Rudy Ray Moore Dead at 81

Comedian and filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore died Monday of complications from diabetes. He was 81 years old.

Moore began his career in show business as a nightclub singer before becoming a stand-up comic in the early 1960s. He continued to release comedy albums (always in his house, not at clubs) throughout the '60s and '70s, carving out a niche for himself as the world's first "x-rated comic."

Moore's profane comedy made him an underground sensation, and, by 1974, he was ready to branch out into movies. Moore took the "Dolemite" character made popular on his albums and brought him to the big screen in '74's Dolemite. He would continue to produce, direct and star in cult films throughout the '70s and 1980s.

You can read an obituary for Moore in The Los Angeles Times.

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