Stan Lathan

Stan Lathan is an accomplished producer and one of Hollywood's most prolific directors of television and film. Lathan has directed pilots for many popular sitcoms, including: Real Husbands of Hollywood, The Soul Man, Amen, Martin, Moesha, The Parkers, and The Steve Harvey Show. In 1991, he launched HBO's groundbreaking Def Comedy Jam with partner Russell Simmons. Lathan produced and directed the Tony Award winning, Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. He also directed the hip-hop classic film Beat Street. Lathan executive produced and directed Dave Chappelle's comedy specials Killin' Them Softly and For What It's Worth, as well as Cedric the Entertainer's Taking You Higher, for HBO. For PBS, Lathan directed dance specials with Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and dramas for such distinguished series as Great Performances, American Playhouse, and The American Short Story. He was also an original director for Sesame Street. From 2013 to 2016, Lathan executive produced and directed The Real Husbands of Hollywood, for BET. He also directed TV Land's The Soul Man. Stan Lathan received the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors. He has received six NAACP Image Awards, and was recently honored by the Directors Guild of America for his distinguished directing career. In September 2018, Lathan won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for Dave Chappelle: Equanimity.