Stan Lathan
This special takes a look at the show’s origin and evolution, through interviews with the cast and original directors, featuring special musical performances, as well as behind the scenes commentary on Martin’s impact.
As he closes out his state of comedy specials, Dave takes the stage to try and set the record straight - and get a few things off his chest.
Comedian/actor Amanda Seales stars in her first HBO stand-up special, taped in front of a live audience at the Edison Ballroom in NYC.
Dave Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals in this defiant stand-up special.
Arab-American comedian Mo Amer recounts his life as a refugee comic, from traveling with the name Mohammed to his long path to citizenship.
Comedy juggernaut Dave Chappelle's fourth Netflix Special, taped on November 20th, 2017 at Los Angeles' Comedy Store.
Comedy icon Dave Chappelle makes his triumphant return to the screen with a pair of blistering, fresh stand-up specials. Filmed at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, in April 2015.
Comedy icon Dave Chappelle makes his triumphant return to the screen with a pair of blistering, fresh stand-up specials. Filmed at The Palladium in Los Angeles, California, in March 2016.
Comedy legend Dave Chappelle returns to his roots with an all-new stand-up special filmed at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.
A comedy series about what really happens behind the scenes of a massive stand-up comedy tour.
He launched a host of today’s comedy superstars in the ‘90s on the HBO series Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam. Now, Russell Simmons returns to the network for All Def Comedy, taped before a live audience Sept. 7 at the Avalon Theatre in Los Angeles. Hosted by Tony Rock, with DJ Drama, the uncensored special features stand-up performances in a variety of styles from up-and-coming comics, discovered at ADD’s weekly comedy showcase: Chris Powell, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Tate, and Robert Powell, as well as HBO’s Def Comedy Jam veteran Tony Roberts.
An ex-convict (Tyrese) gets tangled up with a gang after his car is hijacked with his son inside.
Red-hot actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer stars in his first solo HBO special, a no-holds-barred 60-minute routine performed in front of a live audience at The Wiltern, the venerable Los Angeles theater. Spiced by several song-and-dance numbers featuring a smokin' band and sexy group of dancers he calls the 'Cedibles,' the special highlights Cedric's hilarious takes on fame, TV, rap music, sports, diets, plastic surgery, gay marriage, church socials, meeting the President (not the new one, but the one we like), $5,000-a-plate dinners, Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden, suicide bombers, gas prices, Halloween, Latin music and more.
Comedian Dave Chappelle does what he does best in this outrageous and hilarious standup performance, which allows him to push the envelope far beyond what he does on his TV show. Taped in San Francisco at the famed Fillmore, Chappelle lets loose on such topics as black celebrities, what it's like to have raunchy fans of his TV show approach him while he's trying to enjoy Disneyland with his kids, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant... and crackheads, of course. It's comedy Chappelle-style and, for what it's worth, no one is safe from his barbs. But you already knew that!
Cedric the Entertainer Presents was an American sketch comedy television series starring Cedric the Entertainer. The series premiered September 18, 2002 on Fox and after the first season, Fox renewed the show for a second season but right before the show aired its second season, Fox canceled the show. The show did get released on DVD. Reruns of the show currently air on TV One.
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word poets, as well as up-and-coming ones. Well-known actors and musicians will often surprise the audience by showing up to recite their own original poems. The show is hosted by Mos Def. Def Poetry is a spin-off of Def Comedy Jam. As he did on Def Comedy, Simmons appears at the end of every episode to thank the audience. The series included historical legendary poets such as, The Last Poets, Nikki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka and Sonya Sanchez. It also featured poets, Saul Williams, Grammy Award Winning J. Ivy, Jessica Care-Moore and Lemon. Though technically not a poetry slam, Def Poetry has become heavily associated with the poetry slam movement, and utilizes many of poetry slam's best known poets, including National Poetry Slam champions such as Beau Sia, Taylor Mali, Big Poppa E, Mayda del Valle, Mike Mcgee, Alix Olson and Rives, among others. Even poets who are critical of the poetry slam, such as John S. Hall, have acknowledged slam's influence on the show. In a 2005 interview, Hall was quoted as saying,
A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.
Def Comedy Jam played host to some of the greatest comedians of the 1990s, many of whom went on to greater fame, due in part to the exposure they received on the program. Here, Mark Curry and Steve Harvey both show off some comic chops that that could never air on their respective network TV shows, though Harvey has shown this side of himself in Spike Lee's excellent THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY. Rounding out the performers are Don "D.C." Curry (NEXT FRIDAY) and Arnez J. Contains two episodes.
Def Comedy Jam played host to some of the greatest comedians of the 1990s, many of whom went on to greater fame, due in part to the exposure they received on the program. Here, Mark Curry and Steve Harvey both show off some comic chops that that could never air on their respective network TV shows, though Harvey has shown this side of himself in Spike Lee's excellent THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY. Rounding out the performers are Don "D.C." Curry (NEXT FRIDAY) and Arnez J. Contains two episodes.
Dave Chappelle returns for a stand-up to D.C. and riffs on politics, police, race relations, drugs, Sesame Street and more.
Down on his luck and out of money, former R&B star Steve Hightower lands a music teacher gig at an inner-city Chicago school. Showing who's in charge with his unorthodox approach, Steve discovers a new groove at Washington High School.
Presented by HBO and recorded live at the American Palace Theatre in New York, 'Hazelle!' a one-woman show consisting of a series of interconnected vignettes involving a host of Hazelle Goodman's well-crafted and distinct characters, which center on a NY York neighborhood. Often hilarious, sometimes poignant, but always though provoking and brilliantly performed, Goodman uses humor to celebrate humanity in way that is as relevant in 1995 as it is timeless.
A Man Called Hawk is a prime time television series that ran on the ABC television network between January 1989 and May 1989. The series is a spin-off of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land, the fourth in the series of Spenser novels by mystery writer Robert B. Parker. Brooks reprised the role of Hawk in four subsequent TV movies: Spenser: Ceremony, Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes, Spenser: The Judas Goat, and Spenser: A Savage Place. Each is considered a sequel to Spenser: For Hire.
A Fine Romance is an American comedy-drama series that aired from January 18, 1989 to March 2, 1989. The series was filmed on location at various places in Europe.
This second made-for-television reunion film finds eldest son David on the brink of marriage to a divorcee. However, some of his sisters would prefer to see a reunion with his ex-wife Janet.
Andrea Crawford, an important business woman, risks everything to save a kid from the life of crime.
The life of an aging black slave, Tom, and the people he interacts with.
The Redd Foxx Show is a short-lived sitcom that premiered January 18, 1986 on ABC. The show ended after four months on air, due in part to a Saturday night timeslot.
Better Days is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 1, 1986 to October 29, 1986.
An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.
This film adaptation of James Baldwin's celebrated novel tells the journey of a family from the rural South to "big city" Harlem seeking both salvation and understanding and of a young boy struggling to earn the approval of a self-righteous and often unloving stepfather.
Set in the 1860's South, Booker is the impassioned story of the boy who struggled through slavery to found the Tuskegee Institute. Through the eyes of nine-year-old Booker T. Washington, viewers witness the end of the Civil War, the cruelties that endured after slavery was abolished, and the hard work that led Booker to education and true freedom. Booker is a one-hour drama based on the childhood of Booker T. Washington and his quest for education in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War. Booker was shown nationally on PBS by the series, WONDERWORKS and subsequently on the Disney Channel, the BBC, and throughout the world. Booker continues to be broadcast and used in thousands of schools in America and abroad. The film was chosen as among the top 10 best home video release for children by Parenting Magazine and best script for a children's drama by the Writer's Guild of America.
Boone is a dramatic television series which was broadcast on NBC from 1983 to 1984. It starred Tom Byrd and Barry Corbin. Byrd played teenager Boone Sawyer, who aspires to a career in rock and roll music, despite the advice of his stern father, Merit Sawyer, played by Corbin, who wants Boone to join him in the automobile repair business. The setting of the series is Tennessee in the early 1950s, when great changes began to occur in popular music, with the rise of Elvis Presley. Ten weekly episodes began airing on September 26, 1983, and three remaining segments were broadcast in the summer of 1984, the last on August 11. The series was created by Earl Hamner, Jr. Ronnie Claire Edwards, an Oklahoma City native who played Corabeth Godsey, the bossy wife of storekeeper Ike Godsey in The Waltons, portrayed Aunt Dolly Sawyer in Boone. William Edward Phipps played her husband Link Sawyer, the owner of Link's Orchid Lounge, where Boone and his friend, Rome Hawley, sometimes performed. Other stars included Elizabeth Huddle as Boone's mother, Faye, who wanted Boone to commit to the ministry, as his older brother, Dwight, had done prior to Dwight's death in World War II. Julie Anne Haddock was cast as Amanda; Robyn Lively, Banjo; and Amanda Peterson, Boone's young sister, Squirt Sawyer.
Highlights the lifestyle and experiences of five jazz performers who appeared in the Cotton Club shows during the Harlem renaissance era, including Avon Long, Cab Calloway, Estrellita, the Nicholas Brothers, and Matt Robinson. Presents vintage film clips of the artists and an impromptu performance by the group.
Drama - From Ernest J. Gaines, author of "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," comes a deceptively simple, yet emotionally complex tale of a young boy's discovery of what it's like to be black in Louisiana during the 1940's. James, the boy in question, has a raging toothache that necessitates a trip to the dentist. His mother (played by Emmy-winner Olivia Cole), accompanies James to town on an eye-opening odyssey where the boy gains valuable insights into poverty, racism - and his own sense of pride. With an exciting musical score by Webster Lewis, this multi-award winning film explores a child's discovery that the world is a complicated place... where things are never truly black or white... only shades of gray. - Olivia Cole, James Bond III, Margaret Avery
Henry Flipper is the first black West Point graduate. Assigned to serve at Fort Davis in Texas, Flipper becomes the object of a conspiracy by his fellow cadets to rid the base of its only black graduate.
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name.
Ball Four is a 1976 American situation comedy that aired on CBS in 1976. The series is inspired by the 1970 book of the same name by Jim Bouton. Bouton co-created the show with humorist and television critic Marvin Kitman and sportswriter Vic Ziegel. Bouton also starred in the series. Ball Four followed the Washington Americans, a fictitious minor league baseball team, dealing with the fallout from a series of Sports Illustrated articles written by Americans player Jim Barton. Like the book, the series covered controversial subjects including womanizing players, drug use, homosexuality in sports and religion. The series included a gay rookie ballplayer, one of the earliest regular gay characters on television. The trio began developing the series in 1975, looking to other series like M*A*S*H and All in the Family as models. CBS expressed interest and the creative team developed a script. CBS shot the pilot episode and ultimately bought the series. Ball Four aired at 8:30 PM Eastern time, which was during the Family Viewing Hour, an FCC-mandated hour of early evening "family-friendly" broadcasting. Consequently the writers had some trouble with the network's Standards and Practices in their attempt to portray realistic locker room scenes, especially the language used by the players. Pseudo-profanity such as "bullpimp" was disallowed, while "horse-crock" and "bullhorse" were approved.
Presents selections from the major works of choreographer Alvin Ailey as performed by his City Center Dance Theater to background music ranging from modern blues to classical music to traditional spirituals. The choreography is a reflection of the many varied influences in Alvin Ailey's life, influences that are both seen and felt through the vivid performance of the company, which includes the world-renowned artist Judith Jamison.
Amazing Grace is a 1974 light comedy featuring black comedienne Moms Mabley as a widow who tries to influence the local mayoral election in Baltimore, Maryland, after she discovers that a black candidate is being used by the incumbent mayor to further his own reelection efforts. Mabley appeared in the film, along with veteran actors Butterfly McQueen and Stepin Fetchit, only a year before her death at the age of 81. The film does not deal with the popular Christian hymn (with words by John Newton) but is a play on Mabley's character, who happens to be named Grace. It has been released on home video.
A concert film highlighted by performances from Marvin Gaye, Jerry Butler, and Roberta Flack.
Story of Denmark Vesey, who was raised as a slave but bought his freedom. He organized a plot to seize the city and free the black slaves, but this failed and he and others were hanged. Set in Charleston in 1822.
Behind the scenes and Q&A from the audience following the Sticks and Stones special.
