(born 1932) Gregory’s acid racial observations made an early crossover breakthrough in American comedy in 1961 via the Playboy Club and late-night television. Yet his celebrity converged with his growing commitments to the civil-rights struggle, as an entertainer and colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Adopting King’s non-violence, Gregory extended his protests to include fasts against the Vietnam War and support for Native Americans. Since the 1970s, he has also been occupied with problems of hunger in America and the world. His 1964 autobiography Nïgger, remains an intriguing memoir of maturing in a racist America.