LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dick Gregory, who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84.
Gregory’s son, Christian, told The Associated Press his father died late Saturday in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for about a week. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection.
Gregory was one of the first black comedians to find mainstream success with white audiences in the early 1960s. He rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to become a celebrated satirist who deftly commented upon racial divisions at the dawn of the civil rights movement.
He also ran for president in 1968 as the Peace and Freedom party candidate.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
- BAY AREA MAN KILLED IN BARCELONA TERROR ATTACK
- OAKLAND FIREFIGHTER KILLED IN SAN JOSE SHOOTING
- MAN WHO LOST SOME EYESIGHT FROM PAST ECLIPSE HAS A WARNING
- POLICE STANDOFF PROMPTS LOCKDOWN AT SAN JOSE SCHOOL
- VIDEO: 10-YEAR-OLD BOY DELIVERS BABY BROTHER
- TEEN WAS DRIVING 107 MPH WHEN SHE CRASHED, KILLING TWO