W. Kamau Bell

W. Kamau Bell

W. Kamau Bell in 2010
Birth name Walter Kamau Bell
Born Palo Alto, California, United States[1]
Medium Stand-up comedy
Nationality American
Subject(s) Race relations, social interactions, American politics
Spouse Melissa Hudson Bell[2]
Notable works and roles Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell
Website wkamaubell.com

Walter Kamau Bell (better known as W. Kamau Bell) is an American stand-up comic.[3] Prominent within the San Francisco stand-up comedy scene, he is best known as the host of the former FXX television series Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.[3] Bell is currently the host of United Shades of America, a CNN Original Series that debuted on April 24, 2016.[4]

Career

Bell grew up in Alabama and Chicago, the son of Walter Bell, who served as Alabama's Insurance Commissioner and Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation, and author Janet Cheatham Bell, who founded a self-publishing firm.[5][6] Bell graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and attended the University of Pennsylvania before dropping out to pursue a career in comedy.[7] After establishing himself as sociopolitical comedian and community activist based in San Francisco, Bell became a founding member of the comedy collective "Laughter Against the Machine" and has been featured in a number of prominent podcasts and publications, such as WTF with Marc Maron, Citizen Radio, and Current TV's The War Room with Jennifer Granholm, on which Bell is a regular correspondent.

In 2010, Bell's stand up album Face Full of Flour was named one of the Top 10 Best Comedy Albums of the year by iTunes and Punchline Magazine.

In 2012, Bell was voted San Francisco's best comedian by the San Francisco Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and 7×7 Magazine.

In October 2013, Bell was named the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador on racial justice.[8]

That year, Bell also began to host a weekly television series on FX, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.[9] The show, which provided comedic commentary on social and political issues in addition to celebrity interviews, ran until November 2013 before being cancelled[9] at which point he moved back to California[10]

Bell has co-hosted the podcast The Field Negro Guide to Arts & Culture with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, has written the blog "Kamau's Komedy Korner" for the San Francisco Weekly, and sat on the board of The Applied Research Center.

Bell has co-hosted the podcast "Denzel Washington Is The Greatest Actor Of All Time, Period" with comedian Kevin Avery.

Bell has hosted the CNN documentary series United Shades of America from April 24, 2016 onward.

Controversy

On January 26, 2015, Bell and his wife Melissa were involved in an incident at a cafe in Berkeley, California, which Bell alleged was racially motivated.[11] Bell quickly posted his version of the event online, which sparked a controversy in the media.[11] As a result, a community forum was held and a new initiative was announced to help train local businesses in handling implicit bias.[11] Bell’s account was eventually featured in an episode of the radio series This American Life entitled Birds & Bees.[12] Bell narrated his portion of the episode.[12]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Tedder, Michael (2013-09-12). "W. Kamau Bell Is Trying To Become A Thing". Buzzfeed.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Tracey (March 16, 2015). "At community forum in Berkeley, W. Kamau Bell and Elmwood Café launch ‘implicit bias’ training initiative". Berkeleyside.
  3. 1 2 Huston, Warner Todd (10 Mar 2015). "CNN Adds Reza Aslan, W. Kamau Bell to Cable Line Up". Breitbart.com.
  4. ↑ "W. Kamau Bell on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  5. ↑ "Comic Bell brings his total bias here". philly-archives. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  6. ↑ "The Climate Group". www.theclimategroup.org. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  7. ↑ Avni, Sheerly (August 6, 2012). "Local Comedian W. Kamau Bell Lands His Own FX Show". San Francisco.
  8. ↑ "ACLU Ambassadors - W. Kamau Bell". Aclu.olrg (American Civil Liberties Union). Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  9. 1 2 Braxton, Greg (November 13, 2013). "Chris Rock's 'Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell' canceled". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ↑ Sale, Anna. "W. Kamau Bell Wonders How Much Is Enough". Death, Sex & Money. wnyc.org. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Taylor, Tracey. "At community forum in Berkeley, W. Kamau Bell and Elmwood Café launch 'implicit bias' training initiative". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  12. 1 2 "557: Birds & Bees Transcript". This American Life. May 15, 2015.

External links

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