# Stu Gilliam > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stu_Gilliam > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stu_Gilliam.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Gilliam > Source revision: 1268325184 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American actor and comedian (1933-2013)}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Stu Gilliam | image = Stu Gilliam Hilly Hicks Roll Out 1973.JPG | image_size = | caption = Gilliam (top) in ''[Roll Out](/source/Roll_Out)'', 1973 (with Hilly Hicks) | birth_name = Stewart Byron Gilliam | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|7|27}} | birth_place = [Detroit, Michigan](/source/Detroit), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2013|10|11|1933|7|27}} | death_place = [České Budějovice](/source/%C4%8Cesk%C3%A9_Bud%C4%9Bjovice), [Czech Republic](/source/Czech_Republic) | occupation = Actor, comedian | spouse = {{marriage|Vivian Baravalle|2007}} }} '''Stewart Byron "Stu" Gilliam''' (July 27, 1933[https://sortedbyname.com/pages/g130789.html Social Security Death Index dates of birth and death], datalounge.com; accessed July 21, 2018. – October 11, 2013) was an [African-American](/source/African-American) [actor](/source/actor) and [stand-up](/source/stand-up) and TV [comedian](/source/comedian). ==Biography== Stewart Byron Gilliam was born in a [middle-class](/source/middle-class) area of [Detroit](/source/Detroit), the grandson of a church minister. He left home at age 14 to perform with a [circus](/source/circus) as [ventriloquist](/source/ventriloquist) in state fairs, then after a few years began to appear in clubs in [Chicago](/source/Chicago). During his two-year service in the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War), he entertained troops as a ventriloquist. In the 1950s and 1960s he performed his act in clubs nationwide with Black audiences, including the [Apollo Theater](/source/Apollo_Theater) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). He sometimes performed for integrated audiences, but in Southern states of the U. S. he was prevented from appearing onstage at the same time as the White performers. The [Playboy Club](/source/Playboy_Club) circuit changed that by booking him before largely White crowds, including in the South.{{cite news| url=https://www.bahai.us/community/news/2014/january-february/stu-gilliam-comedian-actor-taught-the-faith-enthusiastically/| title=Stu Gilliam, comedian-actor, taught the Faith enthusiastically| journal=The American Baháʼí | date=January–February 2014}} In the 1960s and 1970s Giliam did stand-up work along with TV and film appearances. He appeared on national TV shows such as ''[The Ed Sullivan Show](/source/The_Ed_Sullivan_Show)'', ''[Playboy After Dark](/source/Playboy_After_Dark)'', and ''[The Dean Martin Show](/source/The_Dean_Martin_Show)''. In 1968, he was paired with [Don Adams](/source/Don_Adams) and [Robert Culp](/source/Robert_Culp) in ''[Get Smart](/source/Get_Smart)'' as Agent Samuels (really Kubacek, a double agent in deep disguise) in "Die, Spy", a spoof of the television series ''[I Spy](/source/I_Spy_(1965_TV_series))''. He was the voice of [Freddie "Curly" Neal](/source/Fred_Neal) on the [Hanna-Barbera](/source/Hanna-Barbera) cartoon series ''[Harlem Globetrotters](/source/Harlem_Globetrotters_(TV_series))'' in the early seventies. Gilliam was a panelist on the first season of the game show ''[Match Game '73](/source/Match_Game_'73)'' ({{Citation |title=Match Game 73 (Episode 44) (September 13th, 1973) (Betty's Chance At Super Match?) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJRfaW5Kbjo |language=en |access-date=2022-09-25}} episodes 41-45 and 51-56{{Cite web |title=IMDB |website=[IMDb](/source/IMDb) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0643174/reference/}}). Gilliam co-starred in the CBS sitcom ''[Roll Out](/source/Roll_Out)'' during the 1973–74 season. Also starring [Hilly Hicks](/source/Hilly_Hicks), and featuring [Ed Begley, Jr.](/source/Ed_Begley%2C_Jr.) and [Garrett Morris](/source/Garrett_Morris), the series was set in France during World War II and was loosely based on the 1952 film ''[Red Ball Express](/source/Red_Ball_Express_(film))''. Gilliam was an active member of the Bahá'í Faith. He married Vivian Baravalle in 2007 and moved to her residence in the [Czech Republic](/source/Czech_Republic). They had one daughter, Velnita. Gilliam died of a heart attack in [České Budějovice](/source/%C4%8Cesk%C3%A9_Bud%C4%9Bjovice) on October 11, 2013, at age 80.{{Failed verification|date=November 2020}} He had also been battling [lung cancer](/source/lung_cancer) and [COPD](/source/COPD). He is buried in [Boršov nad Vltavou](/source/Bor%C5%A1ov_nad_Vltavou). ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name|0319097}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliam, Stu}} Category:1933 births Category:2013 deaths Category:Male actors from Detroit Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American male television actors Category:Deaths from lung cancer in the Czech Republic Category:Deaths from emphysema --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stu Gilliam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Gilliam) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Gilliam?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.