--- title: "Pigmeat Markham: Stand-Up Comedian, TV Roles | D.O.C." description: "Pigmeat Markham: 3 albums and 2 screen credits. An American stage and television comedian from Durham, North Carolina. With sources, on D.O.C." url: https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-pigmeat-markham.html updated: 2026-11-11 --- Stand-up comedian · 1904–1981 # Pigmeat Markham Also known as Dewey Markham ## Who Pigmeat Markham is Pigmeat Markham was an American stage and television comedian from Durham, North Carolina. He began in 1917 dancing in traveling shows and vaudeville, toured the southern circuit with the blues singer Bessie Smith, and played the Regal in Chicago, the Howard in Washington and the Apollo in New York. He recorded "How Long, How Long Blues" for Blue Note in 1945, made in-concert comedy albums for Chess in the 1960s, among them The Trial (1961), and had a novelty hit in 1968 with "Here Comes the Judge", in which, as the Library of Congress puts it, he played an irreverent courtroom judge who deals no-nonsense rulings. He made several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and his "Here Come de Judge" skit ran on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. He was a Black comedian, and by the 1950s, in the African American Registry's words, one of Black America's most popular entertainers. ## Vote for Pigmeat Markham Put Pigmeat Markham in My D.O.C. Legends: your twelve for their era, counted with every reader’s on [the Legends page](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/greatest-comedians.html). ## At a glance **Born** 1904 **Died** 1981 **From** Durham, North Carolina **Albums** How Long, How Long Blues / Blues Before Sunrise, The Trial and Here Comes the Judge **On screen** The Ed Sullivan Show and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ## Specials, shows and podcasts ### Albums - **How Long, How Long Blues / Blues Before Sunrise** 78 rpm record, Blue Note 48, 1945 - **The Trial** album, Chess LP 1451, 1961 - **Here Comes the Judge** record, 1968 ### On screen - **The Ed Sullivan Show** several appearances - **Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In** the "Here Come de Judge" skit ## Comedians like Pigmeat Markham Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town. - [Flip Wilson](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-flip-wilson.html) also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - [Phyllis Diller](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-phyllis-diller.html) also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - [Dick Gregory](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-dick-gregory.html) also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - [Henny Youngman](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-henny-youngman.html) also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In - [Sandy Hackett](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-sandy-hackett.html) also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In [Six Degrees of Komic Bacon: how they connect to anyone →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/six-degrees-of-komic-bacon.html) [Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/stand-up-comedians.html) ## Career timeline 1. **1904** Born 2. **1945** How Long, How Long Blues / Blues Before Sunrise (78 rpm record, Blue Note 48, 1945) Album 3. **1961** The Trial (album, Chess LP 1451, 1961) Album 4. **1968** Here Comes the Judge (record, 1968) Album 5. **1981** Died ## Questions and answers ### What TV shows and films is Pigmeat Markham in? The Ed Sullivan Show (several appearances) and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (the "Here Come de Judge" skit). ### Where is Pigmeat Markham from? From Durham, North Carolina. ### How old was Pigmeat Markham? Pigmeat Markham was born in 1904 and died in 1981. ### Who are some comedians like them? [Flip Wilson](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-flip-wilson.html) (also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), [Phyllis Diller](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-phyllis-diller.html) (also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), [Dick Gregory](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-dick-gregory.html) (also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), [Henny Youngman](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-henny-youngman.html) (also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) and [Sandy Hackett](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-sandy-hackett.html) (also in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In). ## The D.O.C. letter, free Who’s on the road, festival dates as they are announced and entry windows as they open, with the news of the comedians, rooms and towns you follow: one short comedy newsletter, free every Sunday. ## The full SUCDb record The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to vote them into My D.O.C. Legends. [Their SUCDb record →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-pigmeat-markham.html) ### Sources - [African American Registry — Pigmeat Markham, comedian extraordinaire ↗](https://aaregistry.org/story/pigmeat-markham-comedian-extraordinaire/) From Durham, North Carolina; born 18 April 1904; a Black comedian; began in 1917 dancing in traveling shows and vaudeville; toured with Bessie Smith; the Regal, the Howard and the Apollo; one of Black America's most popular entertainers by the 1950s; in-concert albums on Chess; the 1968 novelty hit Here Comes the… - [Library of Congress — music blog post, Early Hip-Hop at the Library of Congress (17 August 2023) ↗](https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2023/08/early-hip-hop-at-the-library-of-congress/) Here Comes the Judge, 1968, by Allen, Astor, Markham and Harvey; