Chris Tucker is Doing His First Ever Full-Length Stand-Up Comedy Special (News)

Long before he was one of the biggest box office draws on the planet, Chris Tucker was a stand-up comedian with gut-wrenching skills. Sharing the stage on Def Comedy Jam with other legends in the making like Dave Chappelle, Robin Harris and Bernie Mac, Tucker more than held his own.

Unlike his peers, including Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, Damon Wayans and the above-mentioned comedy kings, Tucker never had his own full-length comedy special…until now. Joining the ranks of Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and so many before him, Tucker will add this feather in the proverbial cap of a career that extends more than twenty years, courtesy of Netflix. According to Variety, the subscription VOD platform has inked a deal with Tucker to bring Chris Tucker Live to audiences on July 10, 2015. The special was taped at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

Tucker, who has been incredibly selective in his film choices over the years, starring in only four films since 1998, has been even more elusive on the stand-up stage. His most recent high profile gig came as host of the 2013 BET Awards, where he treated fans to a 5-minute opening monologue. In a release announcing the Netflix partnership, however, Tucker re-affirmed his love for the genre, stating “I’m thrilled to be partnering with Netflix, one of the true global leaders in entertainment, on my first comedy special. Before people started seeing me in movies, I was doing stand-up. It’s always been a part of me, and now I’m excited to share it with my fans around the world.”

Here’s a look back at one of Tucker’s earliest routines.

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