Deon Cole
Deon Cole (born January 9, 1972) is an American comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role in the sitcom Black-ish (2014–present), which earned him nominations for two NAACP Image Awards and two SAG Awards.
Deon Cole | |
|---|---|
 Cole in 2016 | |
| Born | January 9, 1972 |
| Education | Thornridge High School |
| Alma mater | Philander Smith College |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1998– |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | deoncole |
Cole was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for co-writing the late-night talk shows The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Conan. For the latter, he was also nominated for three Writers Guild of America Awards.
Cole also performs as a house music DJ.
Early life
Cole was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 9, 1971. He was educated in Thornridge High School and received an acting degree from Philander Smith College.
Career
Born in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago,[1] Cole started in comedy when a friend bet him $50 that he would not get up on stage one night in Chicago.[2]
Cole was on the writing staff for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien from 2009 to 2010,[1][3] and he worked as a writer for Conan from 2010 to 2012.[4] He has appeared frequently in comedic bits for both broadcasts, and he has, along with the rest of the staff, received two Primetime Emmy nominations. Cole also performed on Conan O'Brien's "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" in 2010.[5]
In February 2010, Cole performed on "Comic Aide Haiti", a comedy performance that benefited victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[6]
Cole was on the cast of Angie Tribeca from 2016 to 2018. Cole is part of a television ad campaign for Old Spice body wash, alongside actress/comedian Gabrielle Dennis.
Cole has a recurring role on the ABC sitcom Black-ish as Charlie Telphy. Cole was promoted to a main role beginning with season 4. He then made some appearances in the Black-ish's spin-off Grown-ish.
Cole has performed stand up on other programs such as John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, Mash Up and Lopez Tonight. Cole created his own production company, Coled Blooded, to produce the sketch comedy show Deon Cole's Black Box.[7] It premiered on June 10, 2013, on TBS, but it was canceled on October 25, 2013.[8] Cole hosted the game show Face Value on BET in 2017.
In 2017, he performed in a half-hour set in the Netflix original series The Standups.
In October 2019, Netflix released a stand-up special called Deon Cole: Cole Hearted.[9]
In June 2020, Cole appeared on To Tell the Truth and won a Doris award.
Personal life
Cole has a son named Dylan.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Barbershop | Customer Dante | |
| 2004 | Barbershop 2: Back in Business | Customer Dante | |
| 2005 | The Evil One | Dejuan | |
| 2005 | A Get2Gether | Jesse | |
| 2016 | Barbershop: The Next Cut | Dante | |
| 2017 | The Female Brain | Steven | |
| 2019 | Holiday Rush | Marshall Stone | |
| 2020 | Friendsgiving | Dan | |
| TBA | Action #1 | Nick Cage | In post-production |
| TBA | HeadShop | Davis | In post-production |
| TBA | Welcome Matt | Norman | In post-production |
Television
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pimps Up, Ho's Down | Himself | |
| 2007 | Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz | The Negotiator Sketch | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007 | Nick Cannon Presents Wild 'N' Out | Himself | Episode: "Bruce Bruce" |
| 2010-2012 | Conan | Various | 35 episodes |
| 2011 | The League | Mugger | Episode: "The Light of Genesis" |
| 2013 | Deon Cole's Black Box | Himself (host) | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Benched | Diamond | Episode: "Diamond is a Girl's Worst Friend" |
| 2014–present | Black-ish | Charlie Telphy | Recurring role (seasons 1–3) Main role (season 4–present) |
| 2016–2018 | Angie Tribeca | Det. Daniel "DJ" Tanner | Main Role |
| 2017 | The Standups | himself | |
| 2017 | Face Value | himself | |
| 2018–present | Grown-ish | Charlie Telphy | Main role |
| 2018 | All About the Washingtons | Darnell Bell | Episode: "You Gots the Chills" |
| 2020 | Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts | Dave | Main role |
References
- Kyles, Kyra (November 12, 2009). "Comic Heroes: Chicago comics breaking into the spotlight on their own terms". Chicago Tribune. p. 30.
- Socci, Blair (June 13, 2013). "Talking to Deon Cole About Standup, 'Conan,' and His New TBS Show 'Black Box' Archived July 12, 2017, at the Wayback Machine". Split Sider. The Awl. retrieved July 4, 2017.
- "How much longer can Conan stay at NBC?" Winnipeg Free Press (Winnipeg, Manitoba). January 14, 2010. p. D2.
- Craft, Dan (September 4, 2014). "Cole mining: Deon digs for comedy's mother lode". TCA Regional News. (Chicago).
- Brown, K Williams (April 13, 2010). "One woman's tale of Conan O'Brien's comedy tour kick-off". Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon).
- "Comic Aide for Haiti". Los Angeles Sentinel. February 25, 2010. p. B7.
- Ho, Rodney (May 16, 2013). "TBS/TNT to stream shows for subscribers". McClatchy-Tribune.
- "Deon Cole comes home for 'Black Code' comedy". Chicago Tribune. November 22, 2013. p. 3.
- https://www.netflix.com/title/80995737
- COLE, DEON (September 15, 2015). "Happy birthday 2 the love of my life! My son Dylan! Thanks 4 putting up w/ me and my work! Its all 4 u! Love u 4ever!pic.twitter.com/Bj0RDplFIc". @deoncole. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
