Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory (born Richard Claxton Gregory on 12 October 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri) was an American comedian, actor, writer, activist, and social critic whose career spanned more than six decades. He first discovered his talent for humor while serving in the United States Army in the mid‑1950s, where commanding officers encouraged him to enter talent shows, and after his discharge he moved to Chicago to join a new generation of Black comics that included Bill Cosby and Godfrey Cambridge. Gregory’s breakthrough came in 1961 when Hugh Hefner hired him for the Playboy Club in Chicago after seeing his routine at the Roberts Show Bar, launching a national profile that earned him appearances on Jack Paar’s show, a record deal, and a spot in Time magazine. His stand‑up material was revolutionary for its fearless critique of segregation and racism, using satire to expose the absurdities of Jim Crow while also delivering observations on everyday life, a style that made him a favorite on the Chitlin’ Circuit and later on mainstream television. Beyond comedy, Gregory became a prominent figure in the civil‑rights movement, financing a $25,000 reward that helped locate the bodies of the three murdered activists in Mississippi, running for mayor of Chicago in 1967, and campaigning as a write‑in presidential candidate for the Freedom and Peace Party in 1968, actions that placed him on President Nixon’s enemies list. He was also an early advocate for vegetarianism and animal rights, publishing Dick Gregory’s Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat in 1973 and founding Health Enterprises, Inc. to promote weight‑loss products and nutritional education. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he participated in anti‑war protests, anti‑apartheid rallies, and hunger strikes, even traveling to Tehran in 1980 to negotiate for American hostages. In his later years Gregory remained a public intellectual, appearing on talk‑radio shows, delivering keynote speeches, and continuing to write books on history, conspiracy theories, and social justice until his death from heart failure on 19 August 2017 in Washington, D.C.