There’s only one true King Comedy.
The character Dolemite is a blaxploitation icon, but while his name is known around the world, not many are familiar with the actor who brought him to life. In Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy depicts real-life Rudy Ray Moore as the cast characters tells the story how Dolemite came to be. The star-studded ensemble includes looks from Wesley Snipes, Keegan Michael-Key, Craig Robinson, Chris Rock, Tituss Burgess, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Mike Epps, Luenell, and many others.
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The Netflix comedy is available now, and director Craig Brewer recently told Vibe that while Dolemite Is My Name brings serious laughs, it’s moved some creatives. “I just had a screening in my hometown Memphis and all these young rappers came up to me and they were emotional,” he said. “They were like, ‘I didn’t know anything about this guy and his story is a lot like mine.’ They’re making music in their apartments and anyway they can, selling their own mixtapes and downloads and everything. And there’s times where there are dark times when they don’t know if all their effort is gonna pay f, but the story Rudy Ray Moore is you make your own way. You make your own legend. You push through and you ultimately get your voice heard.”
The outlet spoke with a number the cast members, but during their chat with Murphy, they wanted to know his top five favorite comedians all time. “I don’t know who the top five is, but the king is Richard Pryor,” he said. “That’s forever. Nobody is even half-way close. He is the ceiling the artform. All us aspire to be like him. Nobody even comes close…one through five. The other four don’t count. It’s Richard.”