Cardis Cardell Willis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cardis Cardell Willis | |
|---|---|
 Willis on stage before a comeback on a heckler |
|
| Born | April 20, 1937 Forest, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | February 10, 2007 (aged 69) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | c1950s–1990s |
| Genres | Satire, Observational comedy, Black comedy, Improvisational comedy, Character comedy |
| Subject(s) | race relations, American politics, African-American culture, human sexuality, self-deprecation, everyday life, family |
| Influences | Jack Benny, George Burns, Redd Foxx, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, and Mort Sahl |
| Influenced | Will Durst, Dobie Maxwell, Richard Halasz, Chris Barnes |
| Website | CardellWillis.com |
Cardis Cardell Willis, better known as Cardell Willis, and often billed as C. Cardell Willis, was an influential Milwaukee comic. He was locally known mostly in the 1970s, 1980's, and 1990's. He went by the name Cardell socially and professionally, but used his formal name legally.
He was mentor to Will Durst before his eventual fame in San Francisco, and Dobie Maxwell, as well as Richard Halasz, and Chris Barnes, all of whom are natives to Milwaukee.
He eventually developed Alzheimers which robbed him of his ability to tell the storied jokes he was known for. He died on February 10, 2007 in a group home at age 69 after suffering two strokes. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Milwaukee.
His son, Benjamin created a web memorial to his father when he discovered what influence he father had on Milwaukee comedy, and the sons of the city who would gain fame in their field.
[edit] References
- Archives of Willis from jsonline.com
- Obituary from Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- Blog on Chicago Standups from Dobie Maxwell
- Dobie Maxwell's reaction to Willis' death
- Email from Will Durst
