Lavell Crawford

Lavell Crawford (born Lavell Maurice Crawford on 11 November 1968) is an American comedian and actor, known for playing Huell Babineaux in Breaking Bad (2011-2013) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2017-2022). He also played the role of Gus Patch in the Netflix original film The Ridiculous 6 (2015). The album version of his 2021 Comedy Vaccine special was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

Crawford was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in nearby Pagedale. He has two sisters, Elonda and Erica, struggled with his weight in childhood, and experienced a near-drowning at age ten. He graduated from Pattonville High School in 1986 before attending Missouri Western State College, where he studied computer science.

Crawford began performing standup comedy professionally in 1990 and frequently performed on BET's ComicView during the 1990s. He was a contestant on NBC's Last Comic Standing in 2007, where he lost to Jon Reep in the season finale. In 2011, at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre in St. Louis, he recorded Lavell Crawford: Can a Brother Get Some Love. He has also appeared in comedic roles in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Tosh.0, and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. His stand-up specials include Can a Brother Get Some Love? (2011), Home for the Holidays (2017), New Look Same Comedy (2019), The Comedy Vaccine (2021), and Thee Lavell Crawford (2023).