Greer Barnes (born 1964) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

and actor. He is known for clever wordplay, observational humor, sketch comedy, mimicry, and energetic physical comedy. He has performed in comedy festivals, in commercials, on television and in films. He regularly appears at The Comedy Cellar in New York City’s

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...

.I Can’t Follow Greer Barnes
By Joe Glasgow, Splitsider website, March 30, 2017Stand Up NY: Greer Barnes
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Biography

Barnes was born in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

and grew up on Manhattan's West Side. He has a Jewish stepfather and was

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

ed at thirteen. He was a star athlete in high school, especially in baseball. At 19, he was invited to try out with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

,Greer Barnes interview
thelaughbutton.com. Accessed June 12, 2024. but was unable to afford to make the trip. He went into stand-up comedy and was soon well known in the New York scene. His comic idols are the late

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

and

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

. He has appeared at Catch a Rising Star,

Comic Strip Live The Comic Strip Live is the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in New York City, located at 1568 Second Avenue (between 81st and 82nd Streets). History The Comic Strip was opened in 1976. Richard Tienken and Robert Wachs were two of the club ...

, The Comedy Cellar, and Carolines on Broadway.Greer Barnes Speaker Profile
celebritytalentpromotions.com. Accessed June 12, 2024. In 2014, he released his debut comedy album ''See What I'm Saying''. He has performed at the

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and

Edinburgh Comedy Festival Edinburgh Comedy Festival was a short-lived festival of comedy shows which operated during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2008 and 2009. Effectively a marketing campaign for the "Big Four" venues at the Fringe - Assembly, Gilded Ballo ...

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...

has taken Barnes along as his opening act on international tours. Greer performed at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

numerous times while opening for Louis CK.Our Comics: Greer Barnes
LoHudComedy.com Barnes has appeared frequently on TV. He appeared on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' in July 1995 and on ''Late Night with Stephen Colbert'' in 2017. He has been seen on MTV, BET, HBO, and most other major networks. In February 2009, he wrote and starred in a half-hour special on ''

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 ...

''.

Filmography

* 1999 '' For Love of the Game'' * 2014 '' Top Five'' * 2016 '' The Comedian'' * 2019 '' Joker'' * 2022 '' The Life of Peter Gottlieb'' * 2023 ''

Ezra Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...

Television

* ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' * ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were ...

'' * ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990, to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions ...

'' * ''

Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...

''Greer Barnes Performs on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
March 20, 2017 * ''

Def Comedy Jam ''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, and Bob Sumner. The series was hosted by Martin Lawrence and Joe Torry in its first six seasons, Mike Epps in its seventh season, and D. L. Hughley in its ...

'' * ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...

'' * '' Comedy Central's Premium Blend'' * '' The Jim Gaffigan Show'' * ''

Red Oaks ''Red Oaks'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Joe Gangemi and Gregory Jacobs. The first season was released on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2015. On December 18, 2015, Amazon announced that the show would be returnin ...

'' * ''

Kevin Can Wait ''Kevin Can Wait'' is an American television sitcom starring Kevin James that aired on CBS from September 19, 2016, to May 7, 2018. The series was created by James, Rock Reuben, and Bruce Helford, marking James' second starring role in a CBS sit ...

'' * '' Crashing'' * '' Flatbush Misdemeanors''

Web series

* ''

Horace and Pete ''Horace and Pete'' is an American web series created, written, and directed by Louis C.K., who describes it as a tragedy. In addition to C.K., the series stars Alan Alda, Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco and Jessica Lange. Dealing with the themes of a ...

''Horace and Pete at IMDb
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Greer 21st-century American male actors African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male comedians American stand-up comedians American sketch comedians Comedians from the Bronx African-American Jews 1964 births Living people 21st-century American comedians People from the Upper West Side Comedians from Brooklyn 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Comedians from Manhattan