Dick Gregory | |
|---|---|
 Gregory in 1964 | |
| Born | Richard Claxton Gregory (1932-10-12)October 12, 1932 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | August 19, 2017(2017-08-19) (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1954–2017 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 11 |
| Notable work | In Living Black and White (1961) Nigger: An Autobiography by Dick Gregory (1964) Write Me In! (1968) |
| Comedy career | |
| Medium |
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| Subjects |
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| Website | dickgregory |
Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, activist and social critic.[1][2] Gregory became popular among theAfrican-American communities in thesouthern United States with his "no-holds-barred" sets, poking fun at the bigotry andracism in the United States. In 1961 he became a staple in the comedy clubs, appeared on television, and released comedy record albums.[3]
Gregory was at the forefront of political activism in the 1960s, when he protested against theVietnam War and racial injustice, and advocated for animal rights. He was arrested multiple times and went on many hunger strikes.[4] He later became a speaker and author,[3] with his autobiography selling over a million copies. Gregory died of heart failure, aged 84, at aWashington, D.C., hospital in August 2017.[3]
Gregory was born inSt. Louis, Missouri, the son of Lucille, a house cleaner, and Presley Gregory.[5] AtSumner High School, he was aided by teachers, among them Warren St. James; he also excelled at running, winning the state cross-country championship in 1950.[6] Gregory earned a track scholarship toSouthern Illinois University (SIU),[7] where he set school records as a half-miler and miler.[8] He was named the university's outstanding student athlete of the year in 1953. He was a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In 1954, his college career was interrupted for two years when he was drafted into theUnited States Army. At the urging of his commanding officer, who had taken notice of his penchant for joking, Gregory got his start in comedy in the Army, where he entered and won several talent shows. In 1956, Gregory briefly returned to SIU after his discharge, but dropped out because he felt that the university "didn't want me to study, they wanted me to run."[9]
In the hopes of becoming a professional comedian, Gregory moved toChicago, where he became part of a new generation of black comedians that includedNipsey Russell,Bill Cosby, andGodfrey Cambridge, all of whom broke with theminstrel tradition that presented blacks stereotypically. Gregory drew on current events, especially racial issues, for much of his material: "Segregation is not all bad. Have you ever heard of a collision where the people in the back of the bus got hurt?"[10]
Gregory started helping his family with the gigs he started to get at a young age. Gregory began his career as a comedian while serving in the military in the mid-1950s. He served in the Army for a year and a half atFort Cavazos, formerly known asFort Hood in Texas,Fort Lee in Virginia, andFort Smith in Arkansas. He was drafted in 1954 while attending Southern Illinois University. After being discharged in 1956, he returned to the university but did not receive a degree. He moved to Chicago with a desire to perform comedy professionally.[10] In 1958, Gregory opened the Apex Club nightclub in Illinois. The club failed and landed Gregory in financial hardship. In 1959, Gregory landed a job as master of ceremonies at the Roberts Show Club.[11]
While working for theUnited States Postal Service during the daytime, Gregory performed as a comedian in small, primarily black-patronizednightclubs of theChitlin' Circuit. In an interview withThe Huffington Post, Gregory described the history of black comics as limited: "Blacks could sing and dance in the white night clubs but weren't allowed to stand flat-footed and talk to white folks, which is what a comic does."[12]
In 1961, Gregory was working at the black-owned Roberts Show Bar in Chicago when he was spotted byHugh Hefner.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I understand there are a good many Southerners in the room tonight. I know the South very well. I spent twenty years there one night. Last time I was down South I walked into this restaurant and this white waitress came up to me and said, "We don't serve colored people here." I said, "That's all right. I don't eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken." Then these three white boys came up to me and said, "Boy, we're giving you fair warning. Anything you do to that chicken, we're gonna do to you." So I put down my knife and fork, I picked up that chicken and I kissed it. Then I said, "Line up, boys!"
