Keenan Ivory, Shawn and Marlon Wayans are being sued by former personal assistant, Jared Edwards, who claims the brothers stole his idea for a book and then published “101 Ways to Know You’re a Golddigger” in May.

According to papers filed Thursday in a Manhattan federal court, Edwards quit his job in 2006 after the Wayans brothers told him his book, “You Know You’re a Golddigger When…” didn’t have a chance of being published.

After battling cancer for two years, Tisha Taylor Murphy, the wife of actor/comedian Charlie Murphy died in the couple’s New Jersey home.

Charlie Murphy, 50, is best known for his role in the 2003-06 Comedy Central hit series “Chappelle’s Show.” He is also the older brother of Eddie Murphy.

The couple were married in 1997 and have two children together. Charlie Murphy has a third child from a previous relationship.

After the success of the ”Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam,” which was taped the night before this year’s NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, Shaq is back with a second installment.  Set to air Dec. 5 on Showtime, this time the comedy event will feature host D.L. Hughley, Earthquake, Lavell Crawford, Melanie Comarcho, and Arnez J.  It was taped in South Beach during the American Black Film Festival.

“We have been thrilled with the success of the first All Star Comedy Jam and are pleased to announce the next installment of the special,” said event producer Jeff Clanagan. “This franchise is committed to showcasing the legends of the comedy business while giving an opportunity for up-and-coming comedians to shine.”

A third comedy jam will be filmed at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.

Move over Mo’Nique.  Comedian Wanda Sykes is the next African American female to get her own late night talk show.  ”The Wanda Sykes Show” airs Saturday nights beginning Nov. 7 at 10 p.m. central time on FOX.  In a news release, the network said the show will feature comedy segments and panel discussions where “everything from news, politics, sports and pop culture will get examined from a point of view not currently offered on television.”

by Allison Horton

It all started when Chris Rock’s then five-year-old daughter asked him, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?”

The question set the comedian on a path to learn more about the importance African American women place on their hair, specifically what they will go through to have straight or relaxed hair. The result is “Good Hair,” an entertaining documentary opening Oct. 23 that takes a look at how women achieve that goal. From visiting beauty shops where perms are applied to traveling to India to see how weaves are created, Rock leaves no stone unturned in his quest.

He also visited the famed Bronner Bros. Hair Show, an annual event in Atlanta with an audience of nearly 100,000, that features the best hair stylists competing to be named tops in the industry and also highlights a wide spectrum of African American hair care products.

According to the film, the $9 billion African American hair care industry only has four Black manufacturers and is dominated by Asian and Indian suppliers, which Rev. Al Sharpton called “economic retardation” by the Black community willing to accept buying their hair care products from other races rather than their own.

During a recent sojourn in Chicago to promote the film, Rock said he wasn’t surprised by this monetary occurrence in the Black community.

“It is just not hair,” he said. “It is pretty much anything that we are in. Part of it is, you could say, is the flaw in Dr. King’s plan. We fought to be a part of something, when we probably should have been fighting to have our own something.

“That just permeates into all business,” Rock continued. “The music business, there’s no Black record companies. You can look at the NBA and go ‘There’s 30 teams, there’s not three Black people owning a team.’ We want to be down so bad that we don’t form our own thing or hold onto our own thing even when we have it.”

What did surprise the comedian was how much Black women were willing to spend on their hair. The movie features several well-known stars such as Nia Long, Raven Symone, Lauren London, Salt ‘n Pepa and Eve all sharing their love for extensions and weaves, which can be as much as $5,000. Other personalities such as Maya Angelou, Ice-T and comedian Paul Mooney also shared their views.

“You know Beyonce spends $5,000 to get ready for the Grammys,” Rock said. “You didn’t know KeKe spends $5,000 to work at AT&T [or] just to go see the new Tyler Perry movie. That is a bit much for KeKe that makes $38,000 a year, so that shocked me.”

So what advice will Rock give his daughter when she is old enough to style her own hair?

“It is a rite of passage,” he said. “She has to go to Mecca herself.”

Sherri Shepherd is in trouble with her nutritional coach and trainer.  While getting in shape to pose in a bathing suit on The View Aug. 6, she mentioned on the social networking site, Twitter, that she cheated on her diet by eating fried calamari and buffalo wings.  Unfortunately, her exercise team saw the message, reports People.com.

“Ain’t this a blip! I was planning on fibbing 2 my trainer & nutritional coach about what I ate this weekend – but they follow me,” she tweeted later that day. 

 ”You just assume when you tweet that you’re tweeting to people far away, not the person – your neighbor across the hall,” Shepherd said on The View. “I wish my coach would have not tweeted because she’s coming here tomorrow to get on me about what I ate.” 

Nowadays, there is less of comedienne Mo’Nique to love.  A move she told Jet magazine was prompted by her husband, Sidney Hicks.

“It was so gentle and sweet, and he wasn’t judgmental,” Mo’Nique said.  ”He said, ‘Baby, that’s too much and I want you for a lifetime. I decided that I had to get some of that off of me.” 

The 5 foot, 6-inch comedienne said she now weighs 224 pounds and plans to keep losing weight until she reaches 200.  The comedienne once weighed 262 pounds.

“This was truly making the commitment to watch what I eat and commit to working out,” she said. “I stopped eating red meat. I want to say to big people, ‘Let’s be healthy big people.’ Everybody can’t be a size 0 or 45, but let’s be healthy.’”

On April 27, comedian Wanda Sykes welcomed twin babies, reports People.  Her wife, Alex gave birth to daughter Olivia Lou weighed (6 lbs., 7 oz. and 19-inches long)  and son Lucas Claude (7 lbs., 9 oz., and 20-inches long).

The couple were married last October.  Sykes currently stars in the CBS comedy, “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”