Miller Lite Comedy Search
The Miller Lite Comedy Search Contest was a nationally known contest which identified up-and-coming comedians in the Chicago metropolitan area as well as nationwide. Even though the contest was not limited to African-American contestants, the vast majority of those who competed were African-American. Miller Brewing Company usually collaborated with Chicago radio station WGCI-FM to host the event at various venues. Redd Foxx was the host of the event the first year, and later comedians such as Damon Wayans, Eddie Griffin, Mo'Nique and Steve Harvey acted as hosts. Some past finalists and winners have included: * Sheryl Underwood - 1989 Finalist * Adele Givens - 1990 Finalist * Bernie Mac - 1990 Grand Prize Winner * Cedric the Entertainer Mark Reedy was the first winner in 1987, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in Ancient Greek theatre, theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing ''agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. Known as the "King of the Party Records", he performed on more than 50 records in his lifetime. He portrayed Fred G. Sanford on the television show '' Sanford and Son'' and starred in '' The Redd Foxx Show'' and '' The Royal Family'', where he played the husband of Della Reese and grandfather of Larenz Tate. His film projects included '' All the Fine Young Cannibals'' (1960), '' Cotton Comes to Harlem'' (1970), '' Norman... Is That You?'' (1976), and '' Harlem Nights'' (1989). In 2004, Foxx ranked 24th in ''Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time''. Foxx not only influenced many comedians but was often portrayed in popular culture as well, mainly as a result of his catchphrases, body language and facial express ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cedric The Entertainer
Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian, actor and television host. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is best known for co-starring with Steve Harvey on The WB sitcom '' The Steve Harvey Show'', as one of ''The Original Kings of Comedy'', and for starring as Eddie Walker in '' Barbershop''. He hosted the 12th season of the daytime version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' in 2013–14 and starred in the TV Land original series '' The Soul Man'', which aired from 2012 to 2016. He has also done voice work for '' Ice Age'', the ''Madagascar'' film series, '' Charlotte's Web'', ''Planes'' and '' Planes: Fire & Rescue''. He currently stars on the CBS sitcom '' The Neighborhood''. In 2019, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Cedric was born on April 24, 1964, in Jefferson City, Missouri, the son o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American stand up comedian, actor and film producer. He joined fellow comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley in the film '' The Original Kings of Comedy''. After briefly hosting the HBO show ''Midnight Mac'', Mac appeared in several films in smaller roles. His most noted film roles were as Frank Catton in the ''Ocean's'' film series from 2001 through 2007 and as the title character of '' Mr. 3000''. He was the star of ''The Bernie Mac Show'', which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Mac's other films included starring roles in '' The Players Club'', ''Head of State'', ''Bad Santa'', '' Guess Who'', ''Pride'', and '' Soul Men''. Bernie Mac died at 50 years old on August 9th, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois of complications from pneumonia. Early life and education Be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Adele Givens
Adele Givens is an American comedian, actress and writer. Beginning her career during the late–1980s in comedy, Givens television appearances include ''The Hughleys'', ''Moesha'', ''The Parkers'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''Def Comedy Jam'', '' Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry'', ''Martin'', '' Tracey Takes On...'' and ''The Steve Harvey Show''. Career Givens was the 1989 Grand Prize Winner of the Crown Royal Comedy Contest held at the Regal Theater in Chicago. The next year, Givens was a finalist in the Miller Lite Comedy Search, which was won by Bernie Mac. Her movie appearances include '' The Players Club'' and ''Beauty Shop''. Givens and fellow African American female comedians Mo'Nique, Laura Hayes and Sommore were the stars of '' The Queens of Comedy'' tour, filmed and shown on Showtime and released on DVD. In 2001, she hosted ''The Sources Hip Hip Awards Preshow which was shown on UPN. On September 7, 2018, Adele was featured on Lil Pump's Kanye West's hit singl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sheryl Underwood
