James Anthony Brown (born November 16, 1945) is an American comedian, actor and radio personality. He received the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

and the

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

Biography

Early life

Brown started his career in

Atlanta, Georgia 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 ...

, after relocating there from his home in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Having attended Denmark Technical College, an HBCU in Denmark, South Carolina, Brown was a tailor by trade and aspired to be a clothing designer before putting together a comedy routine after entering a local 'gong show' contest in a local nightclub, Mr. V's Figure Eight in Atlanta, Georgia. Invited back to host on a regular basis, Brown became a fixture, performing there for the next two years.

Professional career

He left Atlanta for

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

, in 1989 to pursue work in television, quickly finding a job as a staff writer for the nationally syndicated, late-night talk show, ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989 ...

''. After five years, Brown found other writing assignments for such sitcoms as ''

The Parent 'Hood ''The Parent 'Hood'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 18, 1995, to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas. Originally to be titled ''Father Knows Nothing'' (a parody of t ...

'' and '' Me and the Boys''. He has performed on Vibe,

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 ...

, ''

It's Showtime at the Apollo English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal auxiliary verbs and a few others. Although the auxiliary verbs of English are widely believed to lack inherent semantic meaning and instead to modify the ...

'', '' An Evening at the Improv'' and ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', and had recurring roles on ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' (, ) is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Brandy Norwood, Brandy as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with ...

'', ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Denise Lee that aired for five seasons on the Fox network, from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centers on the lives of six New York City friends who share perso ...

'' and ''The Parent 'Hood'', as well as guest spots on ''

The Parkers ''The Parkers'' is an American television sitcom created by Ralph Farquhar, Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears. The series ran for five seasons from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004, on UPN. It stars Mo'Nique, Countess Vaughn, Mari Morrow, Dorien Wi ...

'' and '' Sparks''. His motion picture work includes roles in '' Def Jam's How to Be a Player'', ''Pay the Price'', ''

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are percussion instruments (usually drums, such as snare, bass, and tenor drums) specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier ...

'' and '' Mr. 3000''. He has also warmed up audiences at the tapings of ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

'', '' Sister, Sister'', '' Roc'' and '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper''. From 1996 until November 25, 2016, Brown appeared on the ''

Tom Joyner Morning Show The ''Tom Joyner Morning Show'' was an American nationally syndicated radio program, hosted by veteran broadcaster Tom Joyner. The program, which aired on Urban contemporary- and Urban adult contemporary-formatted stations across the United Stat ...

'', a nationwide radio show broadcast from Dallas, Brown was awarded an NAACP Image Award and Peabody Award in 1993 for his contribution to reconstruction after the 1992 LA uprising. Brown is working as executive producer for an upcoming reality competition TV show On Apr 23, 2022 announced he is retiring from the Steve Harvey Morning Show In February 2020, it was announced that Brown had been cast in ''

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living ''Tyler Perry's Assisted Living'' is an American television sitcom created and produced by Tyler Perry that premiered on BET on September 2, 2020. David Mann and Tamela Mann reprised their roles from '' Meet the Browns''. Production On May 3, ...

'' which aired on

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 ...

on September 2, 2020.

Personal life

Brown was initiated into

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity, Eta Beta Sigma alumni chapter in Nashville. He is the owner of the J. Anthony Brown Collection, The J. Spot Clothing Store, and The J. Anthony Brown Comedy Store in Los Angeles, California.Holmes, Tamara E. (June 2009) "Funny Business" ''Black Enterprise'' 39(11): p. 36 Both of Brown's parents died from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Notes

References

*Christian, Margena A. (15 December 2008) "Comedian J. Anthony Brown Controls His Destiny As Entrepreneur", ''Jet'' 114(22): p. 30 *Staff (17 April 2000) "J. Anthony Brown Pens Book Based on His Popular 'Rev. Adenoids' Radio Sketch" ''Jet'' 97(19): p. 36 *Staff (1999) "The house that J. Anthony built" ''Black Elegance'' Jul/Aug 1999, Issue 121, pp. 58–61 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, J. Anthony 1945 births Living people Male actors from Columbia, South Carolina Denmark Technical College alumni Comedians from South Carolina 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors American male television actors American male film actors