Dick Gregory, Civil Rights Activist And Stand-Up Comedian, Dies At 84

Richard Claxton Gregory was born Oct. 12, 1932, in St. Louis. Raised by his single mother, Lucille, he did odd jobs to help support his family and used humor as a defense against the neighborhood bullies.

He attended Sumner High School, then won a track scholarship to Southern Illinois University, where he ran the half-mile and received the school’s outstanding athlete award. While a student, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1954 and did comedy routines in military shows. Two years later, he returned to school after his discharge but departed without a degree.

Gregory began his professional career as a comedian in Chicago in 1958, serving as a nightclub emcee at the black-owned Herman Roberts Show Bar while he maintained a day job at the U.S. Post Office.

After his life-altering shows at the Playboy Club, Gregory wrote a profound 1964 Autobiography titled Nigger, which described his impoverished childhood and the racism he experienced. He wrote a note in the foreword: “Dear Momma, wherever you are, if ever you hear the word ‘nigger’ again, remember they are advertising my book.”

He then played an alto saxophonist named Richie “Eagle” Stokes in Sweet Love, Bitter (1967), a story loosely based on the life of Charlie “Bird” Parker

In 1973, Gregory stopped performing in clubs because smoking and drinking were allowed (his activism surely cost him work), and it would be more than two decades before he returned to the stage. Until recently, he was doing more than 200 shows and lectures a year.

The comedian also published a 1973 book, Dick Gregory’s Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat: Cookin’ With Mother Nature; founded Health Enterprises, which marketed weight loss products; and introduced the Slim/Safe Bahamian Diet Mix. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 but beat it.

In 2016, Emmy-winning actor Joe Morton (Scandal) portrayed Gregory in the off-Broadway play Turn Me Loose, produced by John Legend.

Survivors include his wife Lillian, a secretary whom he had met at a club in Chicago. They were married in 1959 and had 11 children (one died at birth).

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter