Larry Wilmore

Larry Wilmore
Wilmore at St. Mary's College of Maryland, April 29, 2011
Born	Elister Larry Wilmore (1961-10-30) October 30, 1961 Los Angeles, California U.S.
Alma mater	California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Occupation	Comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, magician, actor, media critic, television host
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Leilani Jones (1995-2015)
Children	2[1]
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up, film, television
Genres	Political/news satire, observational comedy, black comedy, sarcasm, sketch comedy, deadpan
Subject(s)	American culture, American politics, political punditry, popular culture, current events, mass media/news media, egomania, xenophobia, discrimination based on skin color, sexuality
Influences	Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Richard Pryor,[2] Jon Stewart[3]
Notable works and roles	The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore The Daily Show In Living Color The PJs The Bernie Mac Show

Elister Larry Wilmore (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, magician, actor, media critic, and television host. Wilmore is the host of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, a late-night panel talk show, which premiered on January 19, 2015 on Comedy Central.

Early life

Wilmore was born on October 30, 1961, in Los Angeles,^[4] and grew up in suburban Pomona.^[5] His family is from Evanston, Illinois.^[6][7] Wilmore was raised Catholic.^[5][8] He is the third of six children. His brother Marc, is also a television writer, actor, and producer.^[5][7]

As a child, Wilmore found interest in topics such as science, magic, science-fiction and fantasy, all of which have shaped the evolution of his comedy. In an interview with NPR, he described himself as a nerd, saying that "it used to be that the black comic figure had to have this bravado and always showed strength...now there's a comic figure where it's OK to just be a nerd and be black."^[9]

Wilmore graduated from Damien High School in La Verne in 1979.^[1] He studied theatre at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; he dropped out to pursue acting and stand-up comedy.^[5]

Career

Beginning in the 1980s, Wilmore appeared as an actor in several small film and television roles, including a recurring role as a police officer on The Facts of Life. In the early to mid-1990s, he was on the writing staff of the talk show Into the Night With Rick Dees,^[1] the sketch comedy show In Living Color^[1] (his younger brother Marc was also a writer with In Living Color, but, unlike Larry, was also a cast member), and the sitcom Sister, Sister, where he portrayed a bus driver in one episode. Wilmore went on to be a writer and producer on a series of sitcoms, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Jamie Foxx Show.^[1]

In 1999, Wilmore co-created the animated comedy The PJs^[10] with Eddie Murphy and was executive producer until its conclusion in 2001. He subsequently created^[10] and produced^[11] The Bernie Mac Show, and he won an Emmy for writing the pilot episode.^[12] He created and produced Whoopi, with Whoopi Goldberg.^[13] From 2005 to 2007, he was a consulting producer for The Office and made an appearance on the show as Mr. Brown, during the episode, "Diversity Day" as a diversity consultant.^[5][10]

In 2006, Wilmore began appearing regularly on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, where he was billed as the "Senior Black Correspondent" or a derivative form of the title, such as the "Senior Executive Commander-in-Chief Who Happens To Be Black Correspondent" following the election of Barack Obama.^[5] His work on the show frequently centered on humorous observations of the Black experience in American society.^[5][8] In January 2009, Hyperion published Wilmore's I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts, a political humor book described by Booklist as "a faux collection of articles, essays, radio transcripts, and letters exploring the more ludicrous angles on race." Wilmore originated the titular phrase I'd Rather We Got Casinos in a January 2007 Daily Show appearance.^[14]

Wilmore has continued to make occasional acting appearances, including a role as a minister in I Love You, Man (2009) and a supporting role in Dinner for Schmucks (2010). In 2011, Wilmore began a recurring role on the ABC comedy Happy Endings, where he played Mr. Forristal, Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.)'s uptight boss. Since 2012, Wilmore has starred in the Showtime special titled Race, Religion and Sex, shot in Salt Lake City.

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore

On May 9, 2014 it was announced that Wilmore was selected to host a late-night talk show on Comedy Central, to replace The Colbert Report following Stephen Colbert's departure from the network to host Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.^[15][16] The show, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore is produced by Jon Stewart's production company, Busboy Productions.^[17] It premiered on January 19, 2015, and airs Mondays through Thursdays at 11:30pm.

Influences

Wilmore has named Eddie Murphy as the funniest person he knows, and has cited Jon Stewart as the most insightful man he knows, characterizing him as "a combination of Walter Cronkite, Jesus and Johnny Carson."^[18]

Personal life

Wilmore was married to actress Leilani Jones for 20 years, and they have two children. They divorced in 2015.^[7][19] Wilmore resided in San Marino, California with his family,^[20] until moving to New York City to work on The Daily Show and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.^[21][22]

Filmography

Film

Television

As a crew member

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Larry Wilmore at the Internet Movie Database
• Larry Wilmore on Twitter
• The Larry Wilmore
• Larry Wilmore videos from the Daily Show
• Wilmore Shines as 'Senior Black Correspondent': June 5, 2007, Interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air on NPR
• I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts by Larry Wilmore - ISBN 978-1-4013-0955-8