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Paul Mooney (comedian)

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File:Paul mooney.jpg
Paul Mooney

Paul Mooney (born in Louisiana, USA) is an African American comedian, writer, and television and film actor.

Background

Paul Mooney was born in Louisiana, and later grew up in Oakland, California. Mooney ran away from home as a youth, and became a ringmaster with the Charles Gody Circus. During his stint as ringmaster, he always found himself writing comedy and telling jokes, which would later help Mooney land his first professional work as a writer for Richard Pryor.

Career

Early years

Paul Mooney wrote many of Richard Pryor's routines for his appearance on Saturday Night Live, co-wrote his material for the Live on the Sunset Strip, Bicentennial Nigger, and Is It Something I Said albums, and Pryor's film Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. As the head writer for The Richard Pryor Show, he gave many young stand-up comics, such as Robin Williams, Sandra Bernhard, Marsha Warfield, John Witherspoon, and Tim Reid, their first break into show business.

Mooney also wrote for Redd Foxx's Sanford and Son, Good Times, acted in several cult classics including Which Way Is Up?, Bustin' Loose, Hollywood Shuffle, and portrayed singer/songwriter Sam Cooke in The Buddy Holly Story.

He was the head writer for the first year of Fox's In Living Color, creating the character Homey the Clown, played by Damon Wayans. Mooney later went on to play Wayans' father in the Spike Lee film Bamboozled as a the comedian Junebug.

File:Negrodamus.jpg
Negrodamus

Chappelle's Show

Paul Mooney initially appeared in the sketch "Ask a Black Dude" on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, which he later replaced with Negrodamus, the African American version of Nostradamus. As Negrodamus, Mooney ad-libbed the "answers to life's most unsolvable mysteries" such as "Why do white people love Wayne Brady?" (Answer: "Because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.") Mooney was planning to reprise his role as Negrodamus in the third season of the Chappelle's Show, before its unplanned hiatus.

25 most @#%! Moments in Black History

In 2006, Paul Mooney hosted the BET tribute to Black History Month titled "25 most @#%! Moments in Black History." In this show, he narrated some of the most shameful incidents involving African Americans since 1980. The top 25 moments included incidents involving Marion Barry, Terrell Owens, Wilson Goode, Michael Jackson, Flava Flav, Whitney Houston, and Tupac Shakur amongst others.

Trivia

  • His twin sons, Darryl and Dwayne Mooney, are both comedians.
  • Considers himself the 'first black ringmaster.' [1]
  • Former morning radio show host on New York's WBLS, which also included Saturday Night Live alumna Ellen Cleghorne.
  • Dave Chappelle felt bad when he heard that Wayne Brady was hurt by a joke made at his expense told by Negrodamus, so Chappelle allowed Brady to get his revenge by doing an episode in which Brady takes over Chappelle's Show.

Television

Filmography

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