Dick Gregory, the pioneering standup comedian and civil rights activist who made his advocacy work a key component of his on-stage persona, died Saturday night in Washington, D.C. He was 84. Gregory’s death was confirmed by his family in an Instagram post.
“The family appreciates the outpouring of support and love and respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time,” read the post from son Christian Gregory.
Gregory was active on the standup and public speaking circuit for more than a half-century. He was performing shows until just a few weeks ago when he was hospitalized on Aug. 9. Gregory recently released a new book, Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies, and he recently penned a guest column for Variety about how communities can band together to end police brutality. We saw Dick perform last October in Los Angeles. He was brilliant and did an hour and a half show at the famous Improv Comedy Club. Not skipping a beat he was raw, funny, poignant and as always a visionary.
Dick Gregory’s comedy is so relevant today, it seems that he was just beginning. Our condolences go out to Lillian his wife of more than 50 years , his children and grandchildren. R.I.P Mr. Gregory.
