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→Early life
Black was born in Washington, D.C. to a middle-class Jewish family, and was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland graduating from Springbrook High School in 1966. He was exposed to playwriting as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was also a brother of Pi Lambda Phi International Fraternities and sororities. He earned a Masters in Fine Arts at the Yale School of Drama in 1977. Originally, his career was in the theater as a playwright. He served as the playwright in residence and associate artistic director of Steve Olsen's West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen in New York City, where he collaborated with composer and lyricist Rusty Magee on hundreds of one-act plays from 1981 to 1989. Also with Rusty Magee, Lewis wrote the musical ''The Czar Of Rock and Roll'', which premiered at Houston's Alley Theatre in 1990. Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays as he was also the Master of Ceremonies. After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian as well as finding bit parts in television and films.
Black was born in Washington, D.C. to a middle-class Jewish family, and was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland graduating from Springbrook High School in 1966. He was exposed to playwriting as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was also a brother of Pi Lambda Phi International Fraternities and sororities. He earned a Masters in Fine Arts at the Yale School of Drama in 1977. Originally, his career was in the theater as a playwright. He served as the playwright in residence and associate artistic director of Steve Olsen's West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen in New York City, where he collaborated with composer and lyricist Rusty Magee on hundreds of one-act plays from 1981 to 1989. Also with Rusty Magee, Lewis wrote the musical ''The Czar Of Rock and Roll'', which premiered at Houston's Alley Theatre in 1990. Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays as he was also the Master of Ceremonies. After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian as well as finding bit parts in television and films.
=Comedic style=
Lewis Black's style of comedy is that of a man who, in dealing with the absurdities of life and contemporary politics, is approaching his personal limits of sanity. Sarcasm, hyperbole, profanity, shouting, and trademark angry finger-shaking bring emphasis to his topics of discussion. He once described his humor as "being on the ''Titanic'' every single day and being the only person who knows what is going to happen."
Black lists his comedic influences as George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Bob Newhart, and Shelley Berman.<ref>[http://www.avclub.com/content/node/49217/1 Black's influences]</ref>
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians]]