Hart, as a person, may refer to:

Deceased or presumed so[link]

Died by 1880[link]

• Charles Hart (17th-century actor) (1625–1683), British actor
• John Hart (governor) (died 1740), British colonial administrator
• Joseph Hart (1712–1768), religious leader & British musician
• John Hart (soldier) (1706–1777), American colonel
• John De Hart (1727–1795), American jurist & politician
• Ezekiel B. Hart (c. 1795-1814), American naval officer
• Nancy Hart (c. 1735-1830), American activist
• Ezekiel Hart (1770–1843), Canadian entrepreneur & politician
• Joseph C. Hart (1798–1855), American writer.
• Isaiah Hart (1792–1861), American land entrepreneur
• John E. Hart (c. 1820–1863), American sailor
• John Hart, senior (1809–1873), Australian politician
• Ossian B. Hart (1821–1874), American politician
• Joel Tanner Hart (1810–1877), American sculptor
• John Seely Hart (1810–1877), American author & educator

Presumably died late 19th or early 20th century[link]

• James Hart (boxer) (fl. 1850s), American boxer
• Jim Hart (baseball) (born 1855), American baseball manager
• Charles Burdett Hart (fl. c. 1900), American diplomat

Died 1880 - 1939[link]

• Robert Hart (New Zealand) (1814–1894), New Zealand politician
• Ernest Abraham Hart (1835–1898), British physician & journalist
• James McDougal Hart (1828–1901), Scottish-American painter
• Augustus L. Hart (1849–1901), American jurist & politician
• Alfred A. Hart (1816–1908), American photographer
• Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet (1835–1911), Irish-born diplomat
• Horace Hart (1840–1916), British printer & biographer
• Charles Henry Hart (1847–1918), American author
• Charles Hart (vaudeville) (fl. c. 1910) American musician
• Reginald Clare Hart (1848–1931), Irish military officer
• Marvin Hart (1876–1931), American boxer
• Brooke Hart (1911–1933), American crime victim
• Charles H. Hart (1836–1934), American religious leader
• Charles Walter Hart (1872–1937), American tractor entrepreneur
• Bob Hart (umpire) (1880–1937), American baseball official
• Bobby Hart (songwriter) (born 1939), American songwriter

Died 1940 - 1989[link]

• Cecil Hart (1883–1940), Canadian hockey coach
• Patrick H. Hart (1915–1942), American naval officer
• Albert Bushnell Hart (1854–1943), American historian
• Lorenz Hart (1895–1943), American lyricist
• William S. Hart (1864-1946), Silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer.
• Fritz Hart (1874–1949), English-born Australian composer
• Michael J. Hart (1877–1951), American politician—Michigan
• Richard Hart (actor) (1915–1951), American
• Richard Two-Gun Hart (1892–1952), a.k.a. James Vincenzo Capone, American law-enforcement officer & criminal-family member
• Ernest Hart (1902–1954), British footballer
• Pearl Hart (1871–1956), American bandit & journalist
• John Hart (premier) (1879–1957), Canadian politician
• Moss Hart (1904–1961), American playwright
• Luke E. Hart (1880–1964), American religious leader & activist
• Basil Liddell Hart (1895–1970), British soldier & historian
• Lenny Hart (1918/19 -1974), American drummer
• Philip Hart (1912–1976), American politician
• Ernie Hart (born 1910-1985), American writer and artist

Died since 1990[link]

• Dean Hart (1954–1990), Canadian wrestler
• Judith Hart (1924–1991), British politician
• Charles E. Hart (1900–1991), American soldier
• H. L. A. Hart (1907–1992), British jurist
• Bob Hart (1900–1993), a.k.a. Al Trace, American musician
• Gene Hart (1931–1999), American journalist
• Frederick Hart (sculptor) (1943–1999), American sculptor
• Owen Hart (1965–1999), Canadian wrestler
• Robert Hart (forest gardener) (1913–2000), British
• Leon Hart (1928–2002), American football player
• Mike Hart (bookseller) (1948–2002), English bookseller and poet
• Stu Hart (1915–2003), Canadian wrestler, wrestling promoter, and wrestling trainer; patriarch of the Hart wrestling family
• Dorothy Hart (1922–2004), American actress
• Giles Hart (1949–2005), British engineer and trade union activist
• Bruce Hart (songwriter) (1938–2006), American songwriter and screenwriter
• Ken Hart (1917–2006), American air-soldier & songwriter
• Pro Hart (1928–2006), a.k.a. Kevin Charles Hart, Australian painter
• Kitty Carlisle Hart (1910–2007), American singer & actress
• Johnny Hart (1931–2007), American cartoonist
• Gary Hart (wrestler) (1942–2008), American wrestler & manager

Presumably died in 20th century[link]

• Edward Hart (soccer) (born 1903), American player

Living or presumed so[link]

Decade of birth unknown[link]

• Dick Hart (golfer) (fl. 1960s), American
• David Hart (American football) (fl. 1960s), American football player & coach
• Michael Hart (rower) (fl. 1970s), British rower
• John Hart (Mastermind) (fl. c. 1975), British contestant
• Richard Bruce Hart (fl. late 20th century), American dancer
• Rick Hart (fl. late 20th century), Australian entrepreneur & business manager
• George A. Hart (fl. late 20th century), American physicist
• Howard Hart (fl. late 20th century), American security officer
• Hendrik Hart (fl. late 20th century), Dutch-born academic
• Julian Tudor Hart (fl. late 20th century), British physician & author
• Janice Hart (fl. 1980s), American activist
• Alan Hart (television executive) (fl. 1980s), British television executive
• Richard Hart (journalist) (fl. 1980s), American
• Bob Hart (bassist) (fl. 1990s), American
• M. E. Hart (fl. 1990s), attorney, actor, & activist, and public service announcement performer
• Mike Hart (poker player) (fl. c. 1990), poker player
• Ann Weaver Hart (fl. c. 2000), American academic
• Christopher Hart (artist) (fl. c. 2000), writer and comic book artist
• David Ananda Hart (fl. c. 2000), British religious leader
• David Bentley Hart (fl. c. 2000), American religious leader
• Gina Hart (fl. c. 2000), British comics artist
• James Hart (police commissioner) (fl. c. 2000), British
• David Hart (poet) (fl. 2000s), British poet
• John Hart (fl. 2000s), aka James L. Hart, American activist
• Neesa Hart (fl. 2000s), American author

Born before 1940[link]

• John Hart (actor) (born 1917), American actor
• Doris Hart (born 1925), American tennis player
• Freddie Hart (musician) (born 1926), American musician
• Johnny Hart (footballer) (born 1928), British, also manager
• Armando Hart (born 1930), Cuban politician
• Jeffrey Hart (born 1930), American writer & academic
• John Hart (journalist) (born 1932), American journalist
• Michael H. Hart (born 1932), American physicist and author
• Clyde Hart (born c. 1935), American athletic coach
• Brian Hart (born 1936), British racer, engineer, & entrepreneur
• Gary Hart (born 1936), American politician—Colorado
• Dolores Hart (born 1938), American actress & religious leader

Born 1940s[link]

• Denis Hart (born 1941), Australian religious leader
• Jim Ray Hart (born 1941), American baseball player
• Clay Hart (born 1942), American singer
• Gary K. Hart (born 1943), American politician—California
• Keith Hart (anthropologist) (born 1943), British academic
• Mickey Hart (born 1943), American musician
• Maarten 't Hart (born 1944), Dutch biologist and novelist
• David Hart (UK political activist) (born 1944), British writer & activist
• Jim Hart (football player) (born 1944), American football player
• Jimmy Hart (born 1944), American wrestling business manager & musician
• Oliver Hart (born c. 1940s), British economist & academic
• Peter E. Hart (born c. 1940s), American computer scientist & entrepreneur
• George L. Hart (born c. 1945), American linguist & academic
• Richard Ames Hart (born 1946), writer and painter
• Michael S. Hart (born 1947), American activist & programmer
• Dru Hart (born 1948), American model
• Royce Hart (born 1948), Australian football player
• John Hart (baseball) (born 1948), American baseball manager
• Eddie Hart (athlete) (born 1949), American athlete

Born 1950s[link]

• Roger Hart (born c. 1950), American psychologist & academic
• Mary Hart (TV personality) (born 1950), American journalist
• Bruce Hart (wrestler) (born 1950), Canadian wrestler
• Christine Hart (born 1950), Canadian politician
• Eugene Hart (born 1951), American boxer
• Keith Hart (wrestler) (born 1951), Canadian wrestler
• Mike Hart (switch hitter) (born 1951), American baseball player
• Roxanne Hart (born 1952), American actress
• Gaétan Hart (born 1953), Canadian boxer
• Jeff Hart (American football) (born 1953), American football player
• Mark Hart (born 1953), American musician
• Paul Hart (born 1953), English football player and manager
• Kevin Hart (born 1954), Australian writer
• Richard Hart (jazz guitarist) (born 1955), jazz guitarist, composer, arranger
• John Hart (rugby coach) (born c. 1950s), New Zealander
• Jim Hart (politician) (born 1955), Canadian politician
• David Hart (puppeteer) (born circa 1955), American actor & puppeteer
• Graeme Hart (born 1955), New Zealand business manager & entrepreneur
• David Hart (actor) (born 1954), American actor
• Evelyn Hart (born 1956), Canadian dancer
• George W. Hart (born c. 1956), American academic, programmer, & sculptor
• Michael Hart (Oxford) (born 1956), British academic
• Bret Hart (born 1957), Canadian wrestler
• Edwina Hart (born 1957), British politician
• Mike Hart (left-handed hitter) (born 1958), American baseball player
• Robert Hart (musician) (born 1958), American musician

Born 1960s[link]

• James V. Hart (born 1960), American screenwriter
• John P. Hart (born 1960), American activist
• Michael Hardt (born 1960), American critic, philosopher, & academic
• Christopher Hart (actor) (born 1961), Canadian actor
• Ronald Hart (born 1961), New Zealand cricketer
• Grant Hart (born 1961), American musician
• Charles Hart (lyricist) (born 1962), British musician
• Corey Hart (born 1962), Canadian musician
• Melissa Hart (born 1962), American politician
• Alvin Youngblood Hart (born 1963), American musician
• Diana Hart (born 1963), Canadian wrestling family member
• David Hart (footballer) (born 1964), Australian football player
• Ian Hart (born 1964), English actor
• Christopher Hart (novelist) (born 1965), British novelist
• John Hart (author) (born 1965), American novelist
• Betsy Hart (born c. 1965), American journalist
• Richard Hart (curler) (born 1968), Canadian curler
• Emerson Hart (born 1969), American musician & producer

Born 1970s[link]

• Esther Hart (born 1970), Dutch singer
• Peter Hart (historian) (born c. 1970), Canadian historian
• Angie Hart (born 1972), Australian singer
• Beth Hart (born 1972), American singer
• Miranda Hart (born 1972), British actress & writer
• Matthew Hart (born 1972), New Zealand cricketer
• Robert Hart (cricketer) (born 1974), New Zealand player
• Ben Hart (born 1974), Australian footballer
• Carey Hart (born 1975), American driver & entrepreneur
• Bo Hart (born 1976), American baseball player
• Gary Hart (footballer) (born 1976), British footballer
• Holly Joan Hart (born 1976), American model
• Melissa Joan Hart (born 1976), American actress
• Jason Hart (basketball) (born 1978), American basketball player
• Richie Hart (born 1978), Scottish footballer
• James Stephen Hart (born 1979), American singer

Born since 1980[link]

• Michael Hart (footballer) (born 1980), Scottish football (soccer) player
• Corey Hart (baseball) (born 1982), American player
• John Hart (rugby player) (born 1982), British rugby player
• Emily Hart (born 1986), American actress
• Mike Hart (American football) (born 1986), American football player
• Joe Hart (born 1987), British football player

See also[link]

• Hart (surname)
• Hart (given name)
• Harte (disambiguation)
• People surnamed Heart (disambiguation)

This page or section lists people with the surname Hart. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

A person is a being, such as a human, that has certain capacities or attributes constituting personhood, the precise definition of which is the subject of much controversy.^{[vague language]} The common plural of "person", "people", is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"), so the plural "persons" is often used in contexts which require precision such as philosophical and legal writing.

Etymology[link]

In ancient Rome, the word "persona" (Latin) or "prosopon" (πρόσωπον: Greek) originally referred to the masks worn by actors on stage. The various masks represented the various "personae" in the stage play, while the masks themselves helped the actor's voice resonate and made it easier for the audience to hear.^[1]

In Roman law, the word "persona" became used to refer to a role played in court, and it became established that it was the role rather than the actor that could have rights, powers, and duties, because different individuals could assume the same roles, the rights, powers, and duties followed the role rather than the actor, and each individual could act in more than one role, each a different "person" in law.^{[tortured english][citation needed]}

The concept of a "person" was further developed during the Trinitarian and Christological debates of the first through sixth centuries. Since then, a number of important changes to the word's meaning and use have taken place, and attempts have been made to redefine the word with varying degrees of adoption and influence.

Many modern speakers of colloquial English conflate the meanings of role and actor, which can result in some confusion when they try to enter into legal discourse.^{[citation needed]}

Personhood[link]

An abstract painting of a person by Paul Klee. The concept of a person can be very challenging to define.

Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law, and is closely tied to legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. According to law, only a natural person or legal personality has rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and legal liability. Personhood continues to be a topic of international debate. Historically, personhood was questioned during the abolition of slavery, the fight for women's rights and animal rights, debates about abortion, fetal rights and reproductive rights as well as debates about corporate personhood.^[2]

Various specific debates have focused and continue to focus on questions about the personhood of different classes of entities. Historically, the personhood of animals, women, and slaves has been a catalyst of social upheaval. Today, most living adult humans are usually considered persons, but depending on the context, theory or definition, the category of "person" may be taken to include such non-human entities as animals, corporations, sovereign states or other polities, estates in probate, artificial intelligences, or extraterrestrial life; and may exclude some human entities in prenatal development or those with extreme mental impairments or injuries. A deceased person may be considered a person or property, depending on jurisdiction.

Personal identity[link]

What does it take for individuals to persist from moment to moment — or in other words, for the same individual to exist at different moments?

Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of persons through time. That is to say, the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time can be said to be the same person, persisting through time. In the modern philosophy of mind, this concept of personal identity is sometimes referred to as the diachronic problem of personal identity. The synchronic problem is grounded in the question of what features or traits characterize a given person at one time.

Identity is an issue for both continental philosophy and analytic philosophy. A key question in continental philosophy is in what sense we can maintain the modern conception of identity, while realizing many of our prior assumptions about the world are incorrect.

Proposed solutions to the problem of personal identity include continuity of the physical body, continuity of an immaterial mind or soul, continuity of consciousness or memory, the bundle theory of self, and proposals that there are actually no persons or selves which persist over time at all.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Lukes, Steven; Carrithers, Michael; Collins, Steven, eds. (1987). The category of the person: Anthropology, philosophy, history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-27757-4. 
• Cornelia J.de Vogel The concept of personality in Greek and Christian thought. In Studies in philosophy and the history of philosophy. Vol. 2. Edited by J. K. Ryan, Washington: Catholic University of America Press 1963. pp. 20–60
• Puccetti, Roland (1968). Persons: A Study of Possible Moral Agents in the Universe. London: Macmillan and Company. 
•  "Person". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• Korfmacher, Carsten (May 29, 2006). "Personal Identity". The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/person-i.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-09. 

External links[link]

Look up person in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Rights of Non-Human Persons Program (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies)

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (July 2007)

A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons.

Missing persons' photographs may be posted on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, and websites, along with a phone number to be contacted if a sighting has been made.

People disappear for many reasons. Some individuals choose to disappear alone; most of these soon return. Reasons for non-identification may include:

• To escape child abuse, such as child physical abuse, emotional abuse, by a parent(s) / guardian(s) / sibling(s) (especially).
• Leaving home to live somewhere else under a new identity.
• Becoming the victim of kidnapping.
• Abduction (of a minor) by a non-custodial parent or other relative.
• Seizure by government officials without due process of law.
• Suicide in a remote location or under an assumed name (to spare their families the suicide at home, or to allow their deaths to be eventually declared in absentia).
• Victim of murder (body disguised, destroyed, or hidden).
• Mental illness or other ailments such as Alzheimer's Disease can cause someone to become lost, or they may not know how to identify themselves due to long term memory loss that causes them to forget where they live, the identity of family members or relatives or even their own names.
• Death by natural causes (disease) or accident far from home without identification.
• Disappearance in order to take advantage of better employment or living conditions elsewhere.
• Sold into slavery, serfdom, sexual servitude, or other unfree labour.
• To avoid discovery of a crime or apprehension by law-enforcement authorities. (See also failure to appear).
• Joining a cult or other religious organization.
• To escape domestic abuse.
• To avoid war or persecution during a genocide.
• To escape famine or natural disaster.

U.S. statistics[link]

By the end of 2005, there were 109,531 active missing person records according to the US Department of Justice. Children under the age of 18 account for 58,081 (53.03%) of the records and 11,868 (10.84%) were for young adults between the ages of 18 and 20.^[1]

During 2005, 834,536 entries were made into the National Crime Information Center's missing person file, which was an increase of 0.51% from the 830,325 entered in 2004. Missing Person records that were cleared or canceled during the same period totaled 844,838. The reasons for these removals include: a law enforcement agency located the subject, the individual returned home, or the record had to be removed by the entering agency due to a determination that the record is invalid.^[2]

Canadian statistics[link]

Royal Canadian Mounted Police missing child statistics for a ten year period^[3] show a total of 60,582 missing children in 2007.

Legal issues[link]

A common misconception is that a person must be absent for at least 24 hours before being legally classed as missing, but this is rarely the case; in instances where there is evidence of violence or of an unusual absence, law enforcement agencies often stress the importance of beginning an investigation promptly.^[4][5]

In most common law jurisdictions a missing person can be declared dead in absentia (or "legally dead") after seven years. This time frame may be reduced in certain cases, such as deaths in major battles or mass disasters such as the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Monument[link]

On May 26, 2002, a monument to missing persons was unveiled in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland by President Mary McAleese. It was the first monument of its kind in the world.^[6]

See also[link]

• AMBER Alert
• Code Adam
• Cold case
• Death in absentia
• Forced disappearance
• International child abduction
• List of people who disappeared mysteriously
• Missing Kids Website
• Unexplained disappearances
• Unreported missing

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up missing person in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Media related to Disappeared people at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Missing in Action at Wikimedia Commons

• LostNMissing Inc
• National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs.gov)
• Familylinks.icrc.org Website for people looking for family members missing due to a conflict or natural disaster. International Committee of the Red Cross.
• Data Missing on Missing Children
• Missing persons Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Committee of the Red Cross, 2009

Chris Rock
Rock at the 2012 premiere of What to Expect When You're Expecting
Birth name	Christopher Julius Rock III
Born	(1965-02-07) February 7, 1965 (age 47) Andrews, South Carolina, U.S.
Medium	comedy, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1984–present
Genres	Black humor, musical comedy, observational comedy, political satire, satire
Subject(s)	African-American culture, American politics, current events, human sexuality, marriage, pop culture, race relations, racism
Influences	Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Pigmeat Markham, Woody Allen, Eddie Murphy,[1] Sam Kinison, George Carlin, Mort Sahl,[2] Rodney Dangerfield,[3] Bill Hicks
Influenced	Dave Chappelle,[2] Christian Finnegan,[4] George Lopez[5]
Spouse	Malaak Compton-Rock (November 23, 1996 – present; 2 children)
Website	ChrisRock.com
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program 1997 Chris Rock: Bring the Pain 1999 The Chris Rock Show Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special 1997 Chris Rock: Bring the Pain Outstanding Writing For Variety, Music or Comedy Special 2009 Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger
Grammy Awards
Best Spoken Comedy Album 1998 Roll with the New 2000 Bigger & Blacker Best Comedy Album 2006 Never Scared
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special 2000 Chris Rock: Bigger & Blacker

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III^[6] (born February 7, 1965)^[7][8] is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer, and director.

After working as a standup comic and appearing in small film roles, Rock came to wider prominence as as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s. He went on to more prominent film roles, and a series of acclaimed comedy specials for HBO.

He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central.^[9] He was also voted in the UK as the 9th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007, and again in the updated 2010 list as the 8th greatest stand-up comic.

Early life[link]

Rock was born in Andrews, South Carolina. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. A few years later, they relocated and settled in the working-class area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.^[6] His mother, Rosalie (née Tingman), was a teacher and social worker for the mentally handicapped; his father, Julius Rock, was a former truck driver and newspaper deliveryman.^[10] Julius died in 1988 after ulcer surgery.^[11] His younger brothers Tony, Kenny^[12] and Jordan^[13] are also in the entertainment business. His older half-brother, Charles, died in 2006 after a long struggle with alcoholism.^[14][15] Rock has said that he was influenced by the performing style of his paternal grandfather, Allen Rock, a preacher.^[6][16]

Rock was bused to schools in predominately white neighborhoods of Brooklyn, where he endured bullying and beatings from white students.^[17][18][19] As he got older, the bullying became worse and Rock's parents pulled him out of James Madison High School.^[19] He decided to drop out of high school altogether and later received a GED. Rock worked menial jobs at various fast-food restaurants.^[17][18]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1984 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star.^[6][17] He slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV series Miami Vice. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy befriended and mentored the aspiring comic. Murphy gave Rock his first film role in Beverly Hills Cop II.

George Carlin was probably the biggest influence for him.^[3] Other major influences have been Sam Kinison, with whom he managed to hang out with,^[3] Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.^[3][1] Other influences have been Mort Sahl,^[2] Rodney Dangerfield,^[3] Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Bill Hicks, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Steve Martin and Pigmeat Markham. Among the contemporaries, in 2008 he said he enjoys Chris Tucker and Adam Sandler.^[3]

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Rock became a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1990. He and other new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade became known as the Bad Boys of SNL. In 1991, he released his first comedy album Born Suspect and won acclaim for his dramatic role as a crack addict in the film New Jack City. His tenure on SNL gave Rock national exposure.

Standup success[link]

A frustrated Rock left Saturday Night Live in 1993, appearing instead as a "special guest" star on the predominantly African American sketch show In Living Color. The show, however, was canceled months later. Rock then decided to concentrate on a film career. He wrote and starred in the mockumentary CB4 but the film was not a success. Acting jobs became scarce, and Rock abandoned Hollywood to concentrate on stand-up comedy.^[16]

Rock starred in his first HBO comedy special in 1994 titled Big Ass Jokes. But it was his second stand-up special, 1996's Bring the Pain, that reinvented Rock as one of the best comedians in the industry.^[20][21] For it Rock won two Emmy Awards and gained large critical acclaim.^[22] The segment on race in America, in which Rock used the "N word" extensively was most talked about.^[22] Adding to his popularity was his much-publicized role as a commentator for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect during the 1996 Presidential elections^[20] which earned him another Emmy nomination.^[23] Rock also was the voice for the "Lil Penny" puppet who was the alter ego to basketball star Penny Hardaway in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994–1998,^[20] and hosted the '97 MTV Video Music Awards.

Rock later had two more HBO comedy specials: Bigger & Blacker in 1999, and Never Scared in 2004. Articles relating to both specials called Rock "the funniest man in America" in Time^[24] and Entertainment Weekly.^[2] HBO also aired his talk show, The Chris Rock Show, which gained critical acclaim for Rock's interviews with celebrities and politicians. The show won an Emmy for writing. His television work has won him a total of three Emmy Awards and 15 nominations.^[23] By the end of the decade, Rock was established as one of the preeminent stand-up comedians and comic minds of his generation.

During this time, Rock also translated his comedy into print form in the book Rock This! and released the Grammy Award-winning comedy albums, Roll with the New, Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared.

Rock's fifth HBO special, Kill the Messenger, premiered on September 27, 2008, and won him another Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.^[25]

Film and television[link]

Rock at the Israeli premiere of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, on November 22, 2008.

It was not until the success of his stand-up act in the late 1990s that Rock began receiving major parts in films. These include roles in Dogma, Beverly Hills Ninja, Lethal Weapon 4, Nurse Betty, The Longest Yard, Bad Company, and a starring role in Down to Earth. Rock has also increasingly worked behind the camera, both as a writer and director of Head of State and I Think I Love My Wife. In the fall of 2005, the UPN television network premiered a comedy series called Everybody Hates Chris, based on Rock's school days, of which he is the executive producer and narrator. The show has garnered both critical and ratings success.^[26] The series was nominated for a 2006 Golden Globe for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy), a 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, and two 2006 Emmy Awards for costuming and cinematography.^[27]

Following the release of his first documentary, 2009's Good Hair, Rock is working on a documentary about debt called Credit Is the Devil.^[28]

Academy Awards[link]

In early 2005, Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards ceremony. The decision to have Rock host the awards was seen by some as a chance to bring an "edge" to the ceremony, and to make it more relevant or appealing to younger audiences. Jokingly, Rock opened by saying "Welcome to the 77th and LAST Academy Awards!" During one segment Rock asked, "Who is this guy?" in reference to actor Jude Law seemingly appearing in every movie Rock had seen that year and implied Law was a low-rent Tom Cruise (he made a joke about filmmakers rushing production when unable to get the actors they want: "If you want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law, wait [to make the film]!"). Subsequently, a defensive Sean Penn took the stage to present and said, "In answer to our host's question, Jude Law is one of our finest young actors." (At the time, Penn and Law were shooting All the King's Men.) Law was not the only actor that Rock poked fun at that evening, however—he turned the joke on himself at one point, saying, "If you want Denzel [Washington] and all you can get is me, wait!" Older Oscar officials were reportedly displeased with Rock's performance, which did not elevate ratings for the ceremony.^[29] Rock was also criticized for referring to the Oscars as "idiotic", and asserting that heterosexual men do not watch them, in an interview prior to Oscar night.^[30][31]

Music videos[link]

Rock's first music video was for his song "Your Mother's Got a Big Head" from his album Born Suspect. Rock also made videos for his songs "Champagne" from Roll With the New and "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)" from Bigger & Blacker. Chris Rock also directed and appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump".

Rock appeared in the Big Daddy Kane music video "Smooth Operator" as a guy getting his hair cut.

He also appeared in Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down", one of the many celebrities seen lip-synching the song.

Stage plays[link]

In 2011, Rock appeared on Broadway in Stephen Adly Guirgis' play The Motherfucker with the Hat^[32] with Bobby Cannavale and Annabella Sciorra.^[32] Rock was nominated for a Drama League Award.

Comedic style and views[link]

Rock's subject matter typically involves family, politics, romance, music, class relationships, and race relations in the United States. Though not strictly autobiographical, much of his comic standpoint seem rooted in his teenage experience; his strict parents, concerned about the inadequacies of the local school system, arranged to have the adolescent Rock bused to a nearly all-white high school in Bensonhurst (an Italian-ethnic neighborhood of Brooklyn known at the time for poor race relations). In his memoir Rock This, the comedian recalls, "My parents assumed I'd get a better education in a better neighborhood. What I actually got was a worse education in a worse neighborhood. And a whole bunch of ass-whippings."^[33]

The comedian has also expressed discomfort with the notion that success in standup comedy—or, indeed, in any aspect of the entertainment industry—should oblige him to serve as a role model. In this position, he finds himself directly at odds with one of his comic idols, Bill Cosby. Cosby has reprimanded Rock both explicitly—for his famous/notorious Niggas vs. Black People track—and implicitly, for heavy use of the word "nigger."^[34] Rock has not wavered from a position explored in his 1996 Roll With The New show, and reiterated in his 1997 memoir: "Why does the public expect entertainers to behave better than everybody else? It's ridiculous...Of course, this is just for black entertainers. You don't see anyone telling Jerry Seinfeld he's a good role model. Because everyone expects whites to behave themselves...Nowadays, you've got to be an entertainer and a leader. It's too much."^[35] Often the subject of tabloids, when asked about paparazzi and the other negative aspects of fame, Rock says he accepts the bad with the good: "You can't be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips."^[36]

At the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, which was broadcast live on the BBC, before introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rock called the crowd "motherfuckers" and "shit" after a brief sigh when he said he was joking. Due to the broadcast being at 5:45 pm Rock was immediately cut off, and the BBC made several apologies for his use of the word "motherfucker".^[37]

Personal life[link]

Rock has been married to Malaak Compton-Rock since November 23, 1996.^[38] She is the founder and executive director of StyleWorks, a non-profit, full-service salon that provides free services for women leaving welfare and entering the workforce.^[38] They have two daughters together, Lola Simone (born June 28, 2002) and Zahra Savannah (born May 22, 2004).^[39]

In November 2006, the entertainment news website TMZ.com reported that Rock was filing for divorce after nearly ten years of marriage to Malaak.^[40] Two weeks later, however, TMZ reported that Rock had not filed divorce papers, and that it appeared that the couple had been able to work out their differences and stay together.^[41] In response to the reports, the Rocks released a statement to the press denouncing them as "untrue rumors and lies".^[38]

In 2007, freelance journalist and former actress Kali Bowyer filed a paternity suit against Chris Rock, claiming he was the father of her son, and in need of hospitalization.^[42] DNA testing proved that Rock was not the child's father.^{[43][dead link]}

Rock resides in Alpine, New Jersey.^[44]

In 2008, Rock's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that he is descended from the Udeme people of northern Cameroon.^[45] Rock's great-great-grandfather, Julius Caesar Tingman, was a slave for 21 years before serving as part of the United States Colored Troops until 1866; Tingman fought in the American Civil War. During the 1940s, Rock's paternal grandfather moved from South Carolina to New York City to become a taxicab driver and preacher.^[46]

Work[link]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Television[link]

Books[link]

• Rock This! (Hyperion Books, 1997) – ISBN 0-7868-6289-0

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chris Rock

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Chris Rock

• Official website
• Chris Rock at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Rock on Charlie Rose