J. B. Smoove

J. B. Smoove
File:JB Smoove 2014 NBC Universal Summer Press Day (cropped).jpg Smoove in April 2014
Born	Jerry Angelo Brooks (1965-12-16) December 16, 1965 Plymouth, North Carolina, United States
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian, voice actor
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Shahidah Omar (m. 2007)
Children	1

Jerry Angelo Brooks (born December 16, 1965), better known as J. B. Smoove, is an American actor, writer, comedian, and voice actor. He began his career on Def Comedy Jam in the early 1990s. He is best known for his recurring role as Leon on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Smoove joined the Season 2 cast of the Fox sitcom 'Til Death in 2008, and was promoted to the main cast for Season 3. He also starred on the CBS sitcom The Millers from 2013–2015. He currently portrays a fictionalized version of himself on the BET improv-comedy reality television parody Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Early life

Smoove was born December 16, 1965 in Plymouth, North Carolina, and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He attended Norfolk State University in Virginia. He shortened his name, Jerry Brooks, to "J.B." and added "Smoove" as his last name when he began performing stand-up comedy. J.B. Smoove worked at a custom T-shirt shop (Mrs G's T's) where he printed T-shirts and model trains while developing material for his comedy routine.

Career

Smoove has had recurring roles on Everybody Hates Chris and Saturday Night Live. On SNL, he worked as a writer (and had bit roles in sketches, including playing Jimmy "JJ" Walker in a parody of the 1970s sitcom Good Times) and was a recipient of the 2007 Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy/Variety Series (Including Talk).

Smoove's film credits include With or Without You, Pootie Tang, Mr. Deeds, Date Night, Hall Pass, The Sitter, We Bought a Zoo, The Dictator, A Haunted House, and Clear History.

He had a major role for seasons two and three on the Fox network sitcom 'Til Death with Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher. In June 2008, he taped several episodes of The Gong Show with Dave Attell as one of the celebrity judges. Smoove was also a cast member on the short-lived sketch comedy program Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Smoove hosted the standup comedy series Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at The El Rey on Comedy Central in July 2010 and also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons titled Angry Dad: The Movie in February 2011. Also in 2011, he starred in the American Dad! episode "The Worst Stan" and appeared in an episode of Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil called "Dude, Where's My Wade." Smoove has been a regular cast member on the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm since its sixth season in 2007, playing Leon Black.

In 2012, his first televised comedy special, JB Smoove: That's How I Dooz It, premiered on Comedy Central. The DVD of the special was released April 3, 2012. In 2013, Smoove voiced Hackus in The Smurfs 2. Smoove appeared in Movie 43 in the segment "The Proposition" alongside Anna Faris and Chris Pratt. He was the substitute co-host of the New York City morning talk show Good Day New York with Rosanna Scotto on April 9, 2012. He had a cameo as a grave digger in the episode of Louie entitled "Barney/Never". He also played a supporting role in Season 4, Episode 7 "The Vapora Sport" in the American sitcom The League on FX. He plays "Wheelchair Guy", with whom the main characters have recurring comedic run-ins. He also plays one of the "Replacers" for Call Of Duty: Black Ops II. He's also in the show Real Husbands of Hollywood. He hosts a talk show on the MSG Network called "Four Courses With J.B. Smoove". He provides the voice of Dr. Ray D'Angelo Harris, host of the Chakra Attack radio show in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Smoove appeared in the 2013 film Dealin' with Idiots as "Coach Ted." In 2013, Smoove became a regular cast member of the CBS comedy The Millers, playing the character "Ray".

In the summer of 2014, Smoove hosted the eighth season of the NBC reality series Last Comic Standing.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Lesser Prophets	Chucky
1998	Tomorrow Night	Mel the Mailman
2001	Pootie Tang	Trucky
2002	Mr. Deeds	Reuben
2003	With or Without You	Darnell
2003	The Watermelon Heist	Numbers
2004	Gas	Ignatius
2009	Frankenhood	Leon
2010	Hurricane Season	Team Bus Driver
2010	Date Night	Cabbie
2011	Hall Pass	Flats	Supporting Role
2011	We Bought a Zoo	Mr. Stevens
2011	The Sitter	Julio
2012	Think Like a Man	Bartender
2012	The Dictator	Funeral Usher
2013	Movie 43	Larry	Segment "The Proposition"
2013	A Haunted House	Kisha's Dad
2013	Dealin' with Idiots	Coach Ted
2013	The Smurfs 2	Hackus	Voice only
2013	Clear History	Jaspar
2014	Search Party	Berk
2014	Top Five	Silk
2015	Hell and Back	Sal the Demon	Voice only
2016	Barbershop: The Next Cut	One-Stop

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993–2003	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Various
1995	Def Comedy Jam	Himself	Writer
1998	Law & Order	Levon	Episode: "Bait"
2002–2003	Cedric the Entertainer Presents	Various	17 episodes
2003	Ed	Alvin	Episode: "Second Chances"
2003–2005	Saturday Night Live	Various	Writer
2004–2013	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Himself
2005	Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama	Himself
2007–present	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Leon Black	16 episodes
2007–2008	Everybody Hates Chris	Manny	9 episodes
2007–2011	Comics Unleashed	Himself	4 episodes
2008–2010	'Til Death	Kenny Westchester	26 episodes
2008–2013	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno	Himself
2008	Carpoolers	Parking Attendant	Episode: "Wheel of Fortune"
2008	The Gong Show with Dave Attell	Himself	4 episodes
2008	Talkshow with Spike Feresten	Himself
2009	The Wanda Sykes Show	Himself
2009	Castle	Norman Jessup	Episode: "Love Me Dead"
2009–2011	American Dad!	Airport Security Guard / Tracey Bryant	4 episodes
2010	America's Next Top Model	Himself	Episode: "America's Next Top Vampire"
2010	Glenn Martin DDS	Curtis / Uncle Dexter	Episode: "Step Brother"
2010	The Bonnie Hunt Show	Himself
2010	Late Night with Jimmy Fallon	Himself
2010	Lopez Tonight	Himself
2011	The Marriage Ref	Himself
2011	The Simpsons	DJ Kwanzaa	Episode: "Angry Dad: The Movie"
2011	In the Flow with Affion Crockett	iDaddy	Episode: "Put the Kids to Bed"
2011–2013	Conan	Himself
2011–2013	Funny as Hell		Writer, 2 episodes
2012	J.B. Smoove: That's How I Dooz It	Himself
2012	Last Call with Carson Daly	Himself
2012	Watch What Happens: Live	Himself
2012–2013	The Burn with Jeff Ross	Himself
2012	Black Dynamite	That Frog Kurtis	Episode: "Just Beat It or Jackson Five Across Yo' Eyes"
2012	Bent	Clem	6 episodes
2012	Louie	Gravedigger #2	Episode: "Barney/Never"
2012	Robot Chicken	Bosco 'B.A.' Baracus / Satan	Episode: "Crushed by a Steamroller on My 53rd Birthday"
2012	The League	DeRon	Episode: "The Vapora Sport"
2012–2014	The Wendy Williams Show	Himself
2013–present	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Himself	18 episodes
2013	Four Courses with J.B. Smoove	Himself
2013	Kroll Show	Basketball Player	Episode: "Dine & Dash"
2013	Chicago Fire	Sergeant Pruit	Episode: "Let Her Go"
2013	The Arsenio Hall Show	Himself
2013	The Talk	Himself
2013	Katie	Himself
2013–2014	The Millers	Ray	Main cast
2014	Chicago P.D.	Sergeant Pruit	Episode: "Stepping Stone"
2014–2016	Talking Dead	Himself	2 episodes
2014	Last Comic Standing	Himself	Host
2014–present	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Anton Zeck/Bebop
2015	Uncle Drew	Angelo	Episode 4
2016	Life in Pieces	Darryl	S1 Episode19: "War Pestilience Famine Death"

Videogames

Year	Title	Role
2013	Grand Theft Auto V	Dr. Ray De Angelo Harris
2016	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Portal Power	Bebop

External links

• J. B. Smoove at the Internet Movie Database