Lewis Niles Black was born on the 30th August 1948, in Washington DC, USA. He is a stand-up comedian, who has released several albums, for one of which he won a Grammy Award. He is also recognized as an actor, best known for his roles in TV series’ and films, such as “Law & Order”, “Lewis Black’s Root Of All Evil”, “The Big Bang Theory”, “Celebrity Ghost Stories”, etc. He has been active since 1981.
Have you ever wondered how rich is Lewis Black? According to sources, it has been estimated that the overall amount of Lewis’ net worth reaches as much as $1.5 million as of early 2016. To date the entertainment industry has been the main source of his net worth.
Lewis Black Net Worth $1.5 Million
Lewis Black was raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is the son of Sam Black, a mechanical engineer, and his wife Jeannette, a teacher. At Springbrook High School, Lewis started playing in the theatre at 12-years-of-age. After a year at the University of Maryland, he transfered to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a BA degree in play-writing; he was also a member of the Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity and Student Congress. After that, he enrolled at the Yale School of Drama and left with a Masters degree in Fine Arts in 1977.
Black`s career began in 1981, when he started working as a playwright, serving as the artistic director of the West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theater Bar, operated by Steven Olson at the time. For the next nine years, he worked on countless one act plays together with Rand Foerster and Rusty Magee. While working on the shows, he also started developing his comedy, and soon served as an opening act to the theater shows, slowly building a name for himself. During the 1980s and 1990s, his name became more and more known in the entertainment industry, which enabled him to also start a career as an actor, with his first role in the film “Hannah And Her Sisters” (1986). During the 1990s his desires intensified, and he became more dedicated to the entertainment industry, juggling between his careers of a comedian and actor. He made appearances in films and TV series such as “Jacob`s Ladder” (1990), “The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd” (1990-1991), “Law And Order” (1991), “The Night We Never Met” (1993), “Mad About You” (1997), and others, which greatly increased his net worth. Regarding his comedy acts during the 1990s, Black was first featured in his own comedy special on the Comedy Central Presents in 1998, which was later followed by two more documentaries “Lewis Black 2: (2000), and “Lewis Black 3” (2002).
The 2000s were no different than the previous decade in his career, except that Lewis expanded his career to voice acting, which also added to his net worth. To mention a few of his voice-overs, Black was featured in “Duck Dodgers” (2005), as Manobrain, “The Happy Elf” (2005), as Norbert, “Face Of The Penguins” (2006), as Jimmy, and in recent years he has lent his voice to Mr. E\Ricky Owens in the popular series “Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated” (2010-2013), as Splinter in another production of the popular TV series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2012-2014), and Black is currently shooting another voice role, that of Linnux in the animated film “Rock Dog” (2016).
To speak further of his career as an actor, Black has appeared in more than 40 film and TV titles, including “Unaccompanied Minors” (2006), “Accepted” (2006), “The Big Bang Theory” (2009), “Stereotypically You” (2015); and all have contributed to his net worth.
However, Black is best known for his comedy; in 2008 he hosted his own show “Lewis Black`s Root Of All Evil” (2008), and was also a part of :The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”, with his own sequence “Back In Black”. Furthermore, he has released 10 comedy albums, such as “The White Album” (2000), “The Carnage Hall Performance” (2006), “In God We Trust” (2012), and the last album “Old Yeller “Live In Borgata” (2013), all of which increased his overall net worth to a large degree.
He also has 10 DVDs released, such as “Black On Broadway” (2004), and “Stark Raving Black” (2009), among others.
When it comes to his personal life, Lewis Black was apparently briefly married in his 2os, otherwise his private life is exactly that. Free time he spends playing golf. His current residence is in Manhattan, New York City.
University of Maryland, College Park, Yale School of Drama, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Springbrook High School, Orono, ME, United States, Providence, RI, United States, Portland, ME, United States
Nationality
American
Parents
Sam Black, Jeannette Black, Orono, ME, United States, Providence, RI, United States, Portland, ME, United States
BTVA Feature Film Voice Acting Award (2016), Grammy award for "Best Comedy Album" (2007), Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show - Weekly (2006),American Comedy Award (2001)
Albums
"The Carnegie Hall Performance" (2007)
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards (2007), OFTA Television Award (2004), Teen Choice Award (2015)
Movies
"Inside Out" (2015), "Man of the Year" (2006), "Black on Broadway" (2004), "Unaccompanied Minors" (2006), "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986)
TV Shows
The Daily Show, Black on Broadway (2004), "The Happy Elf" (2005), "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" (2008), Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month" (2008)History of the Joke with Lewis Black (2008)
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Trademark
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Glasses
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Deep, gravelly voice
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Moving his fingers in odd patterns while performing his act
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Incensed, sarcastic delivery of jokes, which usually focus on less-than-rational ideas and behavior of people.
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Quote
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Golf is a game that was invented for people who don't hate themselves enough in their daily lives.
I do have certain feelings. My feeling is that whoever is in charge, I want him out. [on why he will not campaign for political candidates, quoted in The Boston Globe, Aug. 1, 2004]
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Fact
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In one of his early concerts, he declared that he believed the "End of the Universe" to be in Houston, Texas, because on West Gray Street, there are two Starbucks coffeehouses on adjacent corners. More than a decade later, not only do both Starbucks still stand, but there is a third within a Barnes & Noble just slightly down the block.
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Lives in New York City and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. [2008]
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Release of his book, "Nothing's Sacred". [2005]
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Release of his book, "Me of Little Faith". [2008]
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His mother, Jeanette, is now 90 years young [2008].
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Great influence on him growing up was George Carlin.
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Has a beer named after him at The Top of The Hill bar in Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Lewis Black Imperial Stout.
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Friends with fellow comedian-actor Mark Linn-Baker, and worked with him on a comedy act in New York in the early 1980s called "The Laundry Hour". The act was recreated on the audio-book version of "Me of Little Faith" with Linn-Baker.
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Is a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.
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Toured Europe with childhood friend, Cliff, in the late 60s with the intent on "hitchhiking and getting laid", neither of which were successful. His tour took him to London, Paris, Vatican City, and many cities in Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Germany. Among others, he saw the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona and visited the Nazi concentration camp, Dachau.
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Played basketball in high school.
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Attended the Yale School of Drama.
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His mother, Jeannette, taught math in an all-black high school in Washington, D.C. She quit after the administration told her to stop straying from the rigid curriculum, wherein there were no real practical applications for students, many of whom were not going to college.
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He has written 40 plays.
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His father, Sam, was a mechanical engineer who built sea mines for the government during World War II and the Vietnam War. He quit ten years earlier than he had planned after reading the Geneva Accord and deciding there was no justification for the United States occupation of Vietnam. He then dedicated his life full-time to art, mostly stained glass and painting. He was also the one who introduced his son to theater and play writing, two things that defined Lewis Black's artistic endeavors long before stand-up comedy.
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Once worked for the Silver Spring Post Office.
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Graduated from Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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Once worked for the Appalachian Regional Commission under President Nixon.
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Went to University of Maryland his freshman year.
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Once co-owned a theater in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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Had a younger brother named Ronald, who died of cancer in July 1997 at 46. Black claims in his book, "Me of Little Faith", that his success as an entertainer finally took off after his brother's death, and thus he views him as an archangel.
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Grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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Graduated from University of North Carolina and Yale University