Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 - August 19, 2017) is an African-American comedian, civil rights activist, social critic, writer, entrepreneur, conspiracy theorist and occasional actor. During the volatile 1960s, Gregory became a pioneer in stand-up comedy for his "without-hold" set, in which he mocked bigotry and racism. He appeared primarily for a black audience in a separate club until 1961, when he became the first black comedian to successfully cross into a white audience, appearing on television and releasing comedy record albums.
Gregory was at the forefront of political activism in the 1960s, when he protested against the Vietnam War and racial injustices. He was arrested several times and did many hunger strikes. He later became a speaker and writer, mainly promoting spirituality.
Gregory died of heart failure at the Washington, D.C. hospital, at the age of 84 in August 2017.
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Gregory was born at St. Louis, Missouri, son of Lucille, a housekeeper, and Presley Gregory. When he was nine years old, he was the victim of a racist attack for touching the feet of a white woman while shining shoes. At Sumner High School, he was assisted by teachers, among them Warren St. James; he also excelled in running. Gregory was awarded a scholarship on line to Southern Illinois University (SIU), where he set school records as a half-miller and a milker. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In 1954, his college career was disrupted for two years when he was recruited into the United States Army. At the urging of his commander, who had noticed his passion for joking, Gregory began his career in comedy in the Army, where he entered and won several talent shows. In 1956, Gregory briefly returned to SIU after he left, but came out because he felt that the university "did not want me to learn, they wanted me to run."
Hoping to become a professional comedian, Gregory moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he became part of a new generation of black comedians that included Nipsey Russell, Bill Cosby, and Godfrey Cambridge, all of which broke the singer's tradition of stereotyping black characters. Gregory drew on recent events, especially racial issues, for most of his material: "Segregation is not all bad.Have you heard of a collision where the people behind the bus got hurt?"
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Careers
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 at Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Lee in Virginia, and Fort Smith in Arkansas. He was compiled in 1954 while attending Southern Illinois University. After being dismissed in 1956, he returned to university but did not receive a degree. He moved to Chicago with the desire to do comedy professionally.
In 1958, Gregory opened the Apex Club nightclub in Illinois. The club failed and Gregory landed in financial trouble. In 1959, Gregory got a job as a master of ceremony at the Roberts Show Club.
While working at the United States Post Office during the day, Gregory appeared as a comedian at a small nightclub, especially a black one. He was one of the first black comedians to gain wide acknowledgment when performing for a white audience. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Gregory described the limited history of black comics: "Blacks can sing and dance in white nightclubs but are not allowed to stand with flat feet and talk to white people, that's what done comic. "
In 1961, Gregory worked at the Roberts Show Bar owned by blacks in Chicago when he was discovered by Hugh Hefner. Gregory was doing the following thing before most of the white audience:
Good night lord and madam. I understand there are a lot of South people in the room tonight. I know the South very well. I spent twenty years there one night.
The last time I was in the South, I went into this restaurant and this white maid came up to me and said, "We do not serve the colored people here." I said, "It's okay, I do not eat colored people, bring me fried chicken whole."
Then the white boys came to me and said, "Well, we give you a fair warning. Whatever you do to the chicken, we'll do it for you." So I put my knife and fork, I took the chicken and I kissed it. Then I said, "Get up, kids!"
Gregory connects the launch of his career with Hefner. Based on his performance at the Roberts Show Bar, Hefner hired Gregory to work at Chicago Playboy Club instead of comedian "Professor" Irwin Corey.
Gregory made his first television appearance at a late night show Tonight Starring Jack Paar . He soon began to appear nationally and on television.
Early in his career, Gregory was offered an engagement to Night Star Jack Paar. Paar's show is known for helping push entertainers to the next level in their careers. At that time, black comics appeared on the show, but after their performances, they were never asked to stay and sit on the famous sofa and talk to the host. Dick Gregory rejected several invitations from Jack Paar to appear on the show. Paar finally summoned him to find out why he refused to appear on his show. In order for Gregory to perform, the producers finally agreed to allow him to remain after his performance and talk to the host in the air. This is the first in event history. Gregory's Interview of Tonight Starring Jack Paar spurs conversations across America.
Gregory's comedy invites controversy in some conservative white circles. The University of Tennessee Administration, for example, branded Gregory an "extreme racist" whose "appearance would be anger and humiliation for many of these citizens," and revoked his invitation by students to speak on campus. The students sued, with renowned litigator William Kunstler as their counselor, and at Smith v. University of Tennessee , 300 F. Supp. 777 (E.D. Tenn. 1969), won an order from the court that the University's policy "is too broad and unclear". The University of Tennessee then implemented an "open speaker" system, and Gregory was later performed in April 1970.
Post-standup careers
Gregory is number 82 on Comedy Central's list of 100 Greatest Stand-ups of all time and has his own star in St. Louis. Louis Walk of Fame.
She is co-hosted with Cathy Hughes radio personality, and is often a guest of the morning, at WOL 1450 AM speaking radio "The Power", the main station of Hughes' Radio One. He also appeared regularly on the Imus in the Morning syndicated national program .
