Lewis Black

This article is about the comedian. For the co-founder of The Austin Chronicle and SXSW, see Louis Black.

Lewis Black
Black, December 2007
Birth name	Lewis Niles Black
Born	(1948-08-30) August 30, 1948 Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, theatre
Nationality	American
Years active	1981 – present
Genres	Satire, news satire, political satire, observational comedy, black comedy, rant
Subject(s)	American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture
Influences	George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Bill Hicks, Bob Newhart, Shelley Berman
Influenced	Dara Ó Briain, Doug Walker
Notable works and roles	Back in Black on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart The Carnegie Hall Performance Lewis Black's Root of All Evil Stark Raving Black
Website	lewisblack.com
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album 2007 The Carnegie Hall Performance 2011 Stark Raving Black
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic 2001

Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena. He hosted the Comedy Central series Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and makes regular appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart delivering his “Back in Black” commentary segment. When not on the road performing, he resides in Manhattan. He also maintains a residence in Chapel Hill, N.C. He is currently the spokesman for Aruba Tourism, appearing in television ads that aired in late 2009 and 2010. He was voted 51st of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time by Comedy Central in 2004; and was voted 5th in Comedy Central's Stand Up Showdown in 2008 and 11th in 2010.

Early life

Black is the son of Jeannette, a teacher, and Sam Black, an artist and mechanical engineer. He was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Silver Spring, Maryland, graduating from Springbrook High School in 1966, summa cum laude.

Black recounts in his book Nothing's Sacred that he scored highly on the math section of his SAT exam and later applied to Yale, Princeton, Brown, Amherst, Williams, and Georgetown. Every college he applied to except Georgetown rejected him, and by that point he had decided he didn't want to go there, so he spent a year at University of Maryland before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he studied playwriting and was a brother of Pi Lambda Phi International fraternity and a member of Student Congress. He earned an MFA degree at the Yale School of Drama in 1977, and was married for less than a year when he was 26 years old.

Black's career began in theater as a playwright. He served as the playwright in residence and associate artistic director of Steve Olsen's West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in Hell's Kitchen in New York City, where he collaborated with composer and lyricist Rusty Magee and artistic director Rand Foerster on hundreds of one-act plays from 1981 to 1989. Also with Rusty Magee, Black wrote the musical The Czar of Rock and Roll, which premiered at Houston's Alley Theatre in 1990. Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays; he was also the master of ceremonies. After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian, as well as finding bit parts in television and films.

Comedic style

Sarcasm, hyperbole, profanity, shouting and trademark angry finger-shaking bring emphasis to his topics of discussion. He once described his humor as "being on the Titanic every single day and being the only person who knows what is going to happen."

Black has described his political affiliation as: "I'm a socialist, so that puts me totally outside any concept...the Canadians get it. But seriously, most people don't get it. The idea of capping people's income just scares people. 'Oh, you're taking money from the rich.' Ooh, what a horrifying thing. These people really need $200 million".

Black lists his comedic influences as George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Bill Hicks, Bob Newhart and Shelley Berman.

Career

Stand-up comedy

In 1998, Black starred in his first comedy special on the series Comedy Central Presents. He starred in two additional episodes of the series in 2000 and 2002. He starred in another special for the network in 2002, titled Taxed Beyond Belief.

Since 2003, Black has hosted the World Stupidity Awards ceremony at Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival for the three years the awards were presented.

In 2004, he had an HBO stand-up special titled Black on Broadway. Black hosted Comedy Central's Last Laugh '07, which aired on December 2, 2007 along with Dave Attell and D.L. Hughley.

In 2006, Black performed at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC for an HBO special, Red, White, and Screwed. It aired in June and a DVD was released in October. When explaining his choice of venue, Black said that "some asshole" was paid to count the number of times the word "fuck" was said from his previous HBO special, Black On Broadway, and that the original location, the Kennedy Center, wanted him to cut back on its use. Black was told the number was 42, when actually it was approximately 78.^{[citation needed]}

Black received a 2007 Grammy award for "Best Comedy Album" for his album The Carnegie Hall Performance.

