Cedric the Entertainer
Cedric the Entertainer | |
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Birth name | Cedric Antonio Kyles |
Born | April 24, 1964 Jefferson City, Missouri, United States |
Official site | CeddyBear.com |
Cedric the Entertainer (born Cedric Antonio Kyles on April 24, 1964) is an American actor and comedian.
Contents |
Biography
Personal life
Cedric was born in Jefferson City, Missouri to Rosetta Kyles, a retired school reading specialist. He has a sister, Sharita. Cedric was voted "most popular" and "most humorous" by his Berkeley, MO High School classmates. He began his career doing stand-up comedy, winning several comedy contests and performing at various comedy clubs nationwide. The self-assumed title "The Entertainer" comes from his early days as a comedian when he also sang and danced. Cedric performed in many clubs in Atlanta, Missouri. He was highly encouraged by Vonero Brummer, to perform at The Wiz, a local nightclub in East St. Louis. Cedric did and won a comedy contest and realized that this was the easiest money that he had ever earned, which prompted him to continue his pursuit as a comedian. Cedric performed at Sanford's, a local Black comedy club, for many years with comedians Lavelle Crawford, Darius Bradford, and G-Thang. Sanford's was a proving ground for many St. Louis comedians and allowed Cedric to hone his skills as a funny man. Cedric had a broader perspective than the local comedians. Cedric married Lorna Wells on September 3, 1999; they have a son, Croix, and a daughter Lucky Rose (Cedric has another daughter, Tiara Jackson, from a previous relationship). Cedric is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated.
Career
In 1992, he made his first TV appearance on It's Showtime at the Apollo. Soon after, he appeared on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and BET's ComicView, which he would later host for the 1993-94 season. In 1994, Cedric also won the Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award from BET.
In 1996, Cedric moved into acting, playing Steve Harvey's friend, Cedric Jackie Robinson, on his sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show. His acting career grew and he began appearing in movies, including Big Momma's House, Dr. Dolittle 2, Barbershop, Barbershop 2, Serving Sara, Johnson Family Vacation, Intolerable Cruelty, Man of the House, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Be Cool. Cedric was the subject of controversy when his Barbershop character made unsavory remarks regarding Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. These comments were spoken in character, were part of the script, and he has never apologized for them. In the 2005 animated film Madagascar, Cedric voiced Maurice the lemur. In October 2005, Cedric joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner. Cedric appeared in the movie Charlotte's Web as the voice of Golly the gander. Cedric was offered a role in the film(Going Off) by Edmund Darris, but declined the role. [1] While his acting career grew, Cedric continued stand-up and travelled the country as one of the Kings of Comedy headliners, with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. The act was later made into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric briefly had his own sketch comedy show called Cedric the Entertainer Presents, but it never caught on and was cancelled after one season. The show had been renewed for a second season, but FOX cancelled it before the season began. His most recent HBO Comedy Special was entitled Cedric "The Entertainer" Taking You Higher Special. Two background dancers were Kamilah Barrett and Sandra Colton, both finalists in FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.
Cedric most recently appeared in Code Name: The Cleaner, a comedy in which he plays Jake, a janitor with amnesia who may be a secret undercover government agent involved in an illegal arms conspiracy. The film flopped when it grossed under $10,000,000 out of its $20,000,000 budget.
Cedric the Entertainer also appears on the Playstation 2 video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
See Also
All Jokes Aside Documentary
Preceded by Brad Garrett |
Host of TV Land Awards 2005 |
Succeeded by Megan Mullally |
External links
- Cedric the Entertainer Official Site
- Cedric the Entertainer at the Internet Movie Database
- Cedric the Entertainer interview on the Tavis Smiley show
- Cedric the Entertainer profile on Living St. Louis.