Alfred Langston "Finesse" Mitchell (born June 12, 1972) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and author. From 2003 to 2006, Mitchell was a cast member on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''.Jinelle Shengulette
"Comedian Finesse Mitchell to perform at the Comedy Club"
''

Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. Headquartered at 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's ...

'', June 3, 2014. He has also appeared on such television shows as ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harve ...

'',

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

's ''

ComicView ''Comic View'' is an American stand-up comedy show that aired on BET on Tuesdays and Fridays from September 1992 to December 2008. In May 2014, BET announced the return of ''Comic View''. The show has been the launching pad for such comedians a ...

'', ''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series ...

'',

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

's '' A.N.T. Farm'', and

's ''

Late Friday ''Friday Night Videos'' is an American music video/ variety program that aired from July 29, 1983, to May 24, 2002, on NBC. Originally developed as an attempt by the network to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos, which had be ...

''.

Early life

Finesse Mitchell was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He is a graduate of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

, where he was a member of the football team and the

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity.

Career

Mitchell made his first

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

appearance in 1999 on

's ''

Comic View ''Comic View'' is an American stand-up comedy show that aired on Black Entertainment Television, BET on Tuesdays and Fridays from September 1992 to December 2008. In May 2014, BET announced the return of ''Comic View''. The show has been the lau ...

'', where he instantly became a favorite among the show's loyal followers. Shortly after ''Comic View'', Mitchell moved to both

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he had several appearances on ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn ''The Late Late Show'' is an American late-night television talk and variety comedy show that originally aired from January 9, 1995, to April 27, 2023, on CBS. Tom Snyder was the show's first host, followed by Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, and ...

'' and two on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...

.'' In 2003, Mitchell became a featured player on ''Saturday Night Live''. After two seasons, in 2005, he was promoted to full cast member. His screen time was drastically reduced after this promotion. In September 2006, it was announced that the show was dropping Mitchell,

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell ( ; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Parnell found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on ...

and

Horatio Sanz Horacio Sanz (born June 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is an American comedian and actor. Sanz was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006. Early life Sanz was born on Ju ...

due to budget cuts. After ''SNL'', he has continued to perform stand-up comedy and appeared in the films ''

Who's Your Caddy? ''Who's Your Caddy?'' is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Don Michael Paul and starring Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Andy Milonakis, Faizon Love, Terry Crews, Tony Cox, Jeffrey Jones and Jesper Parnevik. It is the first film produced by Robert ...

'', ''

The Comebacks ''The Comebacks'' is a 2007 American satirical comedy film directed by Tom Brady and story by Andrew Jacobson. This film is a parody of the clichés and plots of the sports film genre. It parodies 21 popular sports films along with historical rea ...

'' and ''

Mad Money ''Mad Money'' is an American finance television program hosted by Jim Cramer that began airing on CNBC on March 14, 2005. Its main focus is investment and speculation, particularly in public company stocks. ''Mad Money'' replaced '' Bullseye' ...

''. From 2008 to 2009, Mitchell made several appearances on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'' as a guest correspondent and on ''Tyra'' and ''Chelsea Lately'' as a guest panelist. In 2010, he appeared in the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

sketch series ''

Nick Swardson's Pretend Time ''Nick Swardson's Pretend Time'' is a sketch comedy television show created by and starring actor and comedian Nick Swardson. The show premiered on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, at 10 p.m. EST on Comedy Central and ran for two seasons, with the ...

''. With the help of

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

's son QD3, Mitchell released his stand-up comedy

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

titled ''Snap Famous''. His 2007 book, ''Your Girlfriends Only Know So Much'', gives dating advice to African-American women. In 2012, he participated in

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's dating game show '' The Choice''.Rodney Ho
"TV: A Second Act for Atlanta Comic Finesse Mitchell"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The Designated marke ...

'', July 22, 2012 Mitchell recurred as Darryl Parks, Chyna's (

China Anne McClain China Anne McClain (born August 25, 1998) is an American actress and singer. McClain's career began when she was seven years old, portraying Alexis in the film ''The Gospel'' (2005), and then China James in ''Daddy's Little Girls'' (2007). She ...

) police officer father on the

sitcom '' A.N.T. Farm''.Zak Stemer
"Finessing the issue: Finesse Mitchell’s Sunday"
, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'', August 25, 2013. In January 2015, he appeared at

Ron White Ronald Dee White (born December 18, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and author, best known as a charter member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Nicknamed "Tater Salad", he is the author of the book ''I Had the Right to Remain Sil ...

’s Comedy Salute to the Troops. In 2016 he recurred as Harvey in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

Roadies Roadie refers to support personnel who travel with a band on tour. Roadie or roadies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Roadie'' (1980 film), a 1980 film starring Meat Loaf * ''Roadie'' (2011 film), a 2011 American comedy film * ''Road ...

''. He had a role in the film '' Barely Lethal''. On December 4, 2019, Mitchell was cast as a series regular, playing Irwin on the Fox comedy ''

Outmatched ''Outmatched'' is an American multi-camera television sitcom created by Lon Zimmet for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from January 23 to March 26, 2020. In May 2020, Fox canceled the series after one season. Premise The series follows a ...

''. The character is the best friend of main character Mike. In 2022, he appeared on the Netflix baking competition '' Is It Cake?'' as a judge.

Personal life

On September 13, 2008, he married Jessica Santos in Atlanta. On May 20, 2011, Mitchell and Santos divorced. He married again, in September 2013, to Adris DeBarge, daughter of singer

El DeBarge Eldra "El" Patrick DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the DeBarge family, family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include "Time Will Reveal ...

. Their eldest daughter was born in March 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Finesse 1972 births Living people African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male comedians American male film actors American stand-up comedians American male television actors Miami Hurricanes football players Male actors from Atlanta Male actors from Miami University of Miami alumni University of Miami School of Communication alumni Participants in American reality television series 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors American impressionists (entertainers) American sketch comedians 21st-century American comedians Comedians from Atlanta 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people