Robert Townsend (born February 6, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, film director, and writer.

Townsend was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Shirley (née Jenkins) and Ed Townsend. Raised by a single mother with four children, Townsend became an actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and network programming CEO. He has two daughters: Sierra and Skylar, both entertainers. He has a son named Isiah.

During a reading of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex at school, Robert captured the class and effortlessly transformed into a character which captured the attention of Chicago’s X Bag Theatre.  His start began at the Improvisation launching his career as a comedian.

In 1974, Townsend auditioned for parts at Chicago's Experimental Black Actors' Guild and performed in local plays studying at the famed Second City comedy workshop for improvisation. Townsend enrolled at Illinois State University, studied a year and later moved to New York to study at the Negro Ensemble Company. Townsend's mother believed that he should complete his college education, Townsend felt college took time away from his passion for acting. He soon dropped out of school to pursue an acting career full time.

He wrote, directed and produced Hollywood Shuffle a satire based on the hardships and obstacles that black actors undergo in film industry. The success of his first project helped him establish credit in the industry. One of his films was musical The Five Heartbeats based on 1960s R&B male groups and the tribulations of the music industry. Townsend has worked with Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Chris Tucker, Beyonce and Denzel Washington.

Townsend had a brief uncredited role in the movie Cooley High (1975). His career included stand-up comedy routines which appeared on cable television. Townsend auditioned to be part of Saturday Night Live's 1980-1981 cast, but was rejected when Eddie Murphy was chosen instead. During the 1980s and early 1990s Townsend gained national exposure through his many appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Townsend established himself when he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the comedy Hollywood Shuffle his 1987 film about struggling black actors in Hollywood. Prior to Shuffle, he appeared in small parts in films like A Soldier's Story (1984), directed by Norman Jewison, and after its success garnered much more substantial parts in films like The Mighty Quinn (1989) with Denzel Washington. He created and produced two television variety shows—the CableACE award–winning Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime for HBO, and the Fox Television Variety Show Townsend Television (1993). He also created and starred in the WB Network's sitcom The Parent 'Hood (1995).

Townsend was director of programming at the Black Family Channel, but the network folded in 2007. Townsend created The Robert Townsend Foundation. The mission of the non-profit organization is to aid introduce new unsigned filmmakers.

At the 2001 Image Awards of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Townsend had directed three actors nominated in the best actor/actress category in three different films: Leon Robinson, for his role in Little Richard, which Townsend directed for NBC; Alfre Woodard, for her role in the Showtime Movie Holiday Heart (2000), which also garnered her a Golden Globe nomination; and Natalie Cole as herself in Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story (2000), for which she won theImage Award for best actress. Townsend also produced the television films Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001) and 10,000 Black Men Named George.

Filmography

Cooley High (1975)

A Soldier's Story (1984)

American Flyers (1985)

Ratboy (1986)

Hollywood Shuffle (1987)

The Mighty Quinn (1989)

The Five Heartbeats (1991)

The Meteor Man (1993)

The Parent 'Hood (1995–1999)

Up, Up, and Away (2000)

Black Listed (2003)

Of Boys and Men (2008)

Phantom Punch (2009)