Lewis Black Background Information

Grammy Award winner Lewis Niles black, who was born on August 30, 1948, is a stand-up comedian, playwright, author, and actor. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He came from a Jewish family. As a student in the University of North Carolina, he was introduced to playwriting. After college, he studied Fine Arts at the Yale School of Drama, where he earned his master's degree. His earlier career concentrated on being a playwright. Eventually, he began to perform as a stand-up comedian, serving as the opening for the plays where he was also the master of ceremonies most of the time. Later on, however, there was a change in theater management, so he left and worked as a comedian. He also landed some parts in television and films.

Black's comedic style can be described as that of a man who, in the midst of the issues of life and the politics surrounding him, is about to approach the limits of his sanity. He is popular for humor that ridicules history, politics, religion, trends, and cultural phenomena. Black regularly appears on The Daily Show of Comedy Central, where he renders his “Back is Black” commentary segment. His performances are marked by sarcasm, profanity, hyperbole, shouting, and of course his angry finger-shaking. Black once commented on his own comedic style and described it as being on the Titanic and being the only one who is aware of what will happen. His influences as a comedian include Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, Richard Pryor, Bob Newhart, and Shelley Berman.

On October 5, 2007, Comedy Central gave word that Black will start to host his own television show starting on March of 2008. The title of the show is Root of All Evil. The show's will put two people together in a discussion against a pop-culture topic while a panel of comedians debate about which is more evil. Lewis' role in the show is to state the final decision.