Cedric the Entertainer

Cedric Anderson Kyles (born December 13, 1964), better known by his screen name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American actor, comedian, director, and game show host. He was originally the host on It's Showtime at the Apollo. He also 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 and starring as Eddie in Barbershop. He hosted the twelfth season of daytime version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in the 2013-2014 television season. He also starred in the TV Land original series The Soul Man, which aired its fifth and final season in 2016.

In 1996, Cedric moved into acting, playing Steve Harvey's friend, Cedric Jackie Robinson, on the sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show. His acting career grew and he began appearing in movies, including Dr. Dolittle 2, Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Ride, Serving Sara, Johnson Family Vacation, Intolerable Cruelty, Man of the House, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Madagascar and Be Cool. Cedric was the subject of controversy when his Barbershop character made unpopular remarks regarding Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. These comments were spoken in character, were part of the script, and he has never apologized for them.

In the 2005 animated film Madagascar, Cedric voiced Maurice the aye aye. In October 2005, Cedric joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner. Cedric appeared in the movie Charlotte's Web as the voice of Golly the gander. While his acting career grew, Cedric continued stand-up 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 film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric briefly had his own sketch comedy show called Cedric the Entertainer Presents, but it never caught on and was canceled after one season. The show had been renewed for a second season, but Fox canceled it before the season began. He then appeared in the 2003 PlayStation 2 video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. His most recent HBO Comedy Special was titled Cedric The Entertainer: Taking You Higher. Two of the background dancers from the special were Kamilah Barrett and Sandra Colton, who were also finalists in Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. He also recorded comedic interludes on two multi-platinum selling albums, Nelly's Country Grammar (2000) and Jay-z Black Album (2003).

Cedric appeared in the 2007 film Code Name: The Cleaner, a comedy in which he plays Jake, a janitor with amnesia who may be a secret undercover government agent involved in an illegal arms conspiracy. He then starred in the 2008 films Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and Street Kings.