that white audiences would boycott their products. - and if you can't get sponsorship, you can't exist. and when the show was canceled, what he said was, "madison avenue is afraid of the dark." and they were. (smooth rock music) - in the late '50s, early '60s, the country starts to change more when civil rights hit. then you're getting grittier comedy that is gonna deal with race. - i hate to see any baseball player having troubles 'cause that's a great sport for my people. that is the only sport in the world where a negro can shake a stick at a white man and won't start no riot. (audience laughing) - dick gregory put politics in his comedy. it was like seeing a curve ball, and he'd throw it and you couldn't see it coming. - 1961, appearing on the "jack paar" show, dick gregory becomes the first black comedian ever to sit down on the couch after his performance. - what kind of car you got? - a lincoln, naturally. - [jack] well, that's a... (audience laughing) - dick gregory in the '50s and early '60s