Gregory attributed the launch of his career to Hefner. Based on his performance at Roberts Show Bar, Hefner hired Gregory to work at the ChicagoPlayboy Club as a replacement for comedian "Professor"Irwin Corey.[13]
In 1961, Gregory made his New York debut atThe Blue Angel nightclub, also recording a live set there, "Dick Gregory at the Blue Angel" for his albumEast & West.[14][15] He soon came back to Chicago and finally got his big break at thePlayboy Club in Chicago, also in 1961, that was supposed to be one night and ended up being six weeks and earned him a spot inTime and a guest appearance onJack Paar's show and other night clubs shows, etc.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Dick Gregory: Advice to Young African Americans, National Visionary Leadership Project | |
| Dick Gregory: The Civil Rights Movement – Part 1, National Visionary Leadership Project | |
| Booknotes interview with Gregory onCallus on My Soul: A Memoir, March 4, 2001,C-SPAN |
Gregory's comedy occasioned controversy in someconservative white circles. The administration of theUniversity of Tennessee, for instance, branded Gregory an "extreme racist"[16] whose "appearance would be an outrage and an insult to many citizens of this state",[17] and revoked his invitation by students to speak on campus. The students sued, with noted litigatorWilliam Kunstler as their counsel, and inSmith v. University of Tennessee, 300 F. Supp. 777 (E.D. Tenn. 1969), won an order from the court that the university's policy was "too broad and vague". The University of Tennessee then implemented an "open speaker" system, and Gregory subsequently performed in April 1970.[16]
In 1964, Gregory's book,Nigger, was published. Since then, the book has never been out of print. In 2019 a trade paperback was published as well as an audio version.[18] Gregory was number 82 onComedy Central's list of the100 Greatest Stand-ups of all time and had his own star on theSt. Louis Walk of Fame.[19]
Gregory began his political career by running againstRichard J. Daley for Mayor of Chicago in 1967. Though he did not win, this would not prove to be the end of his participation in electoral politics.[20]
Gregory ran for president in the1968 United States presidential election as awrite-in candidate of the Freedom and Peace Party, which had broken off from thePeace and Freedom Party. He garnered 47,097 votes, including one fromHunter S. Thompson,[21] with fellow activistMark Lane as his running mate in some states. His running mate in New Jersey was Dr. George Wallace of Plainfield, a biologist, Rutgers professor, and Chairman of NJ SANE (Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy). Famed pediatrician Dr.Benjamin Spock was the running mate in Virginia[22] and Pennsylvania[23] garnering more than the party he had left.[24] The Freedom and Peace Party also ran other candidates, including Beulah Sanders for theNew York State Senate and Flora Brown for theNew York State Assembly.[25] Gregory's efforts landed him on themaster list of Nixon's political opponents.
Gregory then wrote the bookWrite Me In! (1968) about his presidential campaign. One anecdote in the book relates the story of a publicity stunt that came out ofOperation Breadbasket in Chicago. The campaign had printedone-dollar bills with Gregory's image on them, some of which made it into circulation. The majority of these bills were quickly seized by the federal government,[8] much in part to the bills resembling authentic US currency enough to work in many dollar-cashing machines of the day.[26] Gregory avoided being charged with a federal crime, later joking that the bills could not really be considered United States currency, because "everyone knows a black man will never be on a U.S. bill."[27] On October 15, 1969, Gregory spoke at theMoratorium to End the War in Vietnam demonstration in Washington, D.C., where he joked to the crowd: "The President says nothing you kids do will have any effect on him. Well, I suggest he make one long-distance call to the LBJ ranch".[28]
InHorace Ové's short filmBaldwin's Nigger (1969), documenting a February 1968 lecture byJames Baldwin delivered inLondon at theWest Indian Students' Centre, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience, Gregory features alongside Baldwin discussing Black experience and identity in Britain and the US.[29][30]
He was a co-host with radio personalityCathy Hughes, and was a frequent morning guest, onWOL 1450 AM talk radio'sThe Power, the flagship station of Hughes' Radio One.[31] He also appeared regularly on the nationally syndicatedImus in the Morning program.[32]
Gregory appeared as "Mr. Sun" on the television showWonder Showzen (the third episode, entitled "Ocean", aired in 2005). As Chauncey, a puppet character, imbibes ahallucinogenic substance, Mr. Sun warns: "Don't get hooked on imagination, Chauncey. It can lead to terrible, horrible things." Gregory also provided guest commentary on theWonder Showzen Season One DVD.[33] Large segments of his commentary were intentionally bleeped out, including the names of several dairy companies, as he made potentially defamatory remarks concerning ill effects that the consumption ofcow milk has on human beings. Gregory attended and spoke at the funeral ofJames Brown on December 30, 2006, inAugusta, Georgia.[34] Gregory was an occasional guest on the Mark Thompson'sMake It Plain Sirius Channel 146 Radio Show from 3 pm to 6 pm PST.[35] Gregory appeared onThe Alex Jones Show on September 14, 2010, March 19, 2012, and April 1, 2014.[36][37][38]
Gregory gave the keynote address for Black History Month atBryn Mawr College on February 28, 2013.[39]His take-away message to the students was to never accept injustice.
