LOS ANGELES -- Dick Gregory, the comedian and activist who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84.
Gregory died late Saturday in Washington, D.C., after being hospitalized for about a week, his son Christian Gregory said. Dick Gregory had suffered a severe bacterial infection.
Gregory was one of the first black standup comedians to find success with white audiences. He rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to win a college track scholarship and become a celebrated satirist whose ability to woo audiences through humor helped bring national attention to fledgling efforts at integration and social equality for blacks.
"Where else in the world but America," he joked, "could I have lived in the worst neighborhoods, attended the worst schools, rode in the back of the bus, and get paid $5,000 a week just for talking about it?"
Gregory briefly sought political office, running unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago in 1966 and U.S. president in 1968, when he received 200,000 votes as the Peace and Freedom party candidate.
An admirer of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Gregory embraced nonviolence and became a vegetarian and marathon runner. His activism included a 1991 visit to Little Rock on behalf of an anti-drug group.
Gregory often preached about the transformative powers of prayer and good health. Once an overweight smoker and drinker, he became a trim, energetic proponent of liquid meals and raw food diets.
After being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2000, he fought it with herbs, exercise and vitamins. It went in remission a few years later.
He took a break from comedy clubs, saying the alcohol and smoke in the clubs were unhealthy, and he focused on lecturing and writing more than a dozen books.
Gregory later returned to performing and remained active in the comedy scene, including headlining a show in Little Rock earlier this month.
A Section on 08/21/2017