Dick Gregory
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Richard "Dick" Claxton Gregory, born October 12, 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri, is a comedian, social activist, writer and entrepreneur.
As a child, his family fell into the "middle lower" class financially. He was a track star in college, and spent two years in the U.S. Army. After his military service, he performed as a comedian in small, primarily black nightclubs. He worked for the United States Postal Service during the daytime. In 1961, he was hired by Hugh Hefner, to work with the Chicago Playboy Club. This is where he began to gather fame. He used the following line to wow an entirely white audience, prompting Hefner to hire him:
- 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 givin' you fair warnin'. 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!" [1] (http://www.duckprods.com/projects/dickgregory/)
In a few years he was known nationally, appearing on television; his autobiography, Nigger, was the best selling book in America, selling 7 million copies. He became more involved in struggles for civil rights, activism against the American War in Vietnam, economic reform, anti-drug issues, conspiracy theories, and others. As a part of his activism, he went on several hunger strikes.
Dick Gregory unsuccessfully ran for president of the United States in 1968 as a write-in candidate. He wrote Write Me In about that political campaign. In recent years he has been a figure in the health food industry.
In early June 2005, during the late stages of 2005 trial of Michael Jackson, he has been invited by Michael's father, Joseph Jackson to advise Michael on his health. On June 4th, Gregory brought a blood-circulating machine to Jackson's house for Michael Jackson to use, but Michael refused to get hooked up to it.
Gregory married his wife, Lillian, in the 1960s, and they now have ten children. As of 2005, he resides in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Gregory is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.
Books
- Nigger: an autobiography, by Dick Gregory with Robert Lipsyte, Pocket Books, (Simon and Schuster), 1964. (one account says 1963 (http://www.dickgregory.com/about_dick_gregory.html)) ISBN 06717135608
- Write me in!, Bantam, 1968.
- From the Back of the Bus
- What's Happening?
- The Shadow that Scares Me
- Dick Gregory's Bible Tales, with Commentary, a book of Bible-based humor. ISBN 0812861949
- Dick Gregory's Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat: Cookin' With Mother Nature!
- (with Shelia P. Moses), Callus on My Soul : A Memoir ISBN 0758202024
- Up from Nigger
- No More Lies; The Myth and the Reality of American History
- Dick Gregory's political primer
- (with Mark Lane), Murder in Memphis: The FBI and the Assassination of Martin Luther King
- (with Mel Watkins), African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slavery to Today (Library of Black America)
- Robert Lee Green, Dick Gregory, daring Black leader
- African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slavery to Today (editor) ISBN 1556524307
Filmography
- The Hot Chick (2002)
- Children of the Struggle (1999)
- Panther (1995)
- Sweet Love, Bitter (1967)
Source: IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0339793/)
External links
- Dick Gregory: the Color of Funny (http://www.duckprods.com/projects/dickgregory/) documentary film
- www.dickgregory.com Dick Gregory Global Watch (http://www.dickgregory.com/)
- short biography (http://www.dickgregory.com/about_dick_gregory.html)