Gregory appeared as "Mr. Sun" on the television show Wonder Showzen (third episode, titled "Ocean", aired in 2005). As Chauncey, the doll character, absorbs the hallucinogenic substance, Mr. Sun warns, "Do not get stuck on the imagination, Chauncey.This can cause horrible and horrible things." Gregory also made guest comments on the Wonder Showzen DVD Season One. The large segment of his comment was deliberately silenced, including the names of some dairies, as he made a potentially libelous comment about the adverse effects of cow's milk consumption on humans.
Gregory attended and spoke at James Brown's funeral on December 30, 2006, in Augusta, Georgia.
Gregory is a guest who is sometimes present at Mark Thompson's Make It Plain Sirius Channel 146 Radio Show from 3 pm to 6 pm PST.
Gregory appeared on The Alex Jones Show on September 14, 2010, March 19, 2012, and April 1, 2014.
Gregory gave a keynote address to Black History Month at Bryn Mawr College on February 28, 2013. The message that was brought back to the students was never to accept injustice.
As soon as I accepted injustice, I became unfair. For example, paper mills give off a terrible smell. But the people who work there do not smell it. Remember, Dr. King was killed when he worked for garbage collectors. To help them as workers to uphold their rights. They can not smell the garbage around them anymore. They got used to it. They will eat their lunch from a brown bag placed on a garbage truck. One day, a worker was sitting behind a truck in the garbage, and was crushed to death because no one knew he was there.
Even until 2013, Gregory continues to be the ringing voice of the black power movement. Toward the end of his life, he was featured in the book Fantagraphics by Pat Thomas entitled Listen, Whitey: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 , which uses the Civil Rights era recordings to highlight the sociopolitical meaning of the whole movement. Gregory is known for a comedy show that not only makes people laugh, but mocks his stance. According to Thomas, the monologue of Gregory reflects the moment when entertainment is needed to become politically relevant, which is why he included his support in the collection. Gregory is featured along with the likes of Huey P. Newton, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes and Bill Cosby.
Joe Morton played Dick Gregory in 2016 in the Turn Me Loose drama at the Westside Theater in Manhattan.
Personal life
Gregory meets his future wife, Lillian Gregory, 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, Stephanie (also known as Xenobia), Gregory, Christian, Miss, Ayanna , and Yohance. He was criticized for being an absent father. In a 2000 interview with The Boston Globe , Gregory was quoted as saying, "People ask me about being a father and not there, I say, 'Jack the Ripper has a father. father, do not talk to me about family. ""
Activism
Political activism
Gregory is active in the civil rights movement. On October 7, 1963, he came to Selma, Alabama, and spoke for two hours on a public platform two days before the registration of voters known as "Freedom Day" (October 7, 1963).
In 1964, Gregory became more involved in civil rights activities, activism against the Vietnam War, economic reforms, and anti-drug issues. As part of his activism, he conducted several hunger strikes and campaigns in America and abroad. In the early 1970s, he was banned from Australia, where government officials worried he planned to "stir up demonstrations."
In 1964, Gregory played a role in the search for three lost civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who disappeared in Philadelphia, Mississippi. After Gregory and INTI members met with Sheriff County Neshoba Lawrence A. Rainey, Gregory became convinced that the Sheriff's office was involved. With the money provided by Hugh Hefner, Gregory announced a $ 25,000 reward for the information. The FBI, who has been criticized for not acting, finally followed suit with his own prize, and the rewards paid off. The bodies of the three men were discovered by the FBI 44 days after they disappeared.
Gregory began his political career by fighting Richard J. Daley for the Mayor of Chicago in 1967. Although he did not win, this would not prove to be the end of his participation in electoral politics.
Gregory ran for president of the United States in 1968 as a candidate writing in the Freedom and Peace Party, who had cut off from the Peace and Freedom Party. He collected 47,097 votes, including one from Hunter S. Thompson, with fellow activist Mark Lane as his partner in several states. His friend in New Jersey is Dr. David Frost of Plainfield, a biologist, Rutgers professor, and Chairman of NJ SANE (Sane's Nuclear Policy Committee). Leading pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock is a candidate partner in Virginia and Pennsylvania who collects more than the party he left behind. The Freedom and Peace Party also brought other candidates, including Beulah Sanders to the State Senate of New York and Flora Brown to the New York State Assembly. His efforts landed him on the main list of Nixon's political rivals.
Gregory later wrote the book Write Me In about his presidential campaign. One anecdote in this book tells the story of a publicity stunt coming out of Operation Breadbasket in Chicago. The campaign has scored a dollar bill with Gregory's picture on them, some of which make it outstanding, causing great trouble, but the invaluable publicity. The majority of these bills were quickly seized by the federal government. The big contributing factor to foreclosures came from a paper bill resembling a strong enough United States currency so they worked on many money-making machines at that time. Gregory was not accused of a federal crime, then joked that the bills could not be considered the United States currency, because "everyone knows blacks will never be in US bills."
