Tommy Davidson
Tommy Davidson (born December 18, 1965 in Washington, D.C., USA) is an American film and television actor. Davidson was adopted when he was 2 years old. He attended high school at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland. After graduating, he enrolled at the University of the District of Columbia, but dropped out shortly thereafter. Davidson started his career as a standup comedian in the late 1980s, performing in various comedy clubs throughout the Washington Metropolitan region, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. His first major exposure came on the variety show In Living Color, where he played various characters, including his impersonation of Sammy Davis, Jr. and being the victim of Homey D. Clown. He has also appeared in the films Booty Call and Juwanna Mann, both with Vivica A. Fox. He currently provides the voice for born loser, harried father, and snack-food mogul Oscar Proud in the Disney animated series The Proud Family. He also was a recurring character on MADtv’s Real **********ing Talk sketches.
Category: Comic Profiles | Tags: Tommy Davidson
Mike Epps
Mike Epps’ name has become synonymous with a particular style of humor, through his appearance with several other African-American artists in the same genre. Epps earned a large portion of his fame through his credits in several Ice Cube films, including Next Friday (also starring Chris Tucker), How High (with Redman and Method Man), Friday After Next, and All About the Benjamins.
A side from featuring Ice Cube, the common thread of these films was the hilarious prominence of marijuana-smoking comic characters like the ones portrayed by Epps. Born in Indianapolis, IN, into a large family, Epps’ natural comedic ability was encouraged at an early age, and he began performing standup as a teenager. He moved to Atlanta where he worked at the Comedy Act Theater, before moving to New York City to star in Def Comedy Jam in 1995. His first major film role came just two years later when he starred in Vin Diesel’s Strays, a dramatic portrayal of relationships and drugs. In 1999, he made an appearance on the HBO mafia series The Sopranos. In addition to his aforementioned film work with Ice Cube, Epps had several other feature-film appearances. In 2000, he was featured in Bait, starring Jamie Foxx and David Morse, and in the jail-comedy 3 Strikes. He performed the voice of Sonny in Dr. Dolittle 2, starring Eddie Murphy, in 2001. As he gained more recognition, his comedic talent began to blossom, as demonstrated in his two 2002 features: Kevin Bray’s All About the Benjamins, an action-packed comedy, and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, in which he starred as Day-Day.
Category: Comic Profiles | Tags: Mike Epps
Michael Colyar
The nighttime talk show business had a brand new player when Michael Colyar was on the set. Successfully creating a blend of humor that entertains and informs…he brought a whole new flavor to Late Nite, and created for himself a brand new audience.
Dubbed, The King of Venice Beach, Colyar made his mark in the hearts and minds of his audiences on the Boardwalk of Venice Beach California with his thought-provoking humor. Every Saturday and Sunday for over 9 years he would perform 5 one-hour shows a day to audiences of all ages, races, and backgrounds.
Colyar’s informative and highly entertaining brand of comedy not only demands but guarantees positive response. As “Host” of “Live From LA” , his point blank delivery and razor-sharp insight connected to the guest that joined him on the sofa, as-well-as audiences of all ages, coast to coast.
He is also known to bring the same high energy, perfect delivery, and dynamic stage presence to every show, whether his audience is 55 million cable viewers, or a group of 6 graders…
In September of 1995 the city of Venice California honored Michael Colyar by placing his shoe prints, handprints and money grabber in cement for the new Venice boardwalk to be dedicated in December 2000.
Colyar gained notable attention in 1990 when he was the $100,000 Grand Prize Comedy champion of “Star Search”, the nationally televised talent competition, donating $50,000.00 to homeless charities in the Los Angeles area.
In addition to Hosting “Live From LA”, one of cable televisions most popular talk shows 4 nights a week, Colyar’s had feature roles in numerous films, and TV shows; “Hosted” HBO Def Comedy Jam ; performs at comedy clubs and concert halls; continues to be active in fundraisers and benefits for community and national organizations, and whenever possible, if Colyar is in concert performance, you will find him stopping by a neighborhood school, youth center or homeless shelter, sharing the laughter…practicing what he preaches, “what I give my brother, I give myself”.
Most recently Colyar released his first 1 Hour Video, “ The Michael Colyar Project ”…shot in the projects of several major cities, including Chicago Robert Taylor Homes where Colyar grew up.
Category: Comic Profiles | Tags: Michael Colyar
