Then in swooped Bill Cosby with the perfect sitcom for the throwback Reagan Era. The Cosby Show brought back the type of family entertainment where the entire clan could gather around the glowing box for a half-hour of wholesome, shared laughter. The man who’d built a solid comedy career based on universal and family themes had a show about universal themes surrounded by his television family.
The Cosby Show was all about the upper-crust African-American brood, the Huxtables. The dad was a doctor. The mom, a lawyer. The kids – adorable and their suburb problems were the kind any race of kids could have, which was the point. The sitcom, like Cosby the comedian, was cultural without being racial. You don’t get dubbed, “America’s Dad” without reminding people of their own or an idolized version. Thus, Bill Cosby had succeeded in fooling everybody . . . with a colorblind sitcom.
Created by Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner (former ABC executives) the show boasts an amiable cast. Lisa Bonet, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Keshia Knight-Pulliam, Tempest Bledsoe and Sabrina LeBeauf (in the part originally meant for Whitney Houston, who turned it down to concentrate on being a fulltime recording artist) played the kids and Phylicia Rashad played wife Clair Huxtable. Other cast members included Joseph C. Phillips, Raven Symone, Erika Alexander and Geoffrey Owens.
The Cosby Show was a smash hit; one of the few in television history to rank #1 for 5 consecutive seasons. It was the gold standard for TV sitcoms thereafter and had a huge viewership on its finale. However, in November 2014 reruns were yanked from the majority of markets carrying the show in syndication based on multiple sexual allegations against its star, Bill Cosby. Some broadcasters even eliminated Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids from their schedule as well as I-Spy (two of Cosby’s other shows from the past).
Despite efforts to wipe the program from memory based on the personal actions of its star, the collaborative product assembled by the remaining cast and technicians has a legacy that remains intact. The Cosby Show won 6 Emmys, 2 Golden Globe Awards, 3 NAACP Awards, a Peabody Award and 11 People’s Choice Awards. It’s received honors from TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, Time Magazine USA Today and Bravo; spawned 2 albums and an alter ego (Dr. Hibbert) on The Simpsons.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
![Instagram Photo]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"48","h":"48","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BBsIZ8v.img?h=480&w=480&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=288&y=138"}})