Once I accept injustice, I become injustice. For example, paper mills give off a terrible stench. But the people who work there don't smell it. Remember, Dr. King was assassinated when he went to work forgarbage collectors. To help them as workers to enforce their rights. They couldn't smell the stench of the garbage all around them anymore. They were used to it. They would eat their lunch out of a brown bag sitting on the garbage truck. One day, a worker was sitting inside the back of the truck on top of the garbage, and got crushed to death because no one knew he was there.[39]
Towards the end of his life, he was featured in a Fantagraphics book by Pat Thomas entitledListen, Whitey: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965–1975, which uses the political recordings of the Civil Rights era to highlight sociopolitical meanings throughout the movement.[40] Gregory is known for comedic performances that not only made people laugh, but mockedthe establishment. According to Thomas, Gregory's monologues reflect a time when entertainment needed to be political to be relevant, which is why he included his standup in the collection. Gregory is featured along with the likes ofMalcolm X,Huey P. Newton,Jesse Jackson,Martin Luther King Jr.,Langston Hughes andBill Cosby.[41]
On July 21, 1979, Gregory appeared at theAmandla Festival in Boston, whereBob Marley,Patti LaBelle, andEddie Palmieri, among others, performed.[42] Gregory gave a speech before Marley's performance, blaming PresidentJimmy Carter, and showing his support for the internationalAnti-Apartheid Movement.
Gregory was active in thecivil rights movement. On October 7, 1963, he came toSelma, Alabama, and spoke for two hours on a public platform two days before the voter registration drive known as "Freedom Day" (October 7, 1963).[43]
In 1964, Gregory became more involved in civil rights activities, activism against theVietnam War, economic reform, and anti-drug issues. As a part of his activism, he went on severalhunger strikes and campaigns in America and overseas. In the early 1970s, he was banned from Australia, where government officials feared he would "...stir up demonstrations against the Vietnam war."[44]
In 1964, Gregory played a role in the search for threemissing civil rights workers,James Chaney,Andrew Goodman, andMichael Schwerner, who vanished inPhiladelphia, Mississippi. After Gregory and members ofCORE met withNeshoba County SheriffLawrence A. Rainey, Gregory became convinced that the Sheriff's office was complicit. With cash provided byHugh Hefner, Gregory announced a $25,000 reward for information. TheFBI, which had been criticized for inaction, eventually followed suit with its own reward, and the rewards worked. The bodies of the three men were found by the FBI 44 days after they disappeared.[45]
At a civil rights rally marking the 40th anniversary of theVoting Rights Act of 1965, Gregory criticized the United States, calling it "the most dishonest, ungodly, unspiritual nation that ever existed in the history of the planet. As we talk now, America is 5 percent of the world's population and consumes 96 percent of the world's hard drugs".[46]
Gregory was an outspoken feminist, and in 1978 joinedGloria Steinem,Betty Friedan,Bella Abzug,Margaret Heckler,Barbara Mikulski, and others to lead the National ERA March for Ratification and Extension, a march downPennsylvania Avenue to theUnited States Capitol. Gregory was invited to join the march by actress and activistSusan Blakely.[citation needed] There were over 100,000 onWomen's Equality Day (August 26), 1978, to demonstrate for a ratification deadline extension for the proposedEqual Rights Amendment to theUnited States Constitution, and for the ratification of the ERA.[47] The march was ultimately successful in extending the deadline to June 30, 1982, and Gregory joined other activists to the Senate for celebration and victory speeches by pro-ERA Senators, members of Congress, and activists. The ERA narrowly failed to be ratified by the extended ratification date.
Gregory became an outspoken critic of thefindings of theWarren Commission concerning theassassination of John F. Kennedy byLee Harvey Oswald. On February 3, 1975, in Washington, D.C., Gregory introduced photographic forensic investigator Stephen Jaffe and assassination researchersRobert J. Groden andRalph Schoenman to the members and lawyers for the presidential commission known as theRockefeller Commission who gave testimony and presented evidence. A month later, on March 6, 1975, Gregory and researcherRobert J. Groden appeared onGeraldo Rivera's late night ABC talk showGoodnight America. An important historical event happened that night when the famousZapruder film of JFK's assassination was shown to the public on TV for the first time.[48] The public's outraged response to its showing led to the Hart-Schweiker investigation, which contributed to theChurch Committee Investigation on Intelligence Activities by the United States, which in turn resulted in theUnited States House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation.
Gregory andMark Lane conducted landmark research into theassassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helping move the U.S. House Select Assassinations Committee to investigate the murder, along withthat of John F. Kennedy. Lane was the author of conspiracy theory books such asRush to Judgment. The pair wrote the King conspiracy bookCode Name Zorro, which postulated that convicted assassinJames Earl Ray did not act alone.
In 1998, Gregory spoke at the celebration of the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., with PresidentBill Clinton in attendance. Not long after, the President told Gregory's long-time friend and public relations consultantSteve Jaffe, "I love Dick Gregory; he is one of the funniest people on the planet." They spoke of how Gregory had made a comment on Dr. King's birthday that broke everyone into laughter when he noted that the President made SpeakerNewt Gingrich ride "in the back of the plane," on an Air Force One trip overseas.[49]
Gregory also argued that the Moon landing was faked and the commonly accepted account of the 9/11 attacks was inaccurate, among other conspiracy theories.[1][50]
In 1966, Gregory and his wife were arrested for illegal net fishing alongside theNisqually people in Washington state in a protestfish-in. The tribe was protesting against the state laws that ban forms of fishing other thanhook-and-line because it barred their rights guaranteed to them through a federal treaty that allowed them to fish in their traditional ways.[51] He was later released from jail inOlympia, Washington, after six weeks offasting to call attention to the violation ofNative American treaties by the United States government.[51]
In 2015, Gregory revealed that he had criticised Bob Marley for writing the song "Buffalo Soldier" upon meeting him ahead of their joint appearance at the Amandla Festival in 1979. He told Marley it would convey a false image of theBuffalo Soldiers, who were responsible for letting Native Americans starve. Marley had allegedly not been aware of these circumstances when writing the song.[52]
Gregory was an outspoken activist during theUS Embassy hostage crisis in Iran. In 1980, he traveled toTehran to attempt to negotiate the hostages' release and engaged in a public hunger strike there, weighing less than 100 pounds (45 kg) when he returned to the United States.[53]
Gregory became a vegetarian and fasting activist in 1965 "based on the philosophy of nonviolence practiced during the Civil Rights Movement."[54] His 1973 book,Dick Gregory's Natural Diet For Folks Who Eat: Cookin' with Mother Nature, outlined how fasting and eating vegetarian led to dramatic weight loss.[54] He developed a diet drink called Bahamian Diet Nutritional Drink and went on TV shows to advocate his diet to help the morbidly obese. He wrote the introduction to Viktoras Kulvinskas' bookSurvival into the 21st Century.[20] A talk he gave atAmherst College in 1986 inspiredTracye McQuirter to become a vegan activist.[54]
