Deon Anthony Cole (born January 9, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He is best known for his role in the sitcom ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...

'' (2014–2022), which earned him nominations for two

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

and two

SAG Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

. On June 25, 2020, he became the second panelist to win the Dorris Award on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

version of '' To Tell the Truth''. Cole was nominated for two

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for co-writing the late-night talk shows ''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's ''Tonight Show'' franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's ''Late Ni ...

'' and '' Conan;'' for the latter, he was also nominated for three

Writers Guild of America Awards The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

Early life

Cole was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on January 9, 1972. He was educated in

Thornridge High School Thornridge High School is a public four-year high school located in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb about 20 miles south of Chicago. The school is part of Thornton Township High School District 205. Thornridge High School first opened to the public i ...

and received an acting degree from

Philander Smith College Philander Smith College is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Philander Smith College is accredited by ...

Career

Born in the Roseland neighborhood of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

,Kyles, Kyra (November 12, 2009).
Comic Heroes: Chicago comics breaking into the spotlight on their own terms
. ''Chicago Tribune''. p. 30. Cole started in comedy when a friend bet him $50 that he would not get up on stage one night in Chicago. Cole was on the writing staff for ''

'' from 2009 to 2010, and he worked as a writer for '' Conan'' from 2010 to 2012. He has appeared frequently in comedic bits for both broadcasts, and he has, along with the rest of the staff, received two

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

nominations. Cole also performed on Conan O'Brien's " Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" in 2010. In February 2010, Cole performed on "Comic Aid Haiti", a comedy performance that benefited victims of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

. Cole was on the cast of ''

Angie Tribeca ''Angie Tribeca'' is an American comedy television series created by Steve and Nancy Carell, which aired on TBS. The series, a parody of the police procedural genre, stars Rashida Jones as police detective Angie Tribeca. It also stars Hayes MacAr ...

'' from 2016 to 2018. Cole is part of a television ad campaign for

Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Old Spice was launched as Early American Old Spice by W ...

body wash, alongside actress/comedian

Gabrielle Dennis Gabrielle Dennis is an American actress and comedian, known mostly for her work in cable television series ('' The Game'', '' Blue Mountain State'', '' The Underground''). Dennis starred in the Fox medical drama ''Rosewood'' alongside Morris C ...

. Cole has a recurring role on the

sitcom ''

'' as Charlie Telphy. Cole was promoted to a main role beginning with season 4. He then made some appearances in the Black-ish's spin-off ''

Grown-ish ''Grown-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') is an American sitcom series and a spin-off of the ABC series ''Black-ish''. The single-camera comedy follows the Johnson family's children as they go to college and begin their journeys to adulthood, only to ...

''. Cole has performed stand up on other programs such as ''

John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show ''John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show'' is a stand-up comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central in the United States. Hosted by British-American comedian John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-Americ ...

'', '' Mash Up'' and ''

Lopez Tonight ''Lopez Tonight'' is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-night ...

''. Cole created his own production company, Coled Blooded, to produce the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

show ''

Deon Cole's Black Box ''Deon Cole's Black Box'' is an American comedy television series that premiered on June 10, 2013, on TBS. The series features Deon Cole (stand-up comic Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer a ...

''. It premiered on June 10, 2013, on TBS, but it was canceled on October 25, 2013. Cole hosted the game show ''Face Value'' on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

in 2017. In 2017, he performed in a half-hour set in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original series ''

The Standups ''The Standups'' is an American comedy streaming television series. The series is a collection of 30-minute recordings of stand-up comedians, compiled and released by Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-th ...

''. In October 2019,

released a stand-up special called ''Deon Cole: Cole Hearted''. On June 25, 2020, Cole appeared on '' To Tell the Truth'' and won the Doris Award, becoming the second panelist to do so.

Personal life

Cole has one son. Deon was raised by his mother Charleen. He was an only child. His mother passed away in 2021. He dedicated his 2022 Netflix comedy special to her, Deon Cole: Charleen’s Boy, which was filmed on the one year anniversary of her death.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Performance on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Deon Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors African-American male comedians American male comedians 1972 births Writers from Chicago 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians Comedians from Illinois 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people