- you know what? that looks like fire! - comedy without black people would be like the nba without black players. (kevin screaming) - your biggest, biggest superstars in comedy have been black. (eddie yelling) - just genius and hilarious. - yeah, i said it. (audience cheering) - the chappelle show redefined sketch comedy. - i m rick james, bitch. (audience laughing) - in living color set up a platform for black comedians blowing up. - i don t think so. homie don t play that. (audience laughing) - arsenio hall was, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. it was groundbreaking. - [audience] woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. - you had a black man willing to fight the power. - nice being out of jail. (audience laughing) - laughter is healing, laughter purifies the air. actually i don t like to talk about the races, because i m white. - and we, as black people, have been doing it forever. - i am, this is a freckle. (audience laughing) - all black comedians discuss race. - it s harder being gay than i
- 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
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 a
(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 was making $10,000 a week and he gave all that up to march with martin luther king. - dick gregory has been dubbed the father of black political comedy.