Dick Gregory Dies

Dick Gregory, a Freedom and Peace presidential nominee in 1968, and the last surviving presidential  candidate from the November 1968 election, died on 20 August 2017. He was 84 years old.

His death was confirmed on his official social media accounts by his family.

“It is with enormous sadness that the Gregory family confirms that their father, comedic legend and civil rights activist Mr. Dick Gregory, departed this earth tonight in Washington, DC.,” his son Christian Gregory wrote.

Even before the confirmation from the family, Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime friend of Gregory’s, had memorialized him in a tweet:

“He taught us how to laugh. He taught us how to fight.He taught us how to live. Dick Gregory was committed to justice. I miss him already.”

Steve Jaffe, Gregory’s friend and publicist for more than 50 years, told a Times reporter Saturday night that the comedian died of heart failure. He said Gregory was touring earlier this month on the East Coast and was supposed to be in Los Angeles in a week.

“He was one of the sweetest smartest, most loving people one could ever know,” Jaffe said. “I just hope God is ready for some outrageously funny times.”

From a life of poverty which began in St. Louis during the Depression, the former Southern Illinois University track star became known as an author, lecturer, nutrition guru and self-described agitator who marched, ran and fasted to call attention to issues ranging from police brutality to world famine.

Dick Gregory became the first black stand-up comic to break the color barrier in major nightclubs during the early 1960s. During that decade, he satirized segregation and race relations in his act and launched his lifetime commitment to civil rights and other social justice issues.

Early comedy recognition come from standing on a stage and looking everyone in the eye while he delivered his jokes with intellegence and sophistication. His break came in January 1961 when he was called to stand in for another comedian at the prestigious Playboy Club in Chicago.

From the Los Angeles Times...

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Gregory said, coolly eyeing the audience. “I understand there are a good many Southerners in the room tonight. I know the South very well. I spent 20 years there one night. …

“Last time I was down South, I walked into this restaurant, and this white waitress came up to me and said: ‘We don’t serve colored people here.’ I said: ‘That’s all right, I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.’ ”

Despite having to deal with what he later described as “dirty, little, insulting statements” from some members of the audience, the heckling soon stopped as Gregory won them over with his provocatively funny but nonbelligerent satirical humor.

“Segregation is not all bad,” he said on stage. “Have you ever heard of a wreck where the people on the back of the bus got hurt?”

What was supposed to be a 55-minute show, Gregory later recalled, went on for about an hour and 40 minutes. And by the time he walked off stage, the audience gave him a thundering ovation.

He did so well, he was booked at the club for two weeks and then held over for several more.

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It was also at this same time that Dick Gregory began to be called upon to appear and speak at events around the country concerning black voter registration and his “civil rights fight”, and became a known activist. Because of all the conflicts at that time, this led to arrests and even being shoot while trying to help defuse the Watts riots.

These words only lightly touch all that was Dick Gregory and the life he lived. He was always stepping forward, watching what was ahead, and was still on tour performing when he passed. A man with a diverse life who leaves behind an equally rich legacy.

Thanks to Irv Sutley for the link.…

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