Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory was an American comedian, actor and writer who began performing comedy while serving in the Army in the mid-1950s, winning talent shows after a commanding officer noticed his joking. He moved to Chicago to work professionally, spending days at the Postal Service and nights in small clubs on the Chitlin' Circuit, part of a wave of black comics that also featured Nipsey Russell and Godfrey Cambridge. In 1961 Hugh Hefner spotted him at the Roberts Show Bar and hired him for the Chicago Playboy Club, leading to a New York debut at The Blue Angel, a Jack Paar appearance and a mention in Time. His book Nigger appeared in 1964. He later co-hosted talk radio, appeared as Mr. Sun on Wonder Showzen, was ranked 82nd on Comedy Central's list of the greatest stand-ups and received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. He died in 2017.