J. B. Smoove

Jerry Angelo Brooks[1][2] (born December 16, 1965),[1] known as J. B. Smoove, is an American actor, writer, comedian, and voice actor. After beginning his career in 1995 on Def Comedy Jam, he was a writer and performer on NBC's Saturday Night Live (2003–05), and is best known for his recurring roles on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2007–present) and the CBS sitcom The Millers (2013–15). He also portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on the BET improv-comedy reality television parody Real Husbands of Hollywood (2013–16).[3]

J. B. Smoove
Smoove in April 2014
Born	Jerry Angelo Brooks (1965-12-16) December 16, 1965 Plymouth, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian, voice actor
Years active	1995–present
Spouse(s)	Shahidah Omar ( m. 2007)
Children	1

Early life

Smoove was born in Plymouth, North Carolina, to parents Floyd and Elizabeth Brooks.[4] From the time he was three years old, he grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.[2][5][6] He spent a significant amount of time with his extended maternal family in the Plymouth area, which he has said inspired much of his comedy. In Mount Vernon, he grew up in the Levister Towers housing projects with his two younger brothers. Smoove's father died from diabetes when he was 15 years old.[4]

In 1983, Smoove graduated from Mount Vernon High School.[7] He attended Norfolk State University in Virginia, studying engineering and graphic design.[3]

Smoove worked as a perfume formulator and sold fire extinguishers door-to-door.[8]

Career

Smoove in 2012

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).[9] He was on Saturday Night Live for three years.[2]

Smoove has been a regular cast member on the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm since its sixth season in 2007, playing Leon Black. Smoove got the role of Leon on Curb Your Enthusiasm after his stint on SNL.[10] Although he was at that time based on the East Coast, he was in Los Angeles for his friend, music producer Oji Pierce's funeral, so was able to audition for Curb Your Enthusiasm.[11] Smoove wrote a book as his Curb Your Enthusiasm character, Leon, which was released on October 10, 2017.[12]

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. He 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".

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 plays one of the "Replacers" for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. He is in the show Real Husbands of Hollywood, where he plays a fictionalized version of himself.[3]

Smoove hosts a talk show on the MSG Network called Four Courses With JB Smoove.[5] He provides the voice of Dr. Ray De 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, he 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.[13]

In July 2016, Smoove appeared on comedian Jerry Seinfeld's web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.[6][14]

In 2017, Smoove played Santa in Sia's music video, "Santa's Coming for Us".[15]

In 2019, Smoove attended the final dinner service of Hell’s Kitchen's eighteenth season Hell's Kitchen: Rookies vs. Veterans as a chef’s table guest in the blue kitchen that was run by runner-up Mia Castro. He appeared as a guest judge on the first season of the FOX reality singing competition The Masked Singer.[16] He also voiced Frank in the Harley Quinn show during 2019.

In 2020, Smoove will star in Mapleworth Murders opposite Paula Pell and John Lutz for Quibi.[17]

Volunteering

Smoove serves on the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon. On November 7, 2017, he emceed the Boys and Girls Clubs Future Leaders Gala at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.[18]

Personal life

In 2007, Smoove married singer Shahidah Omar.[18] They have one daughter and live in Los Angeles.[4] He shortened his name, Jerry Brooks, to "J. B." and added "Smoove" as his last name when he began performing stand-up comedy. He is a fan of the New York Knicks,[19] New York Yankees and the New York Jets.[20]

In 2019, Smoove played for the "Home" roster during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The roster was made up of celebrities with Carolina roots.[21]

He is a vegan.[22]

