Lewis Niles Black (born
August 30 1948) is a
Grammy Award-winning
American stand-up comedian,
author,
playwright and
actor. He is known for his comedy style which often includes simulating a mental breakdown or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena. He hosts
Comedy Central's
The Root of All Evil and makes regular appearances on
The Daily Show delivering his “
Back in Black” commentary segment. When not on the road performing, he resides in
Manhattan and also maintains a residence in
Chapel Hill, N.C..
Early life
Black was born in
Washington, D.C.,
the son of Jeannette, a teacher, and Sam Black, an artist and mechanical engineer.
[Lewis Black Biography (1948-)] He was raised in a middle-class
Jewish family in
Silver Spring, Maryland,
graduating from
Springbrook High School in 1966. He was exposed to playwriting as an undergraduate at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was also a brother of
Pi Lambda Phi International
fraternity. He earned a Masters in Fine Arts at the
Yale School of Drama in 1977. Originally, his career was in the theater as a playwright. He served as the playwright in residence and associate artistic director of Steve Olsen's
West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in
Hell's Kitchen in
New York City, where he collaborated with composer and lyricist
Rusty Magee on hundreds of one-act plays from 1981 to 1989. Also with
Rusty Magee, Lewis wrote the musical
The Czar Of Rock and Roll, which premiered at Houston's
Alley Theatre in 1990. Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays as he was also the
master of ceremonies. After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian as well as finding bit parts in
television and
films.