Lavell Crawford (born November 11, 1968) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing

Huell Babineaux '' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its ...

in ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...

'' (2011–2013) and its spin-off ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

'' (2017–2022). He also played the role of Gus Patch 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 movie ''

The Ridiculous 6 ''The Ridiculous 6'' is a 2015 American Western action comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler, and starring Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Luke Wilson. As Happy Ma ...

'' (2015). The album version of his 2021 ''Comedy Vaccine'' special was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to presen ...

at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Early life

Crawford grew up in

St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in the eastern-central portion of Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. At the 2020 census, th ...

, eventually settling in Pagedale. He has two sisters, Elonda and Erica. He struggled with his weight in childhood and experienced a near-drowning at age ten. Crawford graduated from

Pattonville High School Pattonville High School is a public high school located in Maryland Heights, Missouri. It is the only high school in the Pattonville School District. History Pattonville High School's first graduating class was in 1937 with 2 girls graduating. I ...

in 1986 before attending

Missouri Western State College Missouri Western State University is a public university in Saint Joseph, Missouri. As of 2019, it enrolled 5,413 students. History Missouri Western State University was founded in 1915 as a two-year institution called St. Joseph Junior College ...

, where he studied

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Career

Bob_Odenkirk_Lavell_Crawford_Breaking_Bad

Crawford began performing standup comedy professionally in 1990. He frequently performed 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 ...

's ''ComicView'' during the 1990s. He was a contestant on NBC's ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

'' in 2007, where in the two-hour season finale he lost to Jon Reep. In 2011 at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre in St. Louis, he recorded ''Lavell Crawford: Can a Brother Get Some Love.'' Crawford portrayed

Saul Goodman James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his trade name, business name Saul Goodman, is a character (arts), character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad (franchi ...

's laconic bodyguard

in the crime drama series ''

'' and its spinoff, ''

'', from 2011 to 2022. He also played Babineaux in ''Huell's Rules'', a comedy short set after the events of ''Breaking Bad''. Crawford has also appeared in comedic roles in ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Charlie ...

'', ''

Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...

'', ''

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore ''The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore'' is a 2015–16 American late-night panel talk show hosted by Larry Wilmore that aired for two seasons on Comedy Central. The show was a spin-off of ''The Daily Show'', which featured Wilmore as a recurri ...

'', and ''

Aqua TV Show Show ''Aqua TV Show Show'' is the alternative title given to the tenth season of the animated television series ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''. The tenth season aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. The ...

''.

Personal life

Crawford's weight peaked in March 2016 at approximately . After

gastric sleeve Sleeve gastrectomy is a Bariatric surgery, surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 15% of its original size, by surgical removal of a large portion of the stomach along the Curvatures of the stomach, greater curvatu ...

surgery, his weight dropped to by August 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Lavell Living people 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male comedians American male comedians American male film actors Last Comic Standing contestants African-American male actors American male television actors American male voice actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 1968 births