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
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
2013	Clear History	Jaspar
2014	Search Party	Berk
2014	Top Five	Silk
2015	Hell and Back	Sal the Demon	Voice
2016	Barbershop: The Next Cut	One-Stop
2016	Almost Christmas	Lonnie
2017	The Polka King	Ron Edwards
2018	Uncle Drew	Angelo
2019	Spider-Man: Far From Home	Julius Dell
2019	The Jesus Rolls	The Mechanic
TBA	On the Count of Three		Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Def Comedy Jam	Himself	Also writer
1998	Law & Order	Levon	Episode: "Bait"
2002–2003	Cedric the Entertainer Presents	Various	Main role
2003	Ed	Alvin	Episode: "Second Chances"
2003–2005	Saturday Night Live	Various	Also writer
2004–2013	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Himself	Recurring role
2005	Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama		Documentary
2007–2008	Everybody Hates Chris	Manny	Recurring role
2007–2011	Comics Unleashed	Himself	3 episodes
2007–present	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Leon Black	Recurring role (seasons 6–8) Main (since season 9)
2008	Carpoolers	Parking Attendant	Episode: "Wheel of Fortune"
2008	The Gong Show with Dave Attell	Himself	4 episodes
2008	Talkshow with Spike Feresten		Episode: "J. B. Smoove"
2008–2010	'Til Death	Kenny Westchester	Main role
2008–2013	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno	Himself	Recurring role
2009	The Wanda Sykes Show		1 episode
2009	Castle	Norman Jessup	Episode: "Love Me Dead"
2009–2012	American Dad!	Airport Security Guard, Tracey Bryant (voices)	Recurring role
2010	America's Next Top Model	Himself	Episode: "America's Next Top Vampire"
2010	Glenn Martin DDS	Curtis, Uncle Dexter (voices)	Episode: "Step Brother"
2010	The Bonnie Hunt Show	Himself	1 episode
2010	Late Night with Jimmy Fallon		1 episode
2010	Lopez Tonight		1 episode
2011	The Marriage Ref		Episode: "Rachael Ray, Larry Miller, J. B. Smoove"
2011	The Simpsons	DJ Kwanzaa (voice)	Episode: "Angry Dad: The Movie"
2011	In the Flow with Affion Crockett	iDaddy	Episode: "Put the Kids to Bed"
2011–2013	Funny as Hell	N/A	Writer 2 episodes
2011–2017	Conan	Himself	Recurring role
2012	JB Smoove: That's How I Dooz It		Documentary
2012–2014	Last Call with Carson Daly		2 episodes
2012	Watch What Happens: Live		Episode: "J. B. Smoove and Shannon Elizabeth"
2012	Black Dynamite	That Frog Kurtis, That Bastard Kurtis (voices)	2 episodes
2012	Bent	Clem	Main role
2012	Louie	Gravedigger #2	Episode: "Barney/Never"
2012	Robot Chicken	Bosco "B.A." Baracus, Satan (voices)	Episode: "Crushed by a Steamroller on My 53rd Birthday"
2012	The League	DeRon	Episode: "The Vapora Sport"
2012–2013	The Burn with Jeff Ross	Himself	2 episodes
2012–2015	The Wendy Williams Show		4 episodes
2013	Four Courses with JB Smoove	Himself (host)
2013	Kroll Show	Basketball Player	Episode: "Dine & Dash"
2013	Chicago Fire	Sergeant Pruit	Episode: "Let Her Go"
2013	The Arsenio Hall Show	Himself	2 episodes
2013	The Talk		Episode: "The Cast of "The Millers"/Sunny Anderson"
2013	Katie		Episode: "Exclusives with Real Husbands of Hollywood/Nelly Performs"
2013–2015	The Millers	Ray	Main role
2013–2016	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Himself	Main role
2014	Chicago P.D.	Sergeant Pruit	Episode: "Stepping Stone"
2014	Last Comic Standing	Himself (host)	Main role
2014–2016	Talking Dead	Himself	2 episodes
2014–2017	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Anton Zeck / Bebop (voice)	Main role
2015	The Soul Man	Terrell	Episode: "Oh Snow You Didn't"
2015–2016	Fresh Off the Boat	Barry	2 episodes
2016	Epic Rap Battles of History	Frederick Douglass	Episode: "Frederick Douglass vs Thomas Jefferson"
2016	Match Game	Himself	2 episodes
2016	Transparent	Porter	Episode: "Elizah"
2016–2017	Life in Pieces	Darryl	2 episodes
2016	Chopped Junior	Himself	Episode: "Dinner Is Served"
2018	Desus & Mero		1 episode
2018	New Girl	Van Bishop	Episode: "Godparents"
2018–2019	3Below: Tales of Arcadia	Phil (voice)	10 episodes
2019	Hell's Kitchen	Himself	Episode: "The Grand Finale"
2019	The Masked Singer		Episode: "All Together Now"
2019–present	Harley Quinn	Frank the Plant (voice)
2020	The Last O.G.	Carl	4 episodes
2020	Mapleworth Murders		Upcoming series

Video games

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

References

1. "Jerry Angelo Brooks North Carolina Birth Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
2. Itzkoff, Dave (27 January 2008). "JB Smoove – Curb Your Enthusiasm – Television". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
3. Maron, Marc (9 July 2012). "Episode 295 – JB Smoove". WTF with Marc Maron. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
4. Myers, Marc (2 June 2015). "JB Smoove's Childhood Moves". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
5. Kramer, Peter D. (23 February 2015). "JB Smoove on Mt. Vernon, high school and more". The Journal News. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
6. Seinfeld, Jerry; Smoove, JB (7 July 2016). "JB Smoove: "Everybody Respects A Bloody Nose"". Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Season 8. Episode 4. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
7. Malone, Michael (January 2014). "Talking With Curb Your Enthusiasm's JB Smoove". Westchester Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
8. "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee S08 E04 J B Smoove Everybody Respects a bl.oody Nose - Dailymotion Video". Dailymotion. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
9. "Previous Nominees & Winners: 2007 Award Winners". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
10. Nesbitt, Andy (30 January 2014). "JB Smoove dishes on how he got his role on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' Richard Sherman's passion, and his Super Bowl prediction". Fox Sports. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
11. Miller, Gerri (28 February 2011). "Q&A: Comedian and Actor JB Smoove". BET. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
12. Leon Black; JB Smoove; Iris Bahr (10 October 2017). The Book of Leon: Philosophy of a Fool. Gallery Books. ISBN 978-1-5011-8072-9.
13. Bibel, Sara (20 March 2014). "'Last Comic Standing' Season 8 to Premiere Thursday, May 22 on NBC With Judges Roseanne Barr, Keenen Ivory Wayans & Russell Peters". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Retrieved 20 March 2014.
14. Dry, Jude (16 June 2016). "Why JB Smoove Thinks Larry David Is A 'Different Animal' Than Jerry Seinfeld". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
15. Reed, Ryan (22 November 2017). "Watch Sia's 'Santa's Coming for Us' Video With Kristen Bell, J.B. Smoove". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
16. Frank, Priscilla (2019-02-20). "How 'The Masked Singer' Became 2019's Must-See 'Car Crash TV'". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
17. Porter, Rick (December 3, 2019). "Lorne Michaels' Quibi Murder Mystery Lines Up All-Star Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
18. "JB Smoove". Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
19. "JB Smoove Explains the Perfect Shoes to Rock When Cheating & More While Sneaker Shopping". highsnobiety.com.
20. "Comedian JB Smoove Talks HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm & More in Studio". The Rich Eisen Show. 8 November 2017.
21. release, Official. "ESPN and NBA announce celebrity rosters and coaches for 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles exclusively on ESPN". NBA.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
22. of GQ, The Editors. "How to Find Your Best Diet". GQ. Retrieved 2020-01-15.

External links

• Official website
• J. B. Smoove on IMDb