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Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), best known by his stage name, Cedric the Entertainer, is an American actor and comedian.

Biography

Personal life

Cedric was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, the son of Rosetta, a reading specialist, and Kitrell Kyles, an employee of AT&T. His younger sister, Sharita Kyles Wilson, is married and resides in Columbia, MO.¹

He was raised in St. Louis, MO. Cedric is a 1982 graduate of Berkeley High School in Berkeley, MO. He continues his involvement with his high school by awarding a scholarship each year to a graduating senior through his Cedric the Entertainer Charitable Foundation Inc. The foundation's motto is, "Reaching Out...Giving Back." Cedric majored in Mass Communication at Southeast Missouri State University and worked as a State Farm insurance claims adjuster before becoming a full-time comedian. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. He is married to Lorna Wells and they have two children, Croix and Lucky Rose, and an older daughter Tiara from a previous relationship.

Career

In 1992, he made his first TV appearance on It's Showtime at the Apollo. Soon after, he appeared on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and BET's ComicView, which he would later host for the 1993-94 season. In 1994, Cedric also won the Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award from BET.

In 1996, Cedric moved into acting, playing Steve Harvey's friend, Cedric Jackie Robinson, on his sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show. His acting career grew and he began appearing in movies, including Dr. Dolittle 2, Barbershop, Barbershop 2, Ride, Serving Sara, Johnson Family Vacation, Intolerable Cruelty, Man of the House, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Madagascar and Be Cool. Cedric was the subject of controversy when his Barbershop character made unsavory remarks regarding Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. These comments were spoken in character, were part of the script, and he has never apologized for them. In the 2005 animated film Madagascar, Cedric voiced Maurice the aye-aye. In October 2005, Cedric joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner. Cedric appeared in the movie Charlotte's Web as the voice of Golly the gander. While his acting career grew, Cedric continued stand-up and traveled the country as one of the Kings of Comedy headliners, with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. The act was later made into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric briefly had his own sketch comedy show called Cedric the Entertainer Presents, but it never caught on and was canceled after one season. The show had been renewed for a second season, but FOX canceled it before the season began. He then appeared in the 2003 Sony PlayStation 2 video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. His most recent HBO Comedy Special was entitled Cedric "The Entertainer": Taking You Higher. Two of the background dancers from the special were Kamilah Barrett and Sandra Colton, who were also finalists in FOX's So You Think You Can Dance.

Cedric recently appeared in the film Code Name: The Cleaner, a comedy in which he plays Jake, a janitor with amnesia who may be a secret undercover government agent involved in an illegal arms conspiracy. The film flopped, grossing under $10,000,000 out of its $20,000,000 budget. He then most recently starred in the 2008 films Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and the box-office hit Street Kings.

Cedric appeared as the lead comedian at the White House Correspondence Dinner but jokingly remarked that he was unprepared because he thought that he would follow a humorous speech by President George W. Bush but instead followed First Lady Laura Bush who he commented was very funny.

Cedric the Entertainer is scheduled to be inducted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame on June 8, 2008.²

Cedric can be found in the upcoming broadway revival of David Mamet's "American Buffalo," in the story of three small-time crooks that come to blows during a plot to steal a valuable coin collection. ³

Filmography

Films

• Ride (2001)
• Barbershop (2002)
• Serving Sara (2002)
• Ice Age (2002) (voice)
• Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
• Barbershop 2 (2004)
• Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
• Be Cool (2005)
• Madagascar (2005) (voice)
• Man of the House (2005)
• The Honeymoon (2005)
• Charlotte's Web (2006) (voice)
• Code Name:The Cleaner (2007)
• Talk to Me (2007)
• Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
• Street Kings (2008)
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) (voice)
• Cadillac Records (2008)

Television

• It's Showtime at the Apollo (1987-present) - Himself
• Def Comedy Jam (1992-1997) - Himself
• Comic View (1992-present) - Himself
• The Steve Harvey Show (1996-2002) - Cedric J. Robinson
• Cedric the Entertainer Presents (2002) - Himself
• The Proud Family (Voice) (2001-2004) - Uncle Bobby Proud

See also

• All Jokes Aside Documentary

References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Cedric the Entertainer

External links

• Cedric the Entertainer Official Site
• Cedric the Entertainer at the Internet Movie Database
• Cedric the Entertainer interview on the Tavis Smiley show
• Cedric the Entertainer profile on Living St. Louis.