Bruce Bruce

Bruce Church (born c. 1961), better known by his stage name Bruce Bruce, is an American comedian and actor. He hosted BET's ComicView from 2000 to 2002 and has appeared in such films as The Wash (2001), XXX: State of the Union (2005), Idlewild (2006) and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006). In 2005 he became the spokesperson for Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Bruce was the only child of a divorced mother and grew up in "The Bluff" neighborhood of northwest Atlanta. He was funny from a young age and was a class clown, inspired by comedians such as Flip Wilson and Jackie Gleason, and later influenced by Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx and Milton Berle. He worked as a barbecue chef and then as a sales person for Frito-Lay, where he was asked to perform comedy during corporate meetings, before moving to Los Angeles in 1989. He made his first appearance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam in 1993, which he refers to as his "first big break".

Bruce tends to avoid topical subjects in his stand-up act, preferring observational topics from everyday life, and is known for performing with very little profanity. He is also notable for his size and for wearing brightly-colored suits, some of which he designed himself. He published his autobiography Baby James Brown in 2005 and divides his time between Los Angeles and Atlanta.