# Cedric the Entertainer

Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian, actor and television host. He hosted BET's ComicView during the 1993–1994 season and Def Comedy Jam in 1995. He is best known for co-starring with Steve Harvey on The WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, as one of The Original Kings of Comedy, and for starring as Eddie Walker in Barbershop. He hosted the 12th season of the daytime version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2013–14 and starred in the TV Land original series The Soul Man, which aired from 2012 to 2016. He has also done voice work for Ice Age, the Madagascar film series, Charlotte's Web, Planes and Planes: Fire & Rescue. He currently stars on the CBS sitcom The Neighborhood. In 2019, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

## Early life

Cedric was born on April 24, 1964, in Jefferson City, Missouri, the son of Rosetta (née Boyce), a schoolteacher, and Kittrell Kyles, an employee of The Missouri Pacific Railroad. He has a younger sister, Sharita Kyles Wilson, a communications professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Cedric was raised in Caruthersville, Missouri, but after junior high school he moved to Berkeley, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. He is a graduate of Berkeley High School.
Cedric majored in mass communication at Southeast Missouri State University and worked as a State Farm insurance claims adjuster and substitute high school teacher before becoming a full-time comedian. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

## Career

Cedric's stage name came about when he felt that his real name, Cedric Kyles, sounded too formal. Inspired by an entertainer named Kodak, he came up with the name "Cheerio", but received a cease and desist letter from General Mills over their cereal Cheerios. He settled on his stage name when someone introduced him as "an entertainer, Cedric the entertainer" and the name stuck.
In 1995, Cedric moved into acting, auditioning for and receiving his first-ever role as The Cowardly Lion in the 1995 Apollo Theater Revival of The Wiz. He expanded his career by playing Steve Harvey's friend Cedric Jackie Robinson on The Steve Harvey Show.
He began appearing in films, including Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Ride, Serving Sara, Johnson Family Vacation, Code Name: The Cleaner, Intolerable Cruelty, Man of the House, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Be Cool. He was the subject of controversy when his Barbershop character made unpopular remarks about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. These comments were spoken in character, as part of the script; he has never apologized for them. In Madagascar, he voiced Maurice the aye aye. In October 2005, he joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner. He appeared in the film Charlotte's Web as the voice of Golly the gander.
While his acting career grew, Cedric continued to perform stand-up comedy and traveled the country as one of the Kings of Comedy headliners with Steve Harvey, D. L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. The act was later made into a Spike Lee film, The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric had his own sketch comedy show, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, but after being renewed for a second season, it was canceled by Fox before the season began. He took time to write a book, Grown-A$$ Man. He appeared in the 2003 video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. A more recent HBO Comedy Special was Cedric The Entertainer: Taking You Higher. He recorded comedic interludes on two Nelly albums, Country Grammar (2000) and Nellyville (2002) as well as on Jay-Z's The Black Album (2003).
In the 2007 comedy film Code Name: The Cleaner, Cedric plays Jake, a janitor with amnesia who may be a secret undercover government agent involved in an illegal arms conspiracy. He starred in the 2008 films Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and Street Kings.
Cedric appeared as the lead comedian at the White House Correspondents Dinner, but jokingly remarked that he was unprepared because he thought that he would follow a humorous speech by President George W. Bush. He instead followed First Lady Laura Bush, who called him "hilarious" and "probably the funniest person" she had ever met.
Cedric has won many awards, beginning with $500 in the Johnny Walker National Comedy Contest in 1990 and coming in first in the Miller Genuine Draft Comedy Contest in 1993. BET named him Richard Pryor Comic of the Year. He has also won four NAACP Awards.
He was inducted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame on June 7, 2008. His star is at 6166 Delmar.
He was the special guest host for WWE Raw on September 21, 2009, in Little Rock, Arkansas. During the show, he participated in a wrestling match, defeating Chavo Guerrero Jr. by pinfall. The match also featured Santino Marella as a guest referee. Cedric also got help from an unknown wrestler dubbed The Sledge Hammer (played by Imani Lee) and Hornswoggle.
In March 2010, Cedric made his directorial debut with Dance Fu, produced and funded independently by his company Bird and a Bear Entertainment with producer Eric C. Rhone. It starred comedian Kel Mitchell. Cedric made a cameo appearance in the film as a homicide detective. It was released straight to DVD on October 4, 2011.
Cedric appeared in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's play American Buffalo.
In a June 21, 2011, interview, Cedric said his latest reality game show, It's Worth What?, would air on NBC on July 12, 2011, but the start date was delayed by one week to July 19. Starting in 2012, he played the main character in the TV Land original series The Soul Man, featuring Niecy Nash. The series ran for five seasons and ended in 2016.
Cedric was the host of the American TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, beginning with its 12th season in national syndication, which premiered on September 2, 2013. On April 30, 2014, Cedric announced that he was leaving the game show after the 2013–14 season to focus on other projects. Terry Crews took over as host on September 8, 2014.
Starting in 2018, Cedric played the character of Calvin Butler in the television sitcom The Neighborhood.
He is an official commentator for the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match.
In 2025, Cedric the Entertainer competed on season thirteen of The Masked Singer as "Honey Pot" where the bees on the mask part of his costume sported his trademark fedoras. He was the first of Group A to be eliminated in the season premiere.

## Personal life

Cedric is married to Lorna Wells. They have two children, Croix (born 2000) and Lucky Rose (born 2003). He also has a daughter, Tiara (born 1990), from a previous relationship. He continues his involvement with his high school by awarding a scholarship each year to a graduating senior through the Cedric the Entertainer Charitable Foundation, whose motto is "Reaching Out...Giving Back". In May 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts and humanities by Lincoln University of Missouri (his parents' alma mater). In 2018, St. Louis honored him by renaming the street in front of the Kappa Alpha Psi Alumni House to Cedric The Entertainer Way.

## Filmography

List of film performances :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Ride | Bo | |
| 2000 | Big Momma's House | The Reverend | |
| 2000 | The Original Kings of Comedy | Himself | Also writer; Documentary |
| 2001 | Kingdom Come | Reverend Beverly H. Hooker | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Zoo Bear #1 | Voice |
| 2002 | Serving Sara | Ray Harris | |
| 2002 | Barbershop | Eddie Walker | |
| 2002 | Ice Age | Carl | Voice |
| 2003 | Intolerable Cruelty | Gus Petch | |
| 2004 | Barbershop 2: Back in Business | Eddie Walker | |
| 2004 | Johnson Family Vacation | Nate Johnson | Also producer |
| 2004 | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Constable | |
| 2005 | Be Cool | 'Sin' LaSalle | |
| 2005 | Madagascar | Maurice | Voice |
| 2005 | Man of the House | Percy Stevens | |
| 2005 | The Honeymooners | Ralph Kramden | Also executive producer |
| 2006 | Charlotte's Web | Golly The Gander | Voice |
| 2007 | Code Name: The Cleaner | Jake Rogers | Also producer |
| 2007 | Talk to Me | Bob 'Nighthawk' Terry | |
| 2008 | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Clyde Stubbs | |
| 2008 | Street Kings | Winston 'Scribble' | |
| 2008 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Maurice | Voice |
| 2008 | Cadillac Records | Willie Dixon | |
| 2009 | Un-broke: What You Need To Know About Money | Himself | TV film |
| 2009 | Merry Madagascar | Maurice | Voice; TV film |
| 2009 | All's Faire in Love | Professor Shockworthy | |
| 2011 | Dance Fu | Detective | Also executive producer |
| 2011 | Larry Crowne | Lamar | |
| 2012 | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | Maurice | Voice |
| 2013 | A Haunted House | Father Doug Williams | |
| 2013 | Madly Madagascar | Maurice | Voice |
| 2013 | Planes | Leadbottom | Voice |
| 2014 | Planes: Fire & Rescue | Leadbottom | Voice |
| 2014 | A Haunted House 2 | Father Doug Williams | |
| 2014 | Top Five | Jazzy | |
| 2016 | Barbershop: The Next Cut | Eddie Walker | |
| 2016 | Why Him? | Lou Dunne | |
| 2017 | First Reformed | Pastor Joel Jeffers | as Cedric Kyles |
| 2020 | Poor Greg Drowning | Narrator | |
| 2020 | Son of the South | Reverend Ralph Abernathy | |
| 2020 | The Opening Act | Billy 'Billy G' | |
| 2022 | The Black Karen | Sergeant Warren | Short film |
| 2023 | The Plus One | Alfred Anders | |
| 2023 | How I Learned to Fly | Louis | |
| 2024 | Outlaw Posse | Horatio | |
| 2024 | A Hip-Hop Story | The Notorious B.I.G. | |
| 2024 | Unfrosted | Stu Smiley | |
List of television performances :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | It's Showtime at the Apollo | Himself | |
| 1993–1994 | ComicView | Himself | Host |
| 1995 | Def Comedy Jam | Himself | 1 episode |
| 1996–2002 | The Steve Harvey Show | Cedric Jackie Robinson | Main role |
| 2001–2005 | The Proud Family | Bobby Proud | Voice, 14 episodes |
| 2002–2003 | Cedric the Entertainer Presents | Himself | Main role |
| 2004 | Eve | Himself | Episode: "Porn Free" |
| 2006 | Wild 'n Out | Himself | Episode: "Cedric the Entertainer" |
| 2006 | All of Us | Clarence DeWitt | Episode: "Pass the Peas" |
| 2007 | The Boondocks | Cousin Jericho Freeman | Voice, episode: "Invasion of the Katrinians" |
| 2009 | WWE Raw | Himself | Special guest host, 1 episode |
| 2011 | It's Worth What? | Himself | Host |
| 2011 | Take Two with Phineas and Ferb | Himself | Episode: "Cedric the Entertainer" |
| 2011, 2014 | Hot in Cleveland | Reverend Boyce Ballentine | Episodes: "Bridezelka" and "Stayin' Alive" |
| 2012–2016 | The Soul Man | Reverend Boyce Ballentine | Main role, 54 episodes |
| 2012 | 2 Broke Girls | Darius | Episode: "And the Pre-Approved Credit Card" |
| 2013 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Himself | Episode: "Blackstabbers" |
| 2013–2014 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Himself | Host |
| 2015, 2020 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Himself | Season 11 Episode 1, Season 16 |
| 2015 | Cedric's Barber Battle | Himself | Host |
| 2016 | Another Period | Scott Joplin | Episode: "Joplin" |
| 2017 | Master of None | Kenny 'The Magnificent' | Episode: "Door #3" |
| 2017 | Drop the Mic | Himself | Episode: "Niecy Nash vs. Cedric the Entertainer / Liam Payne vs. Jason Derulo" |
| 2017 | Nightcap | Himself | Episode: "Spinster Code" |
| 2017 | The Comedy Get Down | Himself | Main role |
| 2017 | Superior Donuts | Reggie Wicks | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Funny You Should Ask | Himself | 4 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | The Last O.G. | Miniard Mullins | Main cast |
| 2018–2021 | Summer Camp Island | The Moon | Voice, 11 episodes |
| 2018–present | The Neighborhood | Calvin Butler | Main role; also executive producer |
| 2018 | Black-ish | 'Smokey' | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Nobodies | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Power | Croop | 3 episodes |
| 2020–present | The Greatest #AtHome Videos | Himself | Host |
| 2020 | Woke | Trashcan | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2021 | 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards | Himself (host) | Television special |
| 2022–present | The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | Bobby Proud | Voice |
| 2023 | The Daily Show | Himself (guest) | Episode: April 5 |
| 2024 | John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA | Himself | Episode: "Earthquakes" |
| 2025 | The Masked Singer | Himself/Honeypot | Season 13 contestant |