On this day in comedy on September 7, 1967 Comedienne, Actress, Writer, Leslie Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
Starting off life as a much traveled U S Army military brat, Jones’ beloved father suggested she play basketball due to her height. This led to a scholarship at Chapman University. She later transferred to Colorado State to follow her coach who had made the switch. Over the course of her academic career she studied law, business accounting, computer science and communications (she was a radio DJ at Chapman). At one point she even considered playing basketball overseas.
Like many comics, Jones was goaded into the world of standup by a well-meaning friend who signed her up for the “Funniest Person on Campus” competition in 1987. She won and made her way to L. A. where she performed in clubs such as Maverick Flats, The Comedy Act Theater and The Comedy Store. However, it wasn’t long before Jones felt she was on a treadmill and going nowhere, but getting ‘exposure’. At the suggestion of Dave Chappelle and others she packed up and headed for New York where comedy was more about the nuts and bolts of the craft as opposed to the glitz and glamour. She got damn good, but that didn’t prevent her from being ahead of her time. She returned to the West Coast better than ever, but following some bad press on the Hollywood circuit and as Jamie Foxx’s opening act, Jones packed up again and went into semi-retirement.
Leslie Jones was virtually off the comedy circuit for an astounding three years. A career killer for most, she gained perspective and when she came back this time she had a fire in her belly that only the stage could extinguish. In 2008 she was the feature of the biggest money making comedy tour in North America, Katt Williams’ It’s Pimpin, Pimpin Tour along with Simply Cookie and D’Militant. Jones won rave reviews and appeared at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Comedy Festival and the Aspen Comedy Festival. In 2010 Showtime broadcast her one-hour special, Problem Child.
In 2013, at the urging of SNL alumni Chris Rock, Jones was hired by show creator, Lorne Michaels as a writer for the long running NBC comedy institution Saturday Night Live to quiet down some of the talk of a lack of diversity on not only the network, but that program in particular. Jones parlayed a writing spot into a featured spot in 2014 and that into being the season’s breakout performer. She broke even more new ground by being the oldest cast member of the show. Apparently time was on her side. Chris Rock cast her in his film Top Five, which prompted Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer to pen a part for her in Schumer’s starring 2015 vehicle, Trainwreck.
Before you knew it she had been cast as one of the four principles for the all-female reboot of the comedy classic, Ghostbusters (along with Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig). Jones was on top of the world, but with seemingly overnight success comes haters and hers made their presence known on Twitter. Spewing racially hateful remarks about Jones only made the public and industry embrace her even more. She became the poster girl for all those who were sick and tired of cyber-bullies. NBC even flew her to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio as a goodwill correspondent, prompted by her enthusiastic tweets for America’s athletes and their returned love of her fandom and support.
Besides her breakout movie performance in Ghostbusters, Leslie Jones has appeared in the films National Security, A Guy Thing, Repos, Something Like a Business, Lottery Ticket, House Arrest, We Are Family, Masterminds and Sing.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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