Bruce Bruce
American comedian and actor (born c. 1961, as Bruce Church)
title: "Bruce Bruce" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "african-american-male-actors", "african-american-stand-up-comedians", "american-male-film-actors", "american-stand-up-comedians", "american-male-television-actors", "20th-century-american-comedians", "21st-century-american-comedians", "1965-births", "20th-century-african-american-people", "21st-century-african-american-people", "african-american-male-comedians", "american-male-comedians", "comedians-from-atlanta"] description: "American comedian and actor (born c. 1961, as Bruce Church)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Bruce" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American comedian and actor (born c. 1961, as Bruce Church) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox comedian"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| birth_name | Bruce Church |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Atlanta, Georgia |
| occupation | |
| medium | |
| active | 1980s–present |
| website | |
| :: |
|image = |imagesize = |caption = |pseudonym = |birth_name = Bruce Church |birth_date = |birth_place = Atlanta, Georgia |occupation = |medium = |active = 1980s–present |website = Bruce Church (born ), better known by his stage name Bruce Bruce, is an American comedian and actor.
He hosted BETs ComicView from 2000 to 2002 and has appeared in such films as The Wash (2001), XXX: State of the Union (2005), Idlewild (2006) and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006). In 2005 he became the spokesperson for Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits.
Early life
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Bruce was the only child of a divorced mother. He grew up in "The Bluff" neighborhood of northwest Atlanta, an area that has a history of crime and poverty.
Bruce was funny from a young age and was a class clown. As a child he was inspired by comedians such as Flip Wilson and Jackie Gleason, and was later influenced by Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx and Milton Berle.
He worked as a barbecue chef, then as a sales person for Frito-Lay, where he was asked to perform comedy during corporate meetings. He took his routine to the Comedy Act Theater in Atlanta before moving to Los Angeles in 1989.
Career
Bruce made his first appearance on HBOs Def Comedy Jam in 1993, which he refers to as his "first big break". He made his Showtime at the Apollo debut the following year.
In the 2001 he appeared in the comedy film The Wash in the role of DeWayne, a good-natured security guard.
He hosted episodes of BETs ComicView between 2000 and 2002 and Coming to the Stage in 2004. Bruce was featured in an episode of Comedy Central Presents in 2003 and released his one-hour comedy special Bruce Bruce Live that same year. He released his one-hour special Losin' It in 2011.
Bruce appeared in the video for the Quad City DJ's 1996 single "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)". Bruce also played Golf Ball Eddie, a quick-talking bookie, in Who's Your Caddy? starring Big Boi.
Bruce's tends to avoid topical subjects in his stand-up act, preferring observational topics from everyday life.
Bruce is notable for his size. He is 6 feet tall and in 2012 he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "I was almost 500 lbs at one point. I'm now down to about 350." He is also known for wearing brightly-colored suits, some of which he designed himself.
Personal life
Bruce was married for 10 years. He and his wife divorced in 1989. He has one daughter and two sons.
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Atlanta, and collects Buick muscle cars.
He published his autobiography Baby James Brown in 2005.
Filmography
- Dollar (2000)
- The Wash (2001)
- *The Sunday Morning Stripper * (2003)
- Hair Show (2004)
- XXX: State of the Union (2005)
- Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006)
- Idlewild (2006)
- Cloud 9 (2006)
- Who's Your Caddy? (2007)
- Think Like a Man (2012)
- Top Five (2014)
- Maron (2015) - Himself (1 episode)
- BET's ComicView
- The Trap (2019)
- Undercover Brother 2 (2019)
References
References
- Condran, Ed. (February 28, 2003). "A split decision in a split second". [[The Record (North Jersey).
- Harris, Chandra. (February 27, 2004). "Heavyweight of hilarity". [[Knoxville News Sentinel]].
- (December 30, 2011). "Bruce Bruce and Friends". [[Chattanooga Times Free Press]].
- (September 22, 2005). "Bruce Bruce book has everyone calling him 'Baby James Brown'". [[Call & Post]].
- Moran, Clarice. (January 18, 2002). "Funny funny". [[The News & Observer]].
- Ho, Rodney. (March 16, 2012). "Two comics big on laughs". [[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]].
- Thrasher, Don. (January 17, 2014). "Bruce Bruce, Earthquake on comedy bill at Schuster Center". [[Dayton Daily News]].
- Blount, Mike. (August 26, 2010). "Bruce Bruce dishes on comedy". [[Hattiesburg American]].
- Ghianni, Tim. (January 13, 2005). "Two times the fun". [[The Tennessean]].
- Cheshier, Tajuana. (November 5, 2004). "Bruce Bruce brings wit to Oman". [[The Jackson Sun]].
- Waterhouse, Jon. (September 2, 2004). "Onstage: Bruce Bruce serious about being funny". [[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]].
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