Roy Norris Wood Jr. (born December 11, 1978) is an American humorist, comedian, radio personality, actor, producer, podcaster, and writer.[2] He has served as a correspondent for The Daily Show on Comedy Central since 2015.[3]

Roy Wood Jr.
Wood performing at The Stand in December 2016
Born	Roy Norris Wood, Jr.[1] (1978-12-11) December 11, 1978 (age 43) New York City, New York, U.S.[1]
Nationality	American
Education	Florida A&M University
Occupation	Humorist Comedian Actor Radio personality
Years active	1998–present
Children	1
Parent	Roy Wood Sr. (father)
Website	roywoodjr.com

Early life and education

Wood was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York. His father, Roy Wood Sr., was a Birmingham, Alabama radio broadcasting and journalism pioneer who covered the civil rights movement; the racism encountered by African-American soldiers in the Vietnam War; the Soweto uprising; and the Rhodesian Bush War, among other topics.[4] His mother is Joyce Dugan Wood, a college administrator.[5] His paternal three times great-grandfather, Sam Wood, was born c. 1790 in Africa.[1] His parents separated for a time, and Wood lived with his mother in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] When Wood was in the second grade, his parents reconciled, so the family moved to Birmingham;[2] they lived on South Park Road in Birmingham's West End neighborhood.[6] His half-brother is Roy L. Wood, a news anchor.[5]

Wood attended Central Park Elementary and Center Street Middle School.[5] He graduated from Ramsay High School in 1996.[7] In 2001, Wood received a B.S. in broadcast journalism from Florida A&M University.[8]

Career

While in college, Wood worked as a morning news reporter for Birmingham, Alabama radio station WBHJ 95.7 Jamz Hot 105.7. He began focusing on a career in comedy after filling in for the station's in-house comedian, Rickey Smiley.[5][9]

In 1998, when he was 19, Wood began his career as a standup.[10] Wood recalls that he passed on his midterm tests, essentially failing the semester, in order to open for Tommy Davidson.[11] Wood spent his last two years of college doing dishes on the weekends.[12]

In 2001, after graduating from college, Wood returned to Birmingham and became the head writer/producer for the Buckwilde Morning Show (WBHJ 95.7 JAMZ), a position he held until 2006.[5] He continued working in radio, providing prank calls and content to various morning shows nationally and contributing to Jamie Foxx's Foxxhole station on Sirius XM Radio.[5] Wood released three prank call CDs: My Momma Made Me Wear This (2003), Confessions of a Bench Warmer (2005), and I'll Slap You to Sleep (2007).[9] Wood's pranks have been featured on numerous hip-hop mix tapes.

In 2007, Wood moved to Los Angeles.[5]

In 2010, Wood finished third in the seventh season of NBC's Last Comic Standing[13] and began hosting his own morning show, The Roy Wood Jr Show. The show garnered top ratings and won 'Large Market Morning Show of the Year' from the Alabama Broadcasters Association for several years.

From 2011 to 2014, Wood appeared on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son.[14] He had a guest starring role in the first season, but was then promoted to series regular for the second and third seasons. Sullivan & Son was canceled in 2014.

In 2013, Wood's first stand-up comedy CD, Things I Think, I Think, was released.

In 2015, he was cast by ABC to play alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the comedy pilot Delores and Jermaine; the show did not make it beyond the pilot stage.[15]

In 2015, Wood joined The Daily Show as a correspondent.[10] Wood moved to New York City to take the job.[12] Wood has said that his background in standup coupled with his degree in journalism prepared him for the job.[16] Wood said that his work doing guest roles in sports on ESPN and related companies prepared him for The Daily Show, giving him experience with acting, timing, and building characters.[2][4]

His first Comedy Central stand-up special, Father Figure, premiered in 2017, with an extended uncensored album of the same name released by Comedy Central Records. In 2017, he was named the new host of Comedy Central's storytelling series This Is Not Happening. Wood's second Comedy Central special, Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You, premiered in 2019.

Wood has appeared as a comic on many late night talk shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Lately, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Conan. Wood has performed for the troops on numerous USO tours in the Middle East and the Pacific Islands.[17]

In 2018, it was announced that Wood planned on shooting a TV show in Jefferson County, Alabama.[18] The pilot, called Jefferson County Probation, started shooting in May 2019.[19] As of March 2020, a completed pilot for the show, now called Jefferson County: Probation, was shot for Comedy Central, with the show in development.[20] The show, created in collaboration with Aaron McGruder (The Boondocks), is about two probation officers in Jefferson County, Alabama. It is loosely inspired by a 1998 experience Wood had as a 19-year-old college student, when he was arrested for stealing $400 to $500 worth of blue jeans and was sentenced to probation.[4]

In 2019, Wood did a series of YouTube videos centered on the Popeye's Chicken chicken sandwich craze called The Coalition (Chicken Sandwich Coalition).[4][21]

In 2021, he was a guest on the PBS series Finding Your Roots, where he described how he unexpectedly got probation at 19 for using credit cards he stole while a mail sorter for the US Postal Service to buy fashion jeans, and where it was revealed that he was a distant cousin of Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.[22]

Honors

• 2008: Entertainment Weekly, 12 Rising Stars of Comedy[23]
• 2010: Florida A&M University, Young Alumni Awards: A 40/40 Celebration[24]

Selected publications

• Wood Jr., Roy (19 September 2018). "For Roy Wood Jr., Alabama Is Painful History, New Hope and Home". The New York Times.
• Wood Jr, Roy (9 February 2020). "Opinion: I was furious when we moved to Birmingham". Comeback Town, AL.com.
• Wood Jr, Roy (16 March 2020). "It's Time for Stand-ups to Prepare for the Worst". Vulture. New York Magazine.

Selected filmography

• 2001: Showtime at the Apollo TV series – self[25]
• 2012–2014: Sullivan & Son TV series – Roy (33 episodes)
• 2003: Star Search TV series – Comedian Semi Finalist
• 2005: Premium Blend TV series – self
• 2006: Bob & Tom: Standup Sitting Down TV movie – writer
• 2006: Bob & Tom: Standup Sitting Down – writer
• 2008: The Funny Spot TV series – writer
• 2008: Def Comedy Jam TV series – writer, self (1 episode)
• 2010: Last Comic Standing TV series – self (5 episodes); writer (4 episodes)
• 2015–present: The Daily Show TV series – self, correspondent, various characters
• 2015: Delores & Jermaine TV movie – Jerome Sr.
• 2017: Impractical Jokers: After Party TV series – self (1 episode)
• 2017: Let's Fix Sports TV series short – writer (1 episode: "Roy Wood Jr: Kill The Kiss Cam")
• 2018–2019: This is Not Happening TV series – host (20 episodes), writer (2 episodes)
• 2018: The Detour TV series – Kevin (1 episode)
• 2019: Roy Wood Jr.: Snitch Cop TV movie – Snitch Cop
• 2019: The Death of Dick Long – Dr. Richter
• 2019: Roy Wood Jr.: The Avenging Ones TV movie – Luke Rage, writer
• 2019–: Crank Yankers TV series – self
• 2019–2020: The Coalition (Chicken Sandwich Coalition) TV short videos – writer, creator, voice
• 2020: Better Call Saul TV series – Grant (1 episode “Something Unforgivable”)[26]
• 2020: The Last O.G. TV series – Runson (1 episode)
• 2020: Space Force TV series – Liaison Bert Mellows (2 episodes)[27]
• 2020: The Opening Act – Gary
• 2020: Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party TV series – self (1 episode)
• 2021: Only Murders in the Building TV series – Vaughn (1 episode)
• 2022: Confess, Fletch Movie - Detective Monroe
• BET's Comic View TV series – self
• SportsNation TV series – self
• TBD: Jefferson County: Probation – producer, writer[20]

Stand-up specials

Selected discography

• 2003: My Momma Made Me Wear This CD
• 2005: Confessions of a Bench Warmer CD
• 2007: I'll Slap You to Sleep CD
• 2013: Things I Think, I Think CD

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roy Wood Jr..

• Official website
• Roy Wood Jr. on Twitter
• Roy Wood Jr. at IMDb
• Roy Wood, Jr. at Comedy Central