Deon Cole

A stand-up comic, writer, actor and producer, Deon Cole's most high-profile role was as a writer and on-screen performer on both "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" (NBC 2009-10) and its follow-up "Conan" (TBS 2010- ). As a comedy performer he appeared on numerous stand-up showcases and in films and TV shows including the Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer-starring comedy films "Barbershop" (2002) and "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" (2004), as well as the football-based situation comedy "The League" (FX 2009-15).

Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Cole first tried out stand-up at the age of 21 when a friend bet him fifty dollars that he wouldn't be able to get up on stage and do a spot at an open mic night. The attempt succeeded and he would go on to perform at many Chicago comedy clubs before becoming a national touring act. Earning increasingly regular television spots, he appeared on "Nick Cannon Presents: Wild'n Out" (MTV 2002-07, 2013- ), "Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Standup" (Starz 2005-10), the revived "Def Comedy Jam" (HBO 2006-08) and a half-hour Comedy Central special in 2007.

A 2009 stand-up appearance on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" led to an invite to join the show's writing team that year, and like many of Conan's writers, Cole also became a regular performer in the show's comedy bits. When O'Brien left "The Tonight Show," Cole made the transition to "Conan," where he took an even more prominent on-camera role. This led to Cole's own comedy show, the viral video clip show "Deon Cole's Black Box" (TBS 2013).