Shortly after this time, Gregory became a blatant critic of the Warren Commission's findings about the assassination of John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald. On March 6, 1975, Gregory and researcher Robert J. Groden's assassination appeared on ABC's evening talk show Geraldo Rivera Goodnight America. An important historical event occurred that night when Zapruder's famous film about JFK's murder was publicly shown on TV for the first time. The public response and outrage towards his performance led to the formation of an investigation of Hart-Schweiker, who contributed to the Committee of Church Investigations on Intelligence Activities by the United States, resulting in the United States Select Committee on Investigation of Homicide.
Gregory was a vocal feminist, and in 1978 joined Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, Margaret Heckler, Barbara Mikulski, and other suffragists to lead the National ERA March for Ratification and Extension. Pennsylvania Road to the United States Capitol more than 100,000 on the Day of Women's Equality (August 26), 1978, to indicate the extension of the ratification of the extension to the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, and to the ratification of the ERA. The parade finally succeeded in extending the deadline until June 30, 1982, and Gregory joined other activists to the Senate for celebrations and victory speeches by pro-ERA Senators, Congressmen, and activists. ERA is narrowly failed to be ratified by the date of the extended ratification.
On July 21, 1979, Gregory appeared at the Amandla Festival where Bob Marley, Patti LaBelle, and Eddie Palmieri, among others, performed. Gregory gave a speech before Marley's appearance, blamed President Carter, and showed his support for the international Anti-Apartheid Movement. Gregory and Mark Lane conducted important research on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped move the Homicide Select Homes Committee to investigate the killings, along with John F. Kennedy. Lane is the author of conspiracy theory books such as Rush to Judgment . The couple wrote the conspiracy book of King Zorro's Code of Names , which argued that the murderer James Earl Ray was not acting alone. Gregory also believes that the moon landing has been forged and the publicly accepted account of the 9/11 attacks is incorrect, among other conspiracy theories.
Gregory was a vocal activist during the US Embassy Hostage Crisis in Iran. In 1980, he traveled to Tehran to try to negotiate the release of hostages and engage in a general hunger strike there, weighing less than 100 pounds (45 kg) when he returned to the United States.
In 1998, Gregory spoke on the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with President Bill Clinton present. Not long after, the President informed Gregory's old friend and public relations consultant Steve Jaffe, "I love Dick Gregory, he's one of the funniest people on the planet." They talked about how Gregory commented on his birthday. King who made everyone laugh, as he noted that the President made Speaker Newt Gingrich "ride on the back of the plane," on the way to Air Force One abroad.
Gregory was diagnosed with lymphoma at the end of 1999. He said he treated cancer with herbs, vitamins, and exercise, which he believed kept cancer in remission.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, Gregory was a figure in the health food industry by advocating a raw fruit and vegetable diet. He wrote the introduction to Viktoras Kulvinskas 'Survival to the 21st Century' book. Gregory first became vegetarian in the 1960s and lost a lot of weight by performing extreme fasting, some lasting up to 50 days. He developed a diet drink called "Bahamian Diet Nutritional Drink" and went to a TV show that advocated his diet and to help obese people.
In 2003, Gregory and Cornel West wrote letters on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to the CEO of Kentucky Fried Chicken, requesting that the company improve animal handling procedures.
At a civil rights rally marking the 40th anniversary of the 1965 Select Rules Act, Gregory criticized the United States, calling it "the most dishonest, ungodly, unspiritual nation ever to exist in the history of the planet. Now, America is 5 percent of the world's population and consumes 96 percent of the world's hard drugs. "
In 2008, Gregory stated he believed that air pollution and intentional water contamination with heavy metals such as lead and possibly manganese might be used against black Americans, especially in urban environments, and that these factors may contribute to high levels of violence in black. community.
On September 10, 2010, Gregory announced that he would go on a hunger strike. In comments published by the Center for Research on Globalization of websites in Montreal, he said that he doubted the official US report on terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
One thing I know is the official government story of the event, as well as what happened that day at the Pentagon, that's all, a story. This story is not the truth, but it is far from it. I was born on October 12, 1932. I announce today that I will only consume fluids from Sunday until my eighteenth birthday in 2012 and until the real truth about what really happened on that day came and became public.
Healthcare, Inc.
In 1984, he founded Health Enterprises, Inc., a company that distributes weight loss products. With this company, Gregory makes an effort to increase the life expectancy of African Americans, whom he believes is hindered by malnutrition and drug and alcohol abuse. In 1985, Gregory introduced the "Safe-Thin Bahamian Diet", a powder-diet mix. He launched a weight loss powder at the Whole Life Expo in Boston with the slogan "It's cool to be healthy". Mixed diet, if taken three times a day, is said to lose weight quickly. Gregory received a multi-million dollar distribution contract for retailing the diet.
In 1985, the Ethiopian government adopted, to report on the success, Gregory's formula for fighting malnutrition during this period of famine in the country. Gregory's client included Muhammad Ali.
In 2014, Dick Gregory updated the original 4X formula, which is the basis for the Bahamas Diet and creates a new and improved "Caribbean Diet for Optimal Health".
Some of his health care has been described as "unusual" and "decaying favorably".
Death
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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