Sheryl Patrice Underwood (born October 28, 1963) is an American comedian, actress and television host. She first rose to prominence in the comedy world as the first female finalist in 1989's Miller Lite Comedy Search. Underwood was one of the hosts on the CBS Daytime talk show '' The Talk'' from September 2011 to December 2024, becoming the show's longest running co-host. She has received one Daytime Emmy Award from seven nominations. Early life Underwood was born in Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ..., and later moved to Atwater, California, where she attended high school. Her sister, Frankie, was diagnosed with polio. Sheryl is now Frankie's caregiver. Professional career After graduating college, Underwood joined the United States Air For ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', ''Family Feud Africa'', and the Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based court comedy ''Judge Steve Harvey'', and formerly hosted the Miss Universe competition. His accomplishments include seven Daytime Emmy Awards, two Marconi Awards, and fourteen NAACP Image Awards. Harvey began his career as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s, and later hosted ''Showtime at the Apollo'' and starred in the television sitcom ''The Steve Harvey Show'' on The WB. In 2000, he was featured in ''The Original Kings of Comedy'' after starring in the ''Kings of Comedy Tour''. His last standup show was in 2012. Harvey is also the host of both ''Family Feud'' and ''Celebrity Family Feud'', holding this role since 2010. He also hosted ''L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mo'Nique
Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known mononymously as Mo'Nique, is an American comedian and actress. She debuted as a member of The Queens of Comedy and earned recognition as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. In 2002, she received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. She transitioned to mainstream roles starring in the UPN series ''The Parkers'' (1999–2004) and the films ''Phat Girlz'' (2006) and ''Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins'' (2008). Mo'Nique was critically acclaimed for her performance in the film ''Precious (film), Precious'' (2009), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the fourth African-American woman to win the award, in addition to List of awards and nominations received by Mo'Nique, accolades at the British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. After hosting her talk show ''The Mo'Nique Show'' (2009–2011), she earned a Pri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Eddie Griffin
Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom '' Malcolm & Eddie'', the title character in the 2002 comedy film '' Undercover Brother'', and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in '' Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo'' (1999) and '' Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'' (2005). He also portrayed Lester Matthews in '' John Q.'' (2002), Orpheus in '' Scary Movie 3'' (2003), Pope Sweet Jesus in ''Norbit'' (2007), and voiced Richard Pryor on '' Black Dynamite'' (2012–2015). Griffin was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time. Early life Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California, to live with his cousins. He later became a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was discharged with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of the Wayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live.'' He later joined his family on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox's sketch comedy show ''In Living Color'' (1990–1992), and wrote and performed on his own animated series ''Waynehead'' (1996–1997) and live-action series ''Damon (TV series), Damon'' (1998). Since then, he has starred in a number of films and television shows, some of which he has co-produced or co-written, including ''Mo' Money'', ''The Last Boy Scout'', ''Major Payne'', ''Bulletproof (1996 film), Bulletproof'', and the sitcoms ''My Wife and Kids'' and ''Poppa's House'', the latter featuring his son Damon Wayans Jr. From 2016 to 2019, he starred as Roger Murtaugh in the Fox television series ''Lethal Weapon (TV series), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
WGCI-FM
WGCI-FM (107.5 Hertz, MHz) is an urban contemporary radio station that is city of license, licensed to Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia (formerly known as Clear Channel Communications until September 2014). WGCI broadcasts with 3,700 watts (3.7 kilowatts) at 107.5 megahertz (MHz) from atop the Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago, and has studios located in the Illinois Center complex on Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue. Like many Clear Channel Communications, Clear Channel-owned urban radio stations, it uses the slogan ''"Chicago's #1 For Hip Hop and R&B"''. In 2005, WGCI began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity. History WFMQ The station began broadcasting on December 4, 1958, and held the call sign WFMQ.1964 Broadcasting Yearbook', Broadcasting & Cable, Broadcasting, 1964. p. B-47. Retrieved February 12, 2019. The station was owned ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individuals, economic and social groups, etc. The rivalry can be over attainment of any exclusive goal, including recognition. Competition occurs in nature, between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. Animals compete over water supplies, food, mates, and other biological resources. Humans usually compete for food and mates, though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, and fame when in a static, repetitive, or unchanging environment. Competition is a major tenet of market economies and business, often associated with business competition as companies are in competition with at least one other firm over the same group of customers. Competition inside a compan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |