Who is possibly the most influential stand-up comedian the public doesn’t know about?
Well, this man influenced an entire generation of comedy—yet was gone before he had
the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
The man is the one and only Robin Harris. Who? Sit back and let me learn you somethin’!
He was next in line to join the list of great Black stand-up comedians. Ask Martin Lawrence, Joe Torry, Jamie Foxx, D.L. Hughley, T.K. Kirkland, Cedric the Entertainer, and a legion of others who their favorite comic was or who they learned from. The answer is Robin Harris.
Between 1985 and his untimely death in 1990, he was the host of the hottest Black comedy club in Los Angeles—the Comedy Act Theater—where everyone came through to see the comics perform.
Robin Harris was born in 1953 in Chicago, Illinois. His family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1961. He was a star athlete in high school. After some college and a series of odd jobs, he tried his hand at stand-up comedy around 1979 after meeting comedian and ventriloquist Richard Sandfield of Richard & Willie. He later watched and learned from comics like Reynaldo Rey and Rudy Ray Moore. Some of his early gigs were at The Comedy Store—only after midnight, when Black comics were allowed on stage unless you were Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy.
After many miserable nights at The Comedy Store, he eventually met a gentleman named Michael Williams. Michael founded the Comedy Act Theater, and the rest was history. The Comedy Act Theater was one of the first comedy clubs—if not the first— created by and catered to Black people. Robin was the host, or Master of Ceremonies (and occasional headliner).
On the very first night at the Comedy Act Theater, up-and-coming comic Sinbad was on the show. Within two weeks, Robert Townsend and Damon Wayans came through and performed. Those names took word back to Hollywood, and from that point on, the club sold out every night until Robin’s death.
Everyone came to the club for a good time, of course—but that good time existed because Robin Harris was on that stage. He didn’t care who you were. Mike Tyson. Magic Johnson. No one was immune to Robin’s jokes.
By 1988, Robin Harris had broken into television and film. He was featured on HBO in Robert Townsend’s Partners in Crime: The Mutiny Has Just Begun, performing his stand-up and debuting his legendary “Bebe’s Kids” bit for the world to see. That same year, he appeared in Keenen Ivory Wayans’ I’m Gonna Git You Sucka!
In 1989, he made another HBO appearance with Robert Townsend and landed roles in films by Eddie Murphy (Harlem Nights) and Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing). His stand-up was featured on MTV Laughs, filmed at the Comedy Act Theater—a clear precursor to Def Comedy Jam. He even auditioned for In Living Color and had previously filmed a television pilot that wasn’t picked up but was later released on DVD.
Robin was also active in the music video scene, appearing in videos featuring Full Force, Dr. Ice, and The Jamaica Boys.
1990 was supposed to be his breakout year. He had multiple television and film development deals on the table. All those nights at the Comedy Act Theater were finally paying off.
His first stand-up special premiered on HBO on March 3, 1990, as part of the One Night Stand series. A week later, on March 9, his first major starring role hit theaters, House Party. Robin played Pops, the father of Kid from the hip-hop duo Kid ’ N Play, in what would become a classic film.
And just like that, on March 18, less than three weeks later, he was gone. Robin passed away in his sleep at the age of 36 after suffering a heart attack. He was found unresponsive in his Four Seasons hotel room by his brother.
Robin had headlined at the Regal Theater in his hometown of Chicago the night before his passing. Who would have thought that his celebration of returning home as a new movie star would become his homegoing?
Before his death, Robin Harris was working on several projects in development. Some eventually saw the light of day. His live-action idea, Bebe’s Kids, became an animated film, voiced by Faizon Love, one of the comics he mentored at the Comedy Act Theater. A television series with Robert Townsend was also in the works.
Though Bebe’s Kids didn’t perform well in theaters, it later spawned a video game released in 1994.
Another project was Def Comedy Jam. Robin Harris was intended to be the host, a role that ultimately went to Martin Lawrence, his co-star in House Party. Def Comedy Jam was built on the same energy and audience reception that the Comedy Act Theater generated nightly. And who better to host it than Robin Harris?
His first and only comedy album, titled Bebe’s Kids, was released posthumously in 1990. Yes, comedy albums were still very much a thing in the 1990s. Sinbad, Chris Rock, Eddie Griffin, and Paul Mooney, among others, all released comedy albums during that era. Recording a comedy album was something Robin had always wanted to do, and it was on the editing table the very eve of his passing.
The final film he worked on was Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, which was released later that same year.
Robin Harris left behind a rich legacy, one that continues to shape and influence comedy to this day.
