By: Eleuterio Velazquez, Elijah Ewarawon Dick Gregory

Growing Up Dick Gregory was born October 12, 1932 in St. Louis. His childhood was spent shining shoes for a living to support his family. Early on he showed his rebel attitude in a protest against scholastic prejudice.

Big Break Dick Gregory entered the comedy scene in 1961. Until then he had just been working in clubs with predominantly black audiences. Chicago playboy club owner Hugh Hefner booked him for a show when comedian “Professor” Irwin Corey could not make it. Dick was so good that he won over a audience which included southern white “convention goers.” Playboy offered him a contract to work at their clubs.

Superstar Dick Gregory was the first black comedian to have a big hit. By the year 1962 Dick Gregory had become a known headline performer, selling out nightclubs, making numerous national television appearances, and recording popular comedy albums.

Family Man He met his wife, Lil, in a comedy club. They got married and had about ten kids, which became highly respected members in the national community in a variety of fields. The children consisted of Michele, Lynne, Pamela, Paula, Stephanie (aka Xenobia), Gregory, Christian, Miss, Ayanna and Yohance.

Dick Gregory the Entertainer. Dick Gregory was the fist black entertainer that had a big hit.

Dick Gregory’s Jokes "When I get drunk, I think I'm Polish. One night I got so drunk I moved out of my own neighborhood," "People keep telling me some of their best friends are colored. Let's face it. There just aren't that many of us to go round," "They always talk about Russia dropping the bomb. I got news. If it happens, it's gonna be more like 10,000 bombs. There'll be a 100-megaton bomb for New York, a fifty-megaton one for Chicago, a thirty-megaton for Cleveland—and a quarter-megaton job for Grosse Pointe. And it better be painted white—'cause if it's black, they ain't gonna let it in!"

Appendix

Dick Gregory Activist

Dick Gregory Vegetarian

Annotated Bibliography http://www.dickgregory.com/about_dick_gregory.html http://www.hermenaut.com/a52.shtml http://inquiry.africanamericans.com/DickGregory.htm http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/245536/Dick-Gregory