Comedian Lewis Black at Strathmore

Comedian Lewis Black has been added to Strathmore 2018-2019 Season, performing in the Music Center on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 8 p.m. Known as the king of the rant, Black uses his trademark style of comedic yelling and animated finger-pointing to skewer anything and anyone that gets under his skin. His comedic brilliance lies in his ability to make people laugh at the absurdities of life, with topics that include current events, social media, politics, and anything else that exposes the hypocrisy and madness he sees in the world. For more information call (301) 581-5100 or visitwww.strathmore.org.

Tickets to this show will go on sale to the general public Friday, October 26,2018 at 10 a.m.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1948, Black was raised in Silver Spring, MD. Colicky as a baby, he was destined to be angry and easily irritated. His mother, a teacher, and his father, a mechanical engineer, instilled the importance of education and the necessity to question authority—lessons that influenced Black throughout his life. He fell in love with the theatre at age 12, which led to pursuing a career in drama. Degrees followed from the University of North Carolina and Yale Drama School, with a stint in Colorado owning a theatre with a group of friends in the interim. During his tenure at UNC, Black ventured into stand-up, which was a steady presence as he pursued his career in theatre.

Black eventually settled in New York and became the playwright-in-residence at the West Bank Café’s Downstairs Theatre Bar. He oversaw the development of more than 1,000 plays, including works by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and American Beautywriter Alan Ball, as well as his own original works. In addition to overseeing the works on stage, Black emceed every show. As the West Bank grew, so did Black’s stand-up skills. He left the West Bank in the late 1980s to pursue stand-up full time.

In 1996, Black was tapped to create a weekly segment for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. The segment, a three-minute rant about whatever was bothering him at the moment, evolved into Back in Black, becoming one of the most popular and longest-running segments on the show for both the Jon Stewart era, and now The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Black has also taped four specials for the Comedy Central Presents series, co-created Last Laugh with Lewis Black, and presided over Lewis Black’s The Root of All Evil.

His first CD, The White Album, was released in 2000 to critical acclaim. Black followed with eight more albums—six under the Comedy Central Records label. He has received five Grammy nominations and two wins for his work; he won Best Comedy Album in 2007 for The Carnegie Hall Performance and again in 2011 for Stark Raving Black.

In 2009 Black filmed his first feature-length concert film, Stark Raving Black, at the Fillmore Theatre in Detroit. In 2011, he produced his second full-length concert, In God We Rust. In August 2013, Black recorded his ninth stand-up special, Old Yeller: Live At The Borgata.

Black has appeared on Larry King Live, Piers Morgan Tonight, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’ Brian, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Black has also had numerous appearances on CNN and MSNBC and has occasionally done the weather with Al Roker.

Black has also written three New York Times best-selling books and penned more than 40 plays, many of which have been produced around the country.

In 2006, he had a break-out year as an actor, co-starring with Robin Williams in Barry Levinson’s Man of the Year (Universal Pictures). He also appeared as “the fake dean of a fake college” in Steve Pink’s Accepted (Universal Pictures), and as the harried airport manager in Paul Feig’s Unaccompanied Minors (Warner Bros.). He lent his voice to Jimmy in Bob Saget’s parody, Farce of the Penguins (Thinkfilm).

In 2015, Black notably voiced the character “Anger” in the Academy Award winning animated film from Pixar, Inside Out, about an 11-year-old-girl who is wrestling with the emotions inside her head.

As a longtime mentor with the 52nd Street Project, Black was roasted in Charred Black 2007, which drew the largest fundraising numbers in the Project’s history. He’s a member of their advisory board, is co-chair of their capital campaign, and in 2000, the Ron Black Memorial Scholarship Fund was created in memory of his late brother. Black is also committed to raising funds for the Rusty Magee Clinic for Families and Health. He’s a strong supporter of both the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Autism Speaks, and was honored by The Brady Center for his commitment to ending gun violence. In 2012, he was honored by the ACLU of Georgia with their National Civil Liberties Award. At the Williamstown Theatre Festival, he established the William Foeller Fellowship, having taught and performed at the festival for more than a decade. Black also supports our military personnel and has performed in three tours with the USO.

Black resides in both Manhattan and Chapel Hill, NC. Still loyal to his alma mater, he’s worked with UNC students to create the Carolina Comedy Festival, a yearly festival that highlights performances and provides workshops and lectures for budding comics, writers, and performers.