When Malik S introduced Cedric the Entertainer, the crowd shot up on their feet in a welcoming standing ovation. Cedric hit the ground running got the audience roaring with laughter with his commentary about his trip coming into our Valley through the Windmill Farm. He said it unnerved him and they looked like the giant and ominous Transformer villains.

Another comedy riff had the audience laughing to the point of tears. He explained that there is a company trying to create a car that uses hemp as its fuel. Cedric explained that hemp is the plant from which “weed” comes. He then spoke to the problems with the hemp-fueled car. First of all it, drove very slowly and stopped for extended periods of time at intersections to just take in the view. Then there have been problems with the navigation system being confused and giving unclear and indecisive instructions ... even to the point of contradiction. The audience was in pain with laughter.

Cedric is a very expressive entertainer and talented singer; his body language speaks volumes. The audience fed with frenzy on his humor and he kept taking them higher into rolling laughter. No ethnic group was safe from his humor, and yet it was all very funny. The audience was laughing at situations and themselves too.

One very poignant skit was Cedric demonstrating why he would not be a good contestant on “Dancing With The Stars.” The sight gags were priceless and so far out it can’t even be described.

 Cedric Antonio Kyles was born in Jefferson City, Mo., on April 24, 1964. Cedric majored in mass communication at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He even worked as an insurance claims adjuster in his early years.

Cedric’s been seen in many big screen productions. He is best known for his roles in “Barbershop,” “Barbershop 2,” “Be Cool,” “Madagascar,” “Ice Age,” “Intolerable Cruelty” and “The Original Kings of Comedy." Cedric was star and producer of the box office hit "Johnson Family Vacation.” Cedric starred in the remake of “The Honeymooners” (in which he starred as Jackie Gleason’s famed character “Ralph Kramden” with thumbs up from Roger Ebert), “Lemony Snicket,” “Man Of The House,” “Big Momma’s House,” “Kingdom Come,” “Serving Sara,” as well as displaying tremendous vocal talent in “Dr. Dolittle 2.” Cedric will be starring in “The Cleaner,” “Mr. Lucky,” “Johnson Family Vacation 2,” “Flash,” “Preachin’ Ain’t Easy” and the animated feature “Charlotte’s Web.”

Cedric was the recipient of the AFTRA Award pf Excellence in Television Programming for his Fox Television series “Cedric The Entertainer Presents…” and in 1994, Cedric received The Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award from Black Entertainment Television for his ground-breaking work as host of “Def Comedy Jam” and BET’s “Comic View” (1994-95 season).

He is also the author of a comedy book, “Grown-Ass Man,” released in January of 2002 and sold out across the country.

Cedric formed his own production company, A Bird and a Bear Entertainment.

A man with a big heart whose philanthropy is bigger than he is, Cedric founded The Cedric “The Entertainer” Charitable Foundation, which provides scholarships and outreach programs to enhance the lives of inner-city youth and their families in his hometown of St. Louis. There are plans to extend the foundation on a national level.

Cedric the Entertainer is the consummate comedy entertainer with so many talents.

Thank you Cedric for this memorable evening of sidesplitting laughter and great entertainment.

Thank you once again to Spotlight 29 and staff for your continued top notch entertainment.

For more Cathy Jardine photos of Cedric the Entertainer, click here.

For Cedric The Entertainer’s official Web site, click here.

For Cedric The Entertainer's foundation, click here.

Cedric’s YouTube tribute to Condoleezza Rice, click here.

Cedric on Bush and Clinton, click here.

For more information about Malik S and his comedy, click here.

For Malik S' "Def Comedy Jam Live" in Los Angeles, March 2008 comedy act, click here.

For more entertainment at Spotlight 29 Casino, click here.