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Continue ShoppingIs Lewis Black Actually Saying Goodbye to Comedy?
Is Lewis Black Actually Saying Goodbye to Comedy?
The longtime rage maestro of The Daily Show raised alarms when he announced he was retiring from the road. But he assures us he’s not ill—just sick and tired of certain bullshit.
Esquire
Anthony Breznican Published: Nov 14, 2025 6:30 AM EST
Is Lewis Black okay? That’s the natural fear many fans had when the comedian who has been mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it-anymore for decades announced that he actually wasn’t going to do it anymore. The now 77-year-old stand-up legend has retired from touring, and his recent “Goodbye Yeller Brick Road” performances were his last.
But Black, the longest-serving contributor to The Daily Show, whose appearances started back in 1996 when Craig Kilborn (remember him?) was still the host, is not finished with comedy. He’s just finished with delivering it from town to town. He assures us there are no health worries that contributed to the decision, despite rampant speculation about that on social media.
Black got a dog, actually. That’s why he wants to stay closer to home. It’s a big, fluffy, white doodle named Sammy, who is testing the limits of Black’s misanthropy by gleefully attracting the adoration of everyone who catches a glimpse of the pair during their walks around New York. The truth is, Lewis Black succumbed to his own personal kryptonite: happiness.
Photo: Katharina Poblotzki
Black will still be performing stand-up, invoking righteous rage and setting his hair on fire (metaphorically) like the smoldering character he plays in Pixar’s Inside Out movies, but performing will become more of a rarity. Instead, he’ll be focusing on writing plays, recording his RantCast podcast, and continuing his "Back In Black" segments on The Daily Show.
I spoke with him about his half century in comedy, from rebellious government employee to volcanic comedic genius. And he has a closing thought that is surprisingly heartwarming—a contrast to the blood boiling he normally indulges.