Renowned among the 100 greatest comedians by Comedy Central, Lewis Black is an actor, stand-up comedian, playwright, and producer. His comedy routines depict major influence by numerous famous comedians, including George Carlin Lily Tomlin, Lenny Bruce, and Richard Pryor. Aside from his stand-up specials which often border around politics, cultural inclination, and religion, Black is known for hosting the Back in Black commentary segment on The Daily Show. He also hosted Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil on Comedy Central.
Lewis Black’s successful comedy career has spawned over 10 stand-up comedy specials, including Thanks for Risking Your Life (2020). Beyond his illustrious comedy career, Black has also built an impressive acting profile, incorporating theater, film, and television. He has also excelled as a voice actor with notable roles in animated film projects such as Inside Out (2015), Rock Dog (2016), and Inside Out 2 (2024). Read on to learn more about the life and career of Lewis Black.
Lewis Black’s Early Life and Education
Born on August 30, 1948, in Washington, D.C., Lewis Black is the first son of Jeannette Black and Samuel Black. His artist and mechanical engineer father introduced Black to theater and playwriting. On the other hand, his mother was a math teacher in Washington, D.C. Black was raised in a Jewish middle-class home in Silver Spring, Maryland alongside a younger brother, Ronald who later died in 1997 after battling cancer.
Lewis Black graduated from high school in 1966 after completing his studies at Springbrook High School where he excelled in math. However, the preferred colleges he applied to except Georgetown rejected his applications. Subsequently, Black enrolled in the University of Maryland, College Park, and left after a year to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied playwriting, graduating in 1970. Black bagged a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama in 1977.
His Early Career Began In The Theater
Lewis Black began his career as a playwright. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he moved to Colorado Springs in 1970 and teamed up with other performers to acquire an old log cabin theater. However, their plan to establish a theater company was thwarted due to code violations. During this time, they were known as Homestead Arts Theatre before Black returned to Washington D.C. where he performed stand-up comedy at a tavern, wrote plays, and worked under the Appalachian Regional Commission. So far, Black has written over 40 plays.
During the 1980s, Lewis Black worked at Steve Olsen‘s West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City as the playwright-in-residence and associate artistic director. The gig saw him collaborate with Rusty Magee (lyricist and composer) and Rand Foerster (artistic composer). While working as a playwright, Black performed stand-up comedy as an opening act for the plays and served as master of ceremonies. Subsequently, he left the theater to focus on comedy.
Lewis Black Has An Extensive Film and Television Career
Lewis Black made his film debut in the 1986 comedy film Hannah and Her Sisters as Paul. He appeared in minor roles in some 1990s film projects such as Jacob’s Ladder (1990), The Hard Way (1991), and The Night We Never Met (1993). Black began playing prominent roles in the mid-2000s appearing in films such as Man of the Year as Eddie Langston and Unaccompanied Minors as Oliver Porter, both in 2006. He provided the voice of Anger in the 2015 Disney feature film Inside Out and the short film Riley’s First Date the same year.
In 2016, Lewis Black voiced Linnux in Rock Dog and reprised his voice role as Anger in Inside Out 2 (2024). On the small screen, Black has played mostly minor roles. He began his television career in 1990, appearing on five episodes of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd. His notable television appearances can be seen on shows such as The Brak Show, Law & Order, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, The Big Bang Theory, and SpongeBob SquarePants. Black has contributed as a commentator on The Daily Show segment, Back in Black since 1996.
Lewis Black Was Married For Less Than One Year
While he has been in the spotlight since the 1970s, Lewis Black has never been one to flaunt his love life. However, it’s public knowledge that Black was married at the age of 26 but the union didn’t stand the test of time. The shortlived marriage ended after 10 months and details about who he married and why they divorced are not public knowledge. Here’s what the Inside Out cast has been up to.
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