The so-called “King of the Party Record,” Redd Foxx got his start as a comic telling some of the most outrageous, X-rated jokes audiences had ever heard, going on to sell an estimated 20 million records.

Known to millions as “Dolemite”—the provocative tough-talking hustler he played in his most popular films and albums—Rudy Ray Moore built a loyal and lasting following, especially among a later generation of hip-hop artists, who dubbed him “The Godfather of Rap.”

Fusing comedy and activism, Dick Gregory was one of the most forcefully political comics of his generation.