J. B. Smoove

J. B. Smoove
Smoove in April 2014.
Born	Jerry Angelo Brooks (1965-12-16) December 16, 1965 Plymouth, North Carolina, United States
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian, voice actor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Shahidah Omar (m. 2007)
Children	1

Jerry Angelo Brooks^[1][2] (born December 16, 1965),^[1][3] better known as J. B. Smoove, is an American actor, writer, comedian, and voice actor. He began his career on Def Comedy Jam in the early 1990s. He is best known for his recurring role as Leon on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Smoove joined the Season 2 cast of the Fox sitcom 'Til Death in 2008, and was promoted to the main cast for Season 3. He also starred on the CBS sitcom The Millers from 2013-2015. He currently portrays a fictionalized version of himself on the BET improv-comedy reality television parody Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Early life

Smoove was born December 16, 1965 in Plymouth, North Carolina,^[4] and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.^[2] He attended Norfolk State University in Virginia. He shortened his name, Jerry Brooks, to "J.B." and added "Smoove" as his last name when he began performing stand-up comedy. J.B. Smoove worked at a custom T-shirt shop (Mrs G's T's) where he printed T-shirts and model trains while developing material for his comedy routine.

Career

Smoove has had recurring roles on Everybody Hates Chris and Saturday Night Live. On SNL, he worked as a writer (and had bit roles in sketches, including playing Jimmy "JJ" Walker in a parody of the 1970s sitcom Good Times) and was a recipient of the 2007 Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy/Variety Series (Including Talk).

Smoove's film credits include With or Without You, Pootie Tang, Mr. Deeds, Date Night, Hall Pass, The Sitter, We Bought a Zoo, The Dictator, A Haunted House, and Clear History.

He had a major role for seasons two and three on the Fox network sitcom 'Til Death with Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher. In June 2008, he taped several episodes of The Gong Show with Dave Attell as one of the celebrity judges. Smoove was also a cast member on the short-lived sketch comedy program Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Smoove hosted the standup comedy series Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at The El Rey on Comedy Central in July 2010 and also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons titled Angry Dad: The Movie in February 2011. Also in 2011, he starred in the American Dad! episode "The Worst Stan" and appeared in an episode of Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil called "Dude, Where's My Wade." Smoove has been a regular cast member on the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm since its sixth season in 2007, playing Leon Black.

In 2012, his first televised comedy special, JB Smoove: That's How I Dooz It, premiered on Comedy Central. The DVD of the special was released April 3, 2012. In 2013, Smoove voiced Hackus in The Smurfs 2. Smoove appeared in Movie 43 in the segment "The Proposition" alongside Anna Faris and Chris Pratt. He was the substitute co-host of the New York City morning talk show Good Day New York with Rosanna Scotto on April 9, 2012. He had a cameo as a grave digger in the episode of Louie entitled "Barney/Never". He also played a supporting role in Season 4, Episode 7 "The Vapora Sport" in the American sitcom The League on FX. He plays "Wheelchair Guy", with whom the main characters have recurring comedic run-ins.^[5] He also plays one of the "Replacers" for Call Of Duty: Black Ops II. He's also in the show Real Husbands of Hollywood. He hosts a talk show on the MSG Network called "Four Courses With J.B. Smoove". He provides the voice of Dr. Ray D'Angelo Harris, host of the Chakra Attack radio show in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Smoove appeared in the 2013 film Dealin' with Idiots as "Coach Ted." In 2013, Smoove became a regular cast member of the CBS comedy The Millers, playing the character "Ray".

J.B. was the host of the reality series Last Comic Standing, which was revived by NBC for its eighth season in the summer of 2014.^[6]

Filmography

Films

Television

Videogames

References

External links

• Official website
• J. B. Smoove at the Internet Movie Database