On this day in comedy on July 21, 1952 Comedian, Actor, George Henry Wallace was born in Atlanta, GA.
Wallace got his break in comedy while working as a salesman for an advertising agency. One of his clients opened a comedy club and suggested Wallace try stand-up. So in 1977 George Wallace hit the stage as Reverend Dr. George Wallace, decked out in a preacher’s robe and an improvised act that was an immediate smash. Wallace, the New York comic was on his way.
Wallace moved to the West Coast in 1978. He got a job writing for The Redd Foxx Show, but after one year returned to the stage. He became a regular at the Comedy Store and went on the road opening for acts that included Diana Ross, George Benson, Smokey Robinson and Donna Summers.
In 1995 George Wallace was named the Best Male Standup Comedian at the American Comedy Awards. He was a regular on The Tom Joyner Morning Show before partnering with Isaac Hayes on radio in New York. He’s had his own HBO special and appeared regularly on the late night talk show circuit. He was voted number 93 in Comedy Central’s Top 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time. He’s played in films such as Batman Forever, The Ladykillers, The Wash, Things Are Tough All Over, A Rage in Harlem, Postcards from the Edge, Punchline and Think like a Man Too.
2003 saw a new beginning in the career of Wallace. He started headlining the Flamingo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. In no time he became known as “The New Mr. Vegas”. He produced, and marketed the show himself and is so popular in the desert town that he considered running for mayor.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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