''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons ...

. The series had its original run from March 7, 1992 to May 2, 1997. Simmons was inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and Jerry Lewis' movie '' The Nutty Professor''. The show returned on HBO's fall lineup in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. ''Def Comedy Jam'' helped to launch the careers of several

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

stand-up comedians. Comedian Rich Vos was the first Caucasian to perform on the show.

Spin-offs

The show produced a spinoff called ''Loco Slam''.

Home media releases

The show is currently available in DVD boxsets in the US and the UK.

References

External links

HBO - Def Comedy JamComedy Jam 25''
on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

* HBO original programming 1992 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings 1990s American stand-up comedy television series 2000s American stand-up comedy television series 2006 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings American television series revived after cancellation English-language television shows Def Jam Recordings {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub