Keith Robinson
A brutal club legend who never learned how to pander.
4 specials · 1999–2024
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Keith Robinson does not ask for sympathy. He will look at the audience, let the silence stretch until it gets uncomfortable, and then insult the people sitting in the front row. Before he suffered two strokes, he was a loud, pacing comic who physically commanded the room. Now, he performs seated, and his altered speech requires the crowd to lean in and listen closely. But the rhythm underneath the words remains exactly the same. He still builds arguments out of hostility, dismantling a premise piece by piece until the room is laughing at its own expense.
Specials
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A veteran New York comic jokes about surviving two major strokes.
Netflix · 53 min
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An abrasive hour of stand-up from Kevin Hart's comedy mentor.
Comedy Central · 67 min
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A combative half-hour of stand-up and unsolicited street fighting advice.
Comedy Central · 21 min
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Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala 1999 with Rove McManus, Jeff Green & 20 more
A massive showcase of late-nineties comedians doing four minutes each.
Network Ten
On stage
He occupies a specific place in the New York scene: the comic that other comedians fear and study. For decades, he anchored the comedians’ table at the Comedy Cellar, roasting his peers between sets. A massive contingent of arena-level acts point to him as a direct mentor. He taught younger standups how to be mean without being lazy.
His jokes rely on a complete refusal to adopt modern manners. He complains about people having too much confidence, mocks men who try to be gentle fathers, and treats romantic love as a scam. He applies that same lack of sentimentality to his physical limitations. When discussing his strokes, he mocks his hospital recovery and the friends who visited him with the exact same venom he uses on a heckler.
He grew up in South Philadelphia, cutting his teeth in local rooms before bringing his combative style to Manhattan.
Turning points
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2014–2015
Kevin Hart Produces Mentorship Special
Kevin Hart presented and produced Robinson's debut one-hour comedy special Back of the Bus Funny as a tribute to the man who mentored him in stand-up.
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2020–2024
Return to Comedy Following Two Strokes
After suffering two strokes and an extended hospital stay during COVID, Robinson returned to the stage to create his Netflix special Different Strokes.
At a glance
- On stage
- since 1985
- Style
- observational, satire, dark comedy
- Breakout
- Kevin Hart Presents: Back of the Bus Funny
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Kevin HartRobinson served as an early stand-up mentor to Hart, who later produced and presented Robinson's special Back of the Bus Funny.
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Colin Quinn
Both share an unapologetic, candid East Coast comedic style and regularly shared the stage on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn.
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Big Jay OakersonOakerson was mentored by Robinson in stand-up comedy and shares his unfiltered, hard-hitting East Coast comedic roots.
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Wanda SykesRobinson served as the regular on-air co-host alongside Sykes on Fox's The Wanda Sykes Show.
Also on screen
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- The Wanda Sykes Show
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- Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
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- Trainwreck
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- King of Staten Island
A clip to start with
A clip of Keith Robinson