Kings of Black Comedy

Latest Episodes

• Keeping it Real Funny

  Profile of I Spy star Eddie Murphy, who shot to fame on the silver screen portraying fast-talking detective Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop films. From early days working on the stand-up circuit, Murphy paved the way for a new generation of black comedians including Chris Rock and Chris Tucker. With contributions by Jay Leno and Steve Harvey. Last in series

• The Funny Life of Richard Pryor

  The colourful career of Richard Pryor, who used his unusual upbringing in a brothel as a basis for his lively comedy routines which ridiculed America's most sacred taboos : race and sex. Fighting cocaine addiction, and with a string of broken marriages and a failed suicide attempt behind him, Pryor managed to hide the tears and bring laughter to millions in movies such as Carwash, Silver Streak and Superman III

• A Funny Thing Happened to Sammy Davis Jnr

  The work of pioneering black comedians, beginning with a review of the career of Sammy Davis Jnr, who made his first stage appearance at the age of three and fought against racial prejudice and segregation to reach the top of the showbiz ladder. Friends and colleagues, including Jerry Lewis and Janet Leigh, reminisce about the all-singing, all-dancing star