Black hosted the Comedy Central television series The Root of All Evil in 2008. The show pitted two people or pop-culture topics against each other as a panel of comedians argued, in the style of a court trial, which is more evil, e.g., "Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney" and "Internet Porn vs. YouTube". After hearing arguments from both sides, Black, acting as judge, made the final decision as to which is more evil.

In 2008, Black hosted History of the Joke with Lewis Black, a 2-hour comedy-documentary on The History Channel.

Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month" in 2008 featured specials originally presented on HBO by Black, along with programs featuring Dane Cook and Chris Rock. That year, as part of Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month", Black's routine finished at #5 on "Stand-Up Showdown 2008", a viewer-based countdown of the top "Comedy Central Presents" routine.

In 2009, Black filmed two shows at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit, MI,. These were the basis for the concert film Stark Raving Black, which appeared in theaters for a limited time in October, and was released on video the next year.

At the end of 2009, Black returned to the History Channel to host Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black, in which he discussed the year-end pressures of Thanksgiving, Channukah, Christmas, and New Year's.

In 2011, Black filmed two shows at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN. The shows were used for Black's comedy special "In God We Rust". The special premiered on Epix HD. An extended and uncensored version of the special broadcasted on Epix HD was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 11, 2011.

Film and television career

Black appeared in episode 25 "Aria" (1991) of Law and Order as porn director Franklin Frome, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Obscene" (2004) as a shock jock, and in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Jiminy Conjecture" (2009) as an entomologist. He also released his autobiography, Nothing's Sacred, in 2005. Since November 9, 2005, Black has been making appearances in small segments on The Weather Channel. In December 2005, he appeared in an animated holiday special The Happy Elf, as the voice of the extremely tightly wound elf, Norbert.

In the film Accepted, a film about high school graduates who create a college when they fail to get accepted into any, he played Dean Ben Lewis of the school "South Harmon Institute of Technology". He also appeared in the 2006 films Man of the Year and Unaccompanied Minors. Black hosted Comedy Central's Last Laugh '06, which aired on December 10, 2006.

Voice acting

Black was the voice of "Manobrain" during the third season of the Cartoon Network series "Duck Dodgers". He was the inventor of a diet pill which was stolen while he was in college. He blamed the theft on his college friend Dr. I. Q. High, not realizing that the actual thief was Duck Dodgers. The theft set Manobrain on the path of evil.

Black provided the voice of the Deadly Duplicator in four episodes of the Adult Swim show Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and in the video game based on the show.

Black did the voice-over for an oxpecker named Ted in Cartoon Network series My Gym Partner's a Monkey, appearing in "Hornbill and Ted's Bogus Journey." The character is portrayed in the same fashion as his comedy shows, though without the profanity. In addition, the bird's clothes, looks, and mannerisms match those of Black himself. Black also voiced Mr. E/Ricky Owens in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a middle-aged man named Vic who is kidnapped by the Krang and mutated into a spider-like monster called "Spider-Bytez" by Michelangelo.

Tours

On June 18, 2007 he sat in with Southern rock/Jam band Gov't Mule at the 6th annual Bonnaroo music festival, where he had performed earlier that weekend, for what was to be a quick joke. A member of the audience threw a bottle at Black, which struck him. Black was upset and he encouraged the audience to boo the heckler before leaving the stage in disgust, while shouting obscenities at the heckler. This act was seen in an episode of Lewis Black's Root of All Evil titled "YouTube vs. Porn".

On June 29, 2007, Black gave a benefit show at Springbrook High School, his alma mater, in the school's auditorium for 1,100 alumni, faculty, and students. He performed in his usual style, stopping at points to remark how good it felt to use that language on that particular stage. At the end of the show he was given a Springbrook football jersey, and cursed at one teacher for giving him a B and causing him not to graduate first in his class.

In mid December 2007, Black went with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong and Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007, on a USO trip to support the troops in Iraq and Kuwait. They then wrapped it up on Dec 22nd at the U.S Naval Station in Rota, Spain.

