In Living Color has a new home.
Series co-creator and producer Tamara Rawitt has donated an extensive archive from the Emmy-winning sketch comedy series to the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York. Included are such items as scripts, set drawings, prop lists, writer’s notes, uncut and uncensored videotape masters, creative materials and artifacts from development and production through to censorship battles while it aired on Fox from 1990-1994.
“I’m thrilled to donate this one-of-a-kind In Living Color collection to the National Comedy Center, where it will live to tell the story of the show’s creation,” Rawitt says. “I’m elated to know that future generations will be able to see these materials and learn how we brought this series to life despite creative and censorship issues. Together with the incredibly talented cast and writers, we imagined a new voice in sketch comedy, found a broad audience who connected with our work and charted a course for change in the TV industry’s approach to real representation, not to mention winning an Emmy in our first season.”
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The show picked up a trophy in 1990 for outstanding music, variety or comedy series. The win was a coup for the creative team which included creator Keenan Ivory Wayans. He and Rawitt had previously teamed on I’m Gonna Git You Sucka before collaborating on the pilot for In Living Color, which is credited as a launching pad for such stars as Tommy Davidson, David Alan Grier, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Wayans siblings Damon, Kim, Shawn and Marlon. Said Davidson: “There will never be another show like this one and I’m so honored to have been one of the key creatives in its success.”
National Comedy Center executive director Journey Gunderson called In Living Color a “landmark television series” that revolutionized comedy and broke boundaries. “By showcasing these important creative materials, production notes and artifacts, we continue to fulfill the Comedy Center’s mission of celebrating comedy as an art form and preserving its heritage for generations to come.”
Since opening in 2018, the National Comedy Center has collaborated with dozens of artists and estates to preserve materials that represent comedy’s contributions to American culture. Among those featured are George Carlin, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Lenny Bruce, Carl Reiner, Johnny Carson, the Smothers Brothers and more, along with dozens of interactive exhibits and immersive experiences featuring many other boldfaced names.
