Don Reed (comedian)
{{BLP sources|date=July 2010}}
{{Infobox person|
|image =
|birth_place = {{birth date and age|1959|11|23}}, Oakland, California, United States,
|birth_name = Donald Gene Reed
|yearsactive = 1980–present
|awards =
|education = Fremont High School
|alma_mater = Chabot College
UCLA
|occupation = comedian, television actor and writer
}}
Donald Gene Reed (born November 23, 1959)[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/17/DD441BUIQ3.DTL 'East 14th' writer could go back home again], Sfgate (February 18, 2010) is an American actor, writer, storyteller, producer, director and comedian.Darryl Littleton - Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to ... 1557836809 2006 "Ricky Harris: "I heard about the black comedy club. I went there and the ... Sinbad, John Henton, Don Reed, and there was a lot of teams back in the day: Dr. Purvey and the Free Clinic Players, of course Robert Townsend."
Early life
Reed grew up in Oakland, California, and attended Fremont High School. Additionally he attended Chabot Junior College in Hayward, California, before being recruited to UCLA for intercollegiate speech and debate competition, where he became a national champion in competitive events: Speech to Entertain, Poetry and Dramatic readings.[https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=93532149 Don Reed Tells Life Tale In 'East 14th'], NPR, August 12, 2008
Career
In the fall of 1988, Don Reed was performing stand-up comedy at NACA and impressed comedian Sinbad so much he helped Reed get signed for two episodes of a television spin-off of The Cosby Show, titled A Different World, on which he played "Chip St. Charles", whom Denise Huxtable had a crush on. This was Reed's television debut; he left the show in 1989.[https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987956.html?categoryid=15&cs=1 'East 14th' to play New World Stage], Variety, June 23, 2008 (" Reed, who played Chip St. Charles on NBC's "A Different World,"")[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4D8D80A87D3B5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM COMEDIAN DON REED RACES DOWN FAST TRACK TO LAUGHS AND SUCCESS], Rocky Mountain News (August 30, 1991)[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/gazette/access/246600681.html?dids=246600681:246600681&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+29,+1991&author=David+Okamoto;+Gazette+Telegraph&pub=Colorado+Springs+Gazette&desc=Reed+clings+to+clean+side+of+clowning+/+Act+filled+with+voices&pqatl=google Reed clings to clean side of clowning]{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Colorado Springs Gazette, March 29, 1991
After A Different World, Reed was cast as "Fingers" in a film called Dance to Win, which was released on December 1, 1989, in the United States. Reed also appeared on the HBO television program Dream On in 1990, then he appeared on Robert Townsend's ventures: an HBO television special Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime (1991) and The Meteor Man (1993) as a drug worker.
=Impressions=
- Sherman Hemsley (as George Jefferson from The Jeffersons)
- Mario Lopez
- Todd Bridges
- Ernest Lee Thomas
- Michael Jordan
- Chris Rock
- Bill Cosby
- Richard Pryor
- Bobby Brown
- Michael Jackson
- Mike Tyson
- Luther Vandross
Reed was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards: one for Dream On, The Cosby Show and Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime in 1989.
Reed was an advertising & promotion executive at NBC, for two years, and then he did voice-work for cartoons such as Disney's Gargoyles, Spider-Man and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.
Reed's movie credits include: Unleashed Fear of a Black Hat and Once Upon a Forest. Reed also joined the cast of NBC's The Rerun Show. His showcase of impressions included Mike Tyson, Sherman Hemsley, Todd Bridges, Chris Rock, among others.
In 2008, he debuted a solo autobiographical show titled East 14th: True Tales of a Reluctant Player and has presented a total of 5 solo shows altogether. In fall 2009, he became the warm-up comic for The Jay Leno Show. He is the first African American warm-up comedian for a major late night show – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno – and performed stand-up to warm up the studio audience for over 1,000 episodes.
In 2016 he won an award from Snap Judgment for NPR/WNYC Performance of the Year.{{cite web|title=2016 Snap Judgment Performance Of The Year! / Don Reed, I Miss Toni|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPHQHgygsgI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/TPHQHgygsgI |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|date=8 April 2016}}{{cbignore}} Later that year Theater Bay Area gave his show East 14th the 2016 TBA award for Outstanding Solo Show.{{cite web|last1=Coakley|first1=Jacob|title=Theatre Bay Area Announces 2016 TBA Awards Recipients - Stage Directions|url=http://stage-directions.com/theatre-buzz/9085-theatre-bay-area-announces-2016-tba-awards-recipients.html|website=Stage Directions|language=en-gb|date=7 December 2016}} In the same year, Reed co-starred in Amazon Prime streaming comedy series, Bartlett, co-starring Broadway phenom Lin Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton. In 2019 Don Reed was approached by writer/director/filmmaker Robert Townsend to co-produce his one man, theatrical hit "Living the Shuffle." In November 2024 Reed created and began hosting and producing Redwood Nights: Storytelling Under the Stars at Deer Park Villa in Fairfax, CA.
References
{{reflist|2}}
- [http://www.kqed.org/arts/performance/article.jsp?essid=123613 "Back to the 60's: Flat-out hilarious!], KQED - PBS-NPR, July 23, 2013.
- [http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/don-reed-goes-home-hilariously/Content?oid=2521383 "Don Reed goes home hilariously"], San Francisco Examiner, July 25, 2013.
- [http://www.starkinsider.com/2013/07/don-reed-can-you-dig-it-review-san-francisco.html "Don Reed a gem of a storyteller"], StarkInsider, July 23, 2013.
- [http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Can-You-Dig-It-review-Don-Reed-s-fertile-4706097.php "Easy to Dig - Don Reed's Can You Dig It?"], San Francisco Chronicle, August 6, 2013.
External links
- {{IMDb name|0715394}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Don}}
Category:American radio personalities
Category:American impressionists (entertainers)
Category:American stand-up comedians
Category:African-American comedians
Category:20th-century African-American people