The Fortunes Of America’s Top Black Comedians

Great black comedians are among the most astute business people in the nation. They have amassed some of the largest fortunes in entertainment, and have done so for more than a century.  Their secret: wise brand management. Like many successful CEOs, they know just how to broaden their base, widen their appeal, and extend their “product line” to become hot commodities in an otherwise cold market.

“A-list comics … are the commodity that people are buying into,” said Dionna Griffin-Irons, director of outreach and diversity for The Second City, the legendary improvisational comedy company that served as a training ground for Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and many “Saturday Night Live” cast members. “You want that revenue success — sold-out houses. What you see comics doing is recognizing that their name is a brand. It brings people to the audiences. It fills seats, and so that brand translates into other areas — film, TV, CDs.”

Continued at The Atlanta Post