In 1984, he founded Health Enterprises, Inc., a company that distributed weight-loss products. With this company, Gregory made efforts to improve the life expectancy of African Americans, which he believed was being hindered by poor nutrition and drug and alcohol abuse.[55] In 1985, Gregory introduced the Slim-Safe Bahamian Diet, a powdered diet compound.[56] He launched the weight-loss powder at the Whole Life Expo in Boston under the slogan "It's cool to be healthy." The diet compound, if drunk three times a day, was said to prompt rapid weight loss. Gregory received a multimillion-dollar distribution contract to retail the diet.[57]
In 1985, the Ethiopian government adopted, to reported success, Gregory's formula to combat malnutrition during a period of famine in the country.[58] Gregory's clients includedMuhammad Ali.[59] In 1987, he helpedWalter Hudson, then thefattest person alive, lose nearly 680 pounds (310 kg) in the span of one year.[60]
In 2003, Gregory andCornel West wrote letters on behalf ofPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) toKentucky Fried Chicken's CEO, asking that the company improve its animal-handling procedures.[61]
Gregory saw civil rights and animal rights as intrinsically linked, once stating, "Because I'm a civil rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike. Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and vicious taking of life. We shouldn't be a part of it."[62]
Gregory met his future wife Lillian Smith[63] at an African-American club; they married in 1959. They had 11 children (including one son, Richard Jr., who died two months after birth): Michele, Lynne, Pamela, Paula, Xenobia (Stephanie), Gregory, Christian, Miss, Ayanna, and Yohance.[10] However, it was later acknowledged that Gregory for a long time did not have a close relationship with his family due to his career and activism, and did not spend a significant amount of time with his wife and 10 surviving children.[31] In a 2000 interview withThe Boston Globe, Gregory was quoted as saying, "People ask me about being a father and not being there. I say, 'Jack the Ripper had a father.Hitler had a father. Don't talk to me about family.'"[31]
Gregory was diagnosed withlymphoma in late 1999. He said he was treating the cancer with herbs, vitamins, and exercise, which he believed kept the cancer in remission.[64]
Gregory died from heart failure[65] at a hospital in Washington, D.C., on August 19, 2017, at the age of 84.[53] A week prior to his death, he was hospitalized with a bacterial infection.[66]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Sweet Love, Bitter | Richie 'Eagle' Stokes | Film debut |
| 1995 | Panther | Rev. Slocum | |
| 1999 | Children of the Struggle | Vernon Lee | |
| 2002 | The Hot Chick | Bathroom Attendant | |
| 2009 | Steppin: The Movie | Performer | |
| 2014 | Ir/Reconcilable | Grandpa | Short |
| 2017 | The Leisure Seeker | Dan Coleman | |
| 2024 | IMPACT-Dick Gregory | Jordan Stone |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-1962 | ABC News Close Up | Self | Two episodes |
| 1966 | Armchair Theatre | Bill Kingsbury | Episode: "Neighbours" |
| 1968 | Rowan and Martin's Laugh In | Guest Performer | Episode: "Guest Star Dick Gregory" |
| 2004 | Reno 911! | Blind Pandhandler | Two episodes |
| 2005 | Wonder Showzen | Mr. Sun | Episode: "Ocean" |
| 2006 | One Bright Shining Moment | Self | Documentary |
| 2008 | Comics Unleashed | Self | Two episodes |
| 2017 | The History of Comedy | Self | Episode: "One Nation, Under Comedy" |
| 2021 | The One and Only Dick Gregory | Self | Showtime documentary film |
Joe Morton played Gregory in 2016 in the playTurn Me Loose at theWestside Theatre in Manhattan.[69]
A documentary film about the life of Gregory entitledThe One and Only Dick Gregory written and directed by Andre Gaines made its world premiere at theTribeca Film Festival on June 19, 2021, and was released onShowtime television on July 4, 2021. The film was heralded by critics and rated onRotten Tomatoes with a 100% critics' score.[70][71]
Hubert Humphrey lost that election by a handful of votes – mine among them – and if I had it to do again I would still vote for Dick Gregory.
