Elister Larry Wilmore III is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2014, and hosted The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2015 and 2016. He is also the creator of the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. He was an executive producer for the ABC television series Black-ish, and co-created the HBO television series Insecure with Issa Rae. From 2017 to 2025, he hosted a podcast, Black on the Air, where he discussed current events and interviews guests. He was also the host of the talk show Wilmore.
Elister Larry Wilmore III is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2014, and hosted The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2015 and 2016. He is also the creator of the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. He was an executive producer for the ABC television series Black-ish, and co-created the HBO television series Insecure with Issa Rae. From 2017 to 2025, he hosted a podcast, Black on the Air, where he discussed current events and interviews guests. He was also the host of the talk show Wilmore.
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Elister Larry Wilmore III (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2014, and hosted The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2015 and 2016. He is also the creator of the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. He was an executive producer for the ABC television series Black-ish, and co-created the HBO television series Insecure with Issa Rae. From 2017 to 2025, he hosted a podcast, Black on the Air, where he discussed current events and interviews guests. He was also the host of the talk show Wilmore.
Early life and education
Wilmore was born October 30, 1961, in Los Angeles to Betty and Larry Wilmore, a doctor. He grew up Catholic in suburban Pomona and his family is from Evanston, Illinois. He is the third of six children and his late younger brother Marc was also a television writer, actor, and producer.
As a child, Wilmore found interest in topics including science, magic, science-fiction and fantasy, all of which have shaped the evolution of his performance. In an NPR interview, he said he was a nerd. "It used to be that the black comic figure had to have this bravado and always showed strength... now there's a comic figure where it's ok to just be a nerd and be black." Wilmore graduated from Damien High School in La Verne, California, in 1979. He studied theater at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in Pomona, but dropped out to pursue acting and stand-up comedy.
Career
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
On January 19, 2015, Wilmore began hosting The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, a late night panel talk show which aired on Comedy Central. It was a spin-off of The Daily Show, and replaced The Colbert Report in the network's 11:30pm timeslot. It was produced by Jon Stewart's production company Busboy Productions. On August 15, 2016, Comedy Central announced that Wilmore's show had been canceled, and the show ended August 18, 2016, with a total of 259 episodes.
Wilmore
He briefly hosted his own limited series late-night talk show on Peacock titled Wilmore.
Influences
Wilmore has cited Johnny Carson, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Jon Stewart as being comedy influences. Wilmore said that when he needs inspiration, he "observe[s] people. I ride the subway, sit in a coffee shop. There's nothing funnier than real human behavior."
Personal life
Wilmore and actress Leilani Jones were married for 20 years; they have two children, John and Lauren. Wilmore and Jones divorced in 2015. He lived in San Marino, California, with his family until moving to New York City to work on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
Published works
Wilmore, Larry (2009). I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts. Hachette Book Group. ISBN 978-1-4013-0955-8.
Beginning in the 1980s, Wilmore appeared in several small film and television roles, including a recurring role as a police officer on The Facts of Life. In the early to mid-1990s, he was on the writing staff of the talk show Into the Night With Rick Dees, the sketch comedy show In Living Color (his younger brother Marc was also a writer with In Living Color; unlike Larry, he became a cast member), and the sitcom Sister, Sister, where Larry Wilmore portrayed a bus driver in an episode. He went on to be a writer and producer on a series of black sitcoms, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Jamie Foxx Show.
In 1999, Wilmore co-created the animated comedy The PJs with Eddie Murphy and was the executive producer until its conclusion in 2001. He then created and produced The Bernie Mac Show, and won an Emmy for writing the pilot episode. He created and produced Whoopi, with Whoopi Goldberg. From 2005 to 2007 he was a consulting producer for The Office, and appeared in the "Diversity Day" episode as Mr. Brown, a diversity consultant.
In 2006, Wilmore began appearing regularly on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, where he was billed as the "Senior Black Correspondent" or a derivative form of the title, such as the "Senior Executive Commander-in-Chief Who Happens To Be Black Correspondent" after the election of Barack Obama. Wilmore's work on the show frequently centered on humorous observations of the Black experience in American society. He originated the titular phrase I'd Rather We Got Casinos in a January 2007 Daily Show appearance. In January 2009, Hyperion published Wilmore's I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts, a political humor book described by Booklist as being "a faux collection of articles, essays, radio transcripts, and letters exploring the more ludicrous angles on race."
Wilmore has continued occasional acting appearances, including a role as a minister in I Love You, Man (2009) and a supporting role in Dinner for Schmucks (2010). In 2011, He began a recurring role on the ABC comedy Happy Endings, where he played Mr. Forristal, Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.)'s uptight boss. In 2012, he starred in the Showtime special Race, Religion and Sex, shot in Salt Lake City, Utah.
On April 30, 2016, Wilmore was the headliner at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. He came under fire for using the word "nigga" to refer to President Barack Obama saying "Barry, you did it my nigga." Wilmore defended his actions telling Al Sharpton, "I wanted to make a statement more than a joke... I really wanted to explain the historical implications of the Obama presidency from my point of view." In May 2017, Wilmore began hosting the podcast Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air as part of The Ringer podcast network, headed by Bill Simmons. Time ranked it in the top five of its list of 10 Best podcast of 2017.
