Larry Wilmore

Helping end the white male domination of the late-night talk show, Larry Wilmore also achieved huge success behind the scenes, writing, producing and creating several hit shows to become a major force in African-American comedy. Initially a stand-up performer, Wilmore branched out into acting during the '80s before taking on a key writing role on "In Living Color" (Fox, 1990-94), the groundbreaking sketch show which first introduced his trademark satirical humor to a wider audience. After serving as producer on the likes of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96) and "The Jamie Foxx Show" (WB Network, 1996-2001), Wilmore then turned show creator, firstly by teaming up with Eddie Murphy on stop-motion animation "The PJs" (Fox, 1999-2001) and secondly by conceiving the Emmy-winning "The Bernie Mac Show" (Fox, 2001-06). Returning to performing, Wilmore landed recurring roles on "Accidentally on Purpose" (CBS, 2009-10) and "Happy Endings" (ABC, 2011-13) and a small part in the film "Dinner for Schmucks" (2010). But it was his deadpan observations as the Senior Black Correspondent on "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central 1999-), where his talents truly shone, resulting in a high-profile gig fronting the short-lived replacement for "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central, 2005-2014) in 2015.

Born in Los Angeles, CA in 1961, Wilmore briefly studied theatre at California State Polytechnic University, eventually dropping out to pursue his stand-up career. After making his debut on the big screen in dark comedy "Good-bye Cruel World" (1983) and small screen as a police officer in "The Facts Of Life" (NBC, 1979-1988), Wilmore became a pivotal member of the "In Living Color" (Fox, 1990-94) team, contributing his smart and sarcastic wit to over fifty episodes of the Wayans Bros.' pioneering sketch show. With the exception of a two-episode stint as a bus driver in "Sister Sister" (The WB, 1994-99), Wilmore focused on his behind-the-camera duties for the rest of the decade, co-producing two dozen episodes of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96), and serving as supervising producer for the first two seasons of "The Jamie Foxx Show" (WB Network, 1996-2001) and consulting producer on fantasy sitcom "Teen Angel" (ABC, 1997-98).

Wilmore then enjoyed two back-to-back successes when he teamed up with Eddie Murphy to create "The PJs" (Fox, 1999-2001), the acclaimed stop-motion animation series about life in an urban public housing project, and conceived, wrote and executive produced the family sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show" (Fox, 2001-2006), winning an Emmy for the latter's pilot episode. Despite a talented cast, his next creation, Whoopi Goldberg vehicle, "Whoopi" (NBC, 2003-04), failed to engage audiences in the same way and following low ratings, was cancelled after just one season. But Wilmore soon bounced back, landing a consulting producer role on "The Office" (NBC, 2005-13), as well as guesting as diversity trainer Mr. Brown and writing the "Performance Review" episode of the quasi-documentary comedy. While in 2006, Wilmore became a regular fixture on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 1999-), where he mused upon the African-American experience in US society as the show's official Senior Black Correspondent.

Following one-off appearances in "Help Me Help You" (ABC, 2006) and "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS, 2005-2014), Wilmore landed a recurring role as Dr. Roland in "Accidentally On Purpose" (CBS, 2009-10), contributed to four parts of the epic documentary series "Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business Of America" (PBS, 2009) and returned to the film world as one of several business executives who cruelly make fun of an unsuspecting dimwit in the screwball comedy "Dinner For Schmucks" (2010). Wilmore then shot a part stand-up/part town hall meeting special, "Larry Wilmore Talks About Race, Religion and Sex in Utah" (Showtime, 2012) and its Florida sequel in the same year. In 2014, "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" (Comedy Central, 2015-16) was officially announced as the replacement for "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central, 2005-2014) when Stephen Colbert made the jump to network television. Although Wilmore's show garnered critical praise and occasional viral notoriety -- especially after an eyebrow-raising speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2016 -- "The Nightly Show" never approached the ratings of its immediate predecessor, and was quietly canceled by Comedy Central in August 2016.