Black helped create the annual Carolina Comedy Festival at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In 2008, Black went on tour to promote his book Me of Little Faith. Black did a stand-up tour called "Let Them Eat Cake", with material from that tour being featured on his comedy album Anticipation.

Beginning in January 2010, Black embarked on a new tour called "In God We Rust".

The Naked Teen Voyeur Bus

Lewis Black after being released

In 2000, Black and fellow comedian Jim Norton were arrested for their involvement with "The Naked Teen Voyeur Bus", a specially designed bus with acrylic glass walls containing numerous 18 and 19 year old topless women. This bus rode around Manhattan while being broadcast on the Opie and Anthony radio show. Unfortunately, radio station management did not inform the O&A show that the bus's route was also the route that President Clinton was taking that same day. Twenty-eight hours after the arrest, Black and Norton were released. Black appeared on The Daily Show the following night where he stated he was exercising his constitutional rights. He then joked that the location of this particular right was unclear, but that it was "between 'all men are created equal' and 'don't shit where you eat.'"

Published works

• Nothing's Sacred (2005)
• Nothing's Sacred (audio book) (2006)
• Nothing's Sacred (softcover version) (2007)
• Me of Little Faith (2008) (New York: Riverhead Books – Penguin Group) 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-59448-994-5.
• Me of Little Faith (paperback version with added content) (2009)
• I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas (2010)

Media releases

CDs

• The White Album (2000)
• Revolver (EP) (2002)
• The End of the Universe (2002)
• Rules of Enragement (2003)
• Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues (2005)
• The Carnegie Hall Performance (2006)
• Anticipation (2008)
• Stark Raving Black (2010)
• The Prophet (2011)
• In God We Rust (2012)

DVDs

• Unleashed (compilation of his four Comedy Central specials plus his appearances on The Daily Show: Indecision 2000) (2002)
• Black on Broadway (2003 HBO Special) (2004)
• A Pair of Lewis Black Shorts (Sidesplitters: The Burt & Dick Story and The Gynecologists) (2006)
• Red, White, and Screwed (2006 HBO Special)
• History of the Joke with Lewis Black (2008 History Channel special)
• Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black (2009 History Channel special)
• Stark Raving Black (2009)
• In God We Rust (2012 Epix Special)

Filmography

• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
• Jacob's Ladder (1990)
• The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1990–1991) (TV series)
• Law & Order, "Aria" (1991)
• The Hard Way (1991)
• Homicide: Life on the Street, "Deception" (1997)
• Mad About You (Season 6, Episode 7: Played "The Pizza Slice") (1997) (TV series)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, "Obscene" (2004)
• The Happy Elf (2005)
• Accepted (2006)
• Man of the Year (2006)
• Unaccompanied Minors (2006)
• Farce of the Penguins (2007)
• Falling for Grace (2007)
• History of the Joke (2008) (Documentary)
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (2008) (TV series)
• The Big Bang Theory, "The Jiminy Conjecture" (2009) (TV series)
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010) (TV series)
• The Penguins of Madagascar, "Arch-Enemy" (2011) (TV series)
• Celebrity Ghost Stories, Season 4, Episode 61 (2012) (TV Series)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Season 1, Episode 3 (2012) (TV Series)

External links

• Lewis Black's lewisblack.com
• Lewis Black on Twitter
• Lewis Black on MySpace
• Lewis Black at the Internet Movie Database
• Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Lewis Black (TV Interview)
• Lewis Black Interview on NPR's Fresh Air (April 7, 2005)
• Lewis Black Interview on NPR's Talk of the Nation (January 29, 2003)
• Lewis Black Interview with the Village Voice (September 23, 2008)
• Onion A.V. Club Interview
• Lewis Black Interview by Maurie Sherman
• Stand Up! Records
• Lewis Black Interview, Real Detroit Weekly (November 13, 2007)
• "Straight Talk" Interview in Submerge Magazine, (Sept. 2008)
• Lewis Black rants about Michele Bachmann, Farmville, Twitter – Citypages.com 5/4/2011