Cedric the Entertainer

Infobox actor


imagesize =
name = Cedric the Entertainer
birthname = Cedric Antonio Kyles
birthdate = birth date and age|1964|4|24
birthplace = Jefferson City, Missouri, United States
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername = Cedric "The Entertainer" Kyles
website = http://www.ceddybear.com/

Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24,1964), best known by his stage name, Cedric the Entertainer, is an American actor and comedian. Starting October 31, 2008 he will star in a Broadway revival of American Buffalo with John Leguizamo and Haley Joel Osment. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/120558.html Playbill 19 Aug 2008] ]

Biography

Personal life

Cedric was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, the son of Rosetta, a reading specialist, and Kitrell Kyles, an employee of AT&T. His younger sister, Sharita Kyles Wilson, is married and resides in Columbia, MO. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/62/Cedric-The-Entertainer.html Cedric The Entertainer Biography (1964?-) ] ] Cedric graduated from Haverhill High School in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Cedric majored in Mass Communication at Southeast Missouri State University and worked as a State Farm insurance claims adjuster before becoming a full-time comedian. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. He is married to Lorna Wells and they have three children, Tiara, Croix and Lucky Rose .

Cedric attened Berkeley, Highschool in Berkeley, MO where he graduated in 1982. In his early comedy days he worked at the Funny Bone Comedy club as well as the WIZ nightclub.

Career

Cedric the Entertainer attended Berkeley High School in Ferguson Florissant School District. Each year he gives out a scholarship to a graduating senior through his Cedric the Entertainer Charitable Foundation Inc. The motto is, "Reaching Out...Giving Back." He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

In 1992, he made his first TV appearance on "It's Showtime at the Apollo". Soon after, he appeared on HBO's "Def Comedy Jam" and BET's "ComicView", which he would later host for the 1993-94 season. In 1994, Cedric also won the Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award from BET.

In 1996, Cedric moved into acting, playing Steve Harvey's friend, Cedric Jackie Robinson, on his sitcom, "The Steve Harvey Show". His acting career grew and he began appearing in movies, including "Dr. Dolittle 2", "Barbershop", ', "Ride", "Serving Sara", "Johnson Family Vacation", "Intolerable Cruelty", "Man of the House", "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", "Madagascar" and "Be Cool". Cedric was the subject of controversy when his "Barbershop" character made unsavory remarks regarding Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. These comments were spoken in character, were part of the script, and he has never apologized for them. In the 2005 animated film "Madagascar", Cedric voiced Maurice the aye-aye. In October 2005, Cedric joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner. Cedric appeared in the movie "Charlotte's Web" as the voice of Golly the gander. While his acting career grew, Cedric continued stand-up and traveled the country as one of the "Kings of Comedy" headliners, with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. The act was later made into a film by Spike Lee called "The Original Kings of Comedy". Cedric briefly had his own sketch comedy show called "Cedric the Entertainer Presents", but it never caught on and was canceled after one season. The show had been renewed for a second season, but FOX canceled it before the season began. He then appeared in the 2003 Sony PlayStation 2 video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. His most recent HBO Comedy Special was entitled '. Two of the background dancers from the special were Kamilah Barrett and Sandra Colton, who were also finalists in FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance".

Cedric recently appeared in the film "", a comedy in which he plays Jake, a janitor with amnesia who may be a secret undercover government agent involved in an illegal arms conspiracy. The film flopped, grossing under $10,000,000 out of its $20,000,000 budget. He then most recently starred in the 2008 films "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" and the box-office hit "Street Kings".

Cedric appeared as the lead comedian at the White House Correspondence Dinner but jokingly remarked that he was unprepared because he thought that he would follow a humorous speech by President George W. Bush but instead followed First Lady Laura Bush who he commented was very funny.

Cedric the Entertainer is scheduled to be inducted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame on June 8, 2008. [ [http://stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/Cedrickyles.html St. Louis Walk of Fame Induction page] ]

Cedric can be found in the upcoming broadway revival of David Mamet's "American Buffalo," in the story of three small-time crooks that come to blows during a plot to steal a valuable coin collection.

Filmography

Films

*"Ride" (1998)
*"Big Momma's House" (2000)
*"The Original Kings of Comedy" (2000)
*"Kingdom Come" (2001)
*"Barbershop" (2002)
*"Serving Sara" (2002)
*"Ice Age" (2002) (voice)
*"Intolerable Cruelty" (2003)
*"Barbershop 2" (2004)
*"Johnson Family Vacation" (2004)
*"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (2004)
*"Be Cool" (2005)
*"Madagascar" (2005) (voice)
*"Man of the House" (2005)
*"The Honeymooners" (2005)
*"Charlotte's Web" (2006) (voice)
*"" (2007)
*"Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" (2008)
*"Street Kings" (2008)

Television

*"It's Showtime at the Apollo" (1987-present) - Himself
*"Def Comedy Jam" (1992-1997) - Himself
*"Comic View" (1992-present) - Himself
*"The Steve Harvey Show" (1996-2002) - Cedric J. Robinson
*"Cedric the Entertainer Presents" (2002) - Himself
*"The Proud Family" (Voice) (2001-2004) - Uncle Bobby Proud

ee also

*All Jokes Aside Documentary

References

External links

* [http://www.ceddybear.com/ Cedric the Entertainer Official Site]
*imdb name|id=0147825|name=Cedric the Entertainer
* [http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200407/20040709.html Cedric the Entertainer interview] on the Tavis Smiley show
* [http://www.ketc.org/productions/productions_livingSTL_videoArchive.asp Cedric the Entertainer profile] on "Living St. Louis".