TVSquad

Paul Mooney is well known to stand-up comedians for his own work and for writing for his longtime friend, Richard Pryor. Outside of that, though, his name recognition gets a little fuzzier. So for TV comedy fans, Mooney's new memoir, Black Is the New White, provides some great behind-the-scenes moments they should probably know.

There are a lot of heartfelt stories about Richard Pryor and Mooney's own personal life, but there is a lot of fun TV trivia, as well. Mooney talks about getting forced onstage by a couple of friends to do his first solo stand-up spot in the early 60s in San Francisco. Mooney is drunk and nervous, and winds up doing the act of a comic named Ronnie Schell, who would later co-star with Jim Nabors on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Mooney admits whenever he catches the show in reruns, he feels a little guilty.

More Michael Richards fall-out. Esteemed comedian and writer Paul Mooney has called for an end to the use of the "N word." This is big deal because Mooney is an entertainment legend known for his own liberal use of the word. He wrote for Sanford & Son, Saturday Night Live, Good Times and In Living Color. He was Richard Pryor's writing partner and has worked closely with Spike Lee and Dave Chappelle. He appears in the "Negrodamus" and "Ask a Black Man" sketches on The Chappelle Show. Seriously, the guy is huge. If you ever have a chance to catch his stand-up act in the clubs, you should. The man has seen it all.