Paul Mooney

Paul Mooney is an African-American stand up comedian and actor. He served as a comedy writer for many prominent American comics, including Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. Mooney also worked as a television writer for many sitcoms, including In Living Color, Saturday Night Live and Sanford and Son.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/paul-mooney-talks-kagans_n_578145.html

In 2005, Mooney made headlines for a comedy routine he performed at the BET Comedy Awards that joked at Diana Ross being arrested for DUI. In the audience was Ross's daughter Tracee Ellis Ross who left the auditorium during the routine. Confronted by Lee Bailey, a syndicated urban radio host, afterwards, Mooney defended his act, saying, "How can somebody get arrested for (being under the influence) and go to jail and I be over the top?...If you scrutinize Jay Leno and David Letterman the same way you scrutinize me, then I'll agree with you, but if you don't touch them white folks, don't touch me."http://www.blackwebportal.com/wire/DA.cfm?ArticleID=2406

Mooney was one of the influences behind the edgy African-American humor that became popular during the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote comedy routines for Richard Pryor, including the "Word Association" skit performed by Pryor and Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live. During the first year of the sketch comedy show, In Living Color, Mooney served as the head writer, creating the character "Homey the Clown".http://www.blackwebportal.com/wire/DA.cfm?ArticleID=2406

Along with his comedy writing and performances, Mooney has appeared in minor roles in several television shows and movies, including Hollywood Shuffle, "Bamboozled", "Good Times" and "The Larry Sanders Show".http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0600763/ More recently, Mooney made appearances on Dave Chappelle's sketch comedy program, Chappelle's Show. He then wrote a memoir entitled "Black is the New White".http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/paul-mooney-talks-kagans_n_578145.html