Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of

Cobra Commander Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Josep ...

in the ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

'' animated series and

Starscream Starscream is a fictional character in the ''Transformers'' media franchise. He is one of the most frequently occurring characters in the franchise, appearing in almost all of its different continuities. Starscream in generally depicted as the s ...

in the first ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' animated series. He had a few guest roles in the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' series ''

The Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' and ''

Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the '' Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication fr ...

'', he voice acted

Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender o ...

and

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

in the first season of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' (1989–1990), and he had many other roles in

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s. He also had a successful

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

career.

Early life

Christopher Lawrence Latta was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

to Robert Latta, a New York stage actor, and Jane Morin, an advertising executive. He grew up in the Morningside Heights (sometimes called "West Harlem") section of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His legal name became Christopher Charles Collins when his stepfather adopted him. In his stand-up routine, he claimed to have grown up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and said his ultra-liberal parents had moved the family there "so he could meet some Negroes". After a year at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, he studied acting, dance, voice, and mime.

Career

Radio work and stand-up comedy

In the mid-1970s, he acted on the New York and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

stage and did voice-over work for Boston radio station WBCN. Collins's stand-up career peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he performed in most of the major comedy venues in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1990, he won the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition. At the beginning of his act, he entered in a black

trench coat A trench coat or trenchcoat is a variety of coat made of waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the trenches. Originally made from gabardine, ...

and ordered the audience to applaud the person who introduced him. He picked an audience member who failed to applaud and told him he had to "clap alone". He told the audience he was not a comedian, but a "

psychotic Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

who learned to market his problem". His comic persona was a loud, angry, mentally unstable man who liked to intimidate the audience. He was a frequent featured performer on ''

An Evening at the Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in ...

'' and ''

Caroline's Comedy Hour Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy situated at 750 Seventh Avenue, on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. History Caroline Hirsch opened Carolines as a cabaret in ...

''.

Voice acting

Collins made his animation voice acting debut as one of the English dubbers of the 1979

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975 ...

'' (also called ''

Star Blazers ''Star Blazers'' is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series . ''Star Blazers'' was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. It was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plo ...

''). He was most recognizable in that series as the voice of space marine Sgt. Knox during the Comet Empire installment. When he began regular voice work, he adopted the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Chris Latta, as another

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

actor was performing as Chris Collins. In 1983, Collins began voicing

for a five-part ''G.I. Joe'' animated mini-series. He continued voicing the role in a second five-part animated mini-series in 1984, a regular animated series beginning in 1985, a 1987 direct-to-video animated movie and a 1989 animated series. Starting in 1984, Collins voiced the

Decepticon The Decepticons are the main antagonists in the fictional continuities of the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. They are depicted as a faction of sentient robotic lifeforms led by Megatron, identified by a purple face-like insignia. Capa ...

for the ''Transformers'' animated series. He voiced other G.I. Joe and Transformers characters in these series as well as in toy commercials. These included the

Autobot The Autobots are the main protagonists in the fictional Continuity (fiction), continuities of the Transformers (fiction), Transformers multimedia franchise, and are depicted in a collection of various toys, cartoons, films, graphic novels, and p ...

scientist Wheeljack, the Autobots' human friend Sparkplug Witwicky, the G.I. Joe Marine

Gung-Ho ''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for Chinese I ...

and the Dreadnok Ripper. In ''

Inhumanoids ''Inhumanoids'' is the title of an animated series and the name of a Hasbro toy property that were both released in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as ''Transformers'', and '' G.I. Joe'', the show was produced by Sunbow Ent ...

'', he voiced D'Compose and Tendril. In '' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'', he voiced Darkstorm and Cravex. He provided voices in ''

The Real Ghostbusters ''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...

'', credited as Chris Collins. He played the live-action role of King Koopa in ''

King Koopa's Kool Kartoons ''King Koopa's Kool Kartoons'' is a local, American live-action children's television show broadcast in Southern California during the Autumn of 1989. The show was produced by DIC Entertainment in association with Fox Television Studios for the ...

'' in 1989 before the role was taken over by

Patrick Pinney Patrick Cullen Pinney (born June 30, 1952) is an American television, film and voice actor. Early life, family and education Pinney was born in San Francisco County, California. His mother's maiden name is his middle name. He attended college a ...

. In ''

'', Collins originated the voice of

in the first-season episodes "

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Intro ...

", "

The Telltale Head "The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt Gro ...

", and "

Homer's Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

", and recorded lines as

for "The Telltale Head" and "

Some Enchanted Evening "Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Singin': ...

" (but was dubbed over in the latter). Along with several other early ''Simpsons'' voice actors, he left during the first season.

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

took over the voice of Moe, while

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

assumed the role of Mr. Burns. In a 2018 interview with '' GQ'', Azaria commented on replacing Collins as Moe, saying that he did not find out until years later that he had replaced another actor. Azaria said that when he asked why he had replaced Collins, he was told by

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

, "He (Collins) was great... He was just a dick. His voice was great, he was just kind of jerky to everyone." Azaria continued, "Think about how awful—that guy could have been on ''The Simpsons'' his whole life. Lesson to you kids: Always be nice!"

Live action

Later in the 1980s, he adopted the stage name of Christopher Collins and acted in many live-action television series and motion pictures. In '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', he played

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

Captain Kargan in the episode "

A Matter of Honor "A Matter of Honor" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 34th episode overall, first broadcast on February 6, 1989. The teleplay is written by ...

" and Pakled Captain Grebnedlog in the episode " Samaritan Snare". In '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', he portrayed two different Markalians: Durg in " The Passenger", and an unnamed assistant to The Albino in " Blood Oath". In '' Married... with Children'', he played Roger, one of

Al Bundy Al Bundy is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' Married... with Children''. Played by Ed O'Neill, Bundy is a misanthropic, working-class father of two who is portrayed as a somewhat tragicomedic fig ...

's bowling buddies and a member of NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood). He portrayed a mugger on an episode of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' titled " The Subway". He appears as Mr. Forbes in a first-season episode of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' titled "Abandando Abandoned". His first live-action feature film appearance is a bit part as the sharing husband in the film '' Road House''. He appeared in ''

True Identity ''True Identity'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Charles Lane and starring Lenny Henry, Frank Langella and Anne-Marie Johnson. The plot revolves around a black man (Henry), who disguises himself as a white man to escape the mob. Plo ...

'', '' Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'', '' Blue Desert'', and ''

A Stranger Among Us ''A Stranger Among Us'' is a 1992 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Melanie Griffith. It tells the story of an undercover police officer's experiences in a Hasidic community. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film F ...

''. On April 28, 2012, Collins was posthumously inducted into the

Transformers Hall of Fame The official Transformers Hall of Fame was created by Hasbro to honor the most distinguished people behind the Transformers toy and entertainment franchise, along with some of the more popular Transformers characters. The Hall of Fame contains 32 ch ...

. His daughter Abigail accepted on his behalf.

Personal life

Collins married twice and had three children. Early in his career, he divided his time between New York, Boston, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

before settling in L.A. in 1983. In 1991, he moved to

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

. In an interview,

Flint Dille Flint Dille (born November 3, 1955) is an American screenwriter, game designer and novelist. He is best known for his animated work on ''Transformers'', '' G.I. Joe'', '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'', and his game-writing, '' The Chronicl ...

recalled: Comedian

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

described Collins in a 2021 podcast as "just like this monster, like he was a...drugs and booze and weird and just...creepy."

Death

Collins was diagnosed with

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in April 1992, but stated he would continue to work on ''

'' for as long as he was able to. He died on June 12, 1994, at the age of 44, due to complications of the hemorrhage.

Filmography

*''

'' (1979, TV Series) – Comet Empire General Dire / Sergeant Knox *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1983, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho /

Breaker Breaker may refer to: Objects * A breaking wave on water, or a "breaker", a shallow over which waves break * Circuit breaker, an electrical overload switch * Breaker (hydraulic), a percussion hammer attached to an excavator People * Breaker Mo ...

/ Steeler (voice) *'' Pac-Man'' (1983, TV Series) – (voice) *''

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows: * ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series * ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon {{Disam ...

'' (1983, TV Series) – Beetle / Sandman (voice) *'' The Transformers'' (1984–1987, TV Series) – Starscream / Wheeljack / Sparkplug Witwicky / Laserbeak / Buzzsaw / Reflector / Defensor / Furg / Krunk (voice) *'' G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra'' (1984, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Ripper (voice) *''

Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines ''Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines'' is a 1985 American animated TV mini-series that aired on the animated half-hour TV series '' Super Sunday'' and '' Super Saturday'' containing 9 segments that ran for 6 minutes each weekend, along with '' Jem'', ...

'' (1985) – Adrian Ravenscrodr / Ernie Slye (voice) *'' The Transformers: The Movie'' (1986, TV Series) – Starscream / Laserbeak (voice, uncredited) *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1985, TV Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Breaker / Steeler / Ripper / Horrorshow /

Frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the ha ...

(voice) *''

'' (1986, TV Series) – D'Compose / Tendril / Statesman Granahue (voice) *''The Blinkins: The Bear and the Blizzard'' (1986, TV Movie) – Slime (voice) *''Inhumanoids: The Movie'' (1986) – D'Compose / Granahue / Tendril (voice) *'' G.I. Joe: The Movie'' (1987) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Ripper (voice) *'' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'' (1987, TV Series) – Darkstorm / Cravex / Falkama (voice) *''

'' (1987–1990, TV Series) – Sammy K. Ferret (voice) *''

This Is America, Charlie Brown ''This Is America, Charlie Brown'' is an eight-part animated television miniseries that depicts a series of events in American history featuring characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts''. It aired from 1988 to 1989 on CBS. ...

'' (1988, TV Mini-Series) – Sailor (voice) *''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' (1988, TV Series) – (voice) *''

Mr. Belvedere ''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985, to July 8, 1990. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel ''Belvedere'', which was later ...

'' (1988, TV Series) – Tom *''

Mama's Family ''Mama's Family'' is an American sitcom television series starring Vicki Lawrence as Mama (Thelma Harper). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called " The Family" featured on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' (1967–78 ...

'' (1989, TV Series) – Larry McCary *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1989, TV Series) – Captain Grebnedlog and Captain Kargan *'' Road House'' (1989) – Sharing Husband *''

Anything But Love ''Anything but Love'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from March 7, 1989, to June 3, 1992, spanning four seasons and 56 episodes. The show stars Richard Lewis as Marty Gold and Jamie Lee Curtis as Hannah Miller, coworkers at a Chicago ...

'' (1989, TV Series) – Charles *''

'' (1989, TV Series) – King Koopa *'' G.I. Joe: Operation Dragonfire'' (1989, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander (voice, uncredited) *''

'' (1989–1990, TV Series) –

(voice) /

(voice) *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1990–1992, TV Series) – Cobra Commander (voice) *'' Blue Desert'' (1991) – Phone Man *''

Doogie Howser, M.D. ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' is an American medical sitcom that ran for four seasons on ABC from September 19, 1989, to March 24, 1993, totaling 97 episodes. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, the show stars Neil Patrick Harris in the ...

'' (1991, TV Series) – Mr. Stapleton *''

Rover Dangerfield ''Rover Dangerfield'' is a 1991 American animated musical comedy film starring the voice talent of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas showgirl. ...

'' (1991) – Big Boss / Coyote / Sparky / Wolf / Horse (voice) *''

'' (1991) – Frank LaMotta *'' Danger Team'' (1991, TV Movie) – Truk (voice) *''

'' (1992, TV Series) – Thug *'' Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'' (1992) – Gang Member *''

'' (1992) – Chris Baldessari *''

The Golden Palace ''The Golden Palace'' is an American sitcom television series produced as a sequel to ''The Golden Girls,'' a continuation without Bea Arthur (though she did guest star in a double episode) that originally aired on CBS from September 1992 to M ...

'' (1992, TV Series) – Angel *''

Civil Wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

'' (1992, TV Series) – P.J. Stone *'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1994, TV Series) –

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg-Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg-Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur ...

*'' Married... with Children'' (1993–1994, TV Series) – Roger *''

'' (1994, TV Series) – Paul Forbes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Christopher 1949 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American stand-up comedians Comedians from New York City Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from New York City New York University alumni People from Harlem People from Orange, New Jersey