Nipsey Russell

"The poet laureate of television," comedian Nipsey Russell became a fixture of pop culture landscape during the 1970s after a successful nightclub career with a series of indelible appearances on the talk shows and game shows that, in large part, defined the Me Decade. Nipsey Russell was born October 13, 1924 in Atlanta, Georgia. "My mother just liked the way the name 'Nipsey' sounded," he later said of his unusual moniker. He began his professional performing career at age six as the song-and-dance master of ceremonies for the Ragamuffins of Rhythm, an Atlanta children's troupe organized by Eddie Heywood, Sr., father of the noted jazz pianist. After studying classical literature and foreign languages at the University of Cincinnati, Russell served with the U.S. Army in World War II before he settled in Montreal in 1946. In 1950, he made his television debut on the Robert Q. Lewis-hosted CBS talent showcase The Show Goes On. The exposure boosted his burgeoning stand-up career and resulted in headlining gigs at chitlin-circuit clubs across the U.S. Russell was nevertheless unique among the African-American comics of his generation. He shunned the stereotypical baggy-pants image and raunchy riffs in favor of a conservative suit and tie, trademark porkpie hat and sophisticated, topical wit couched in aphorisms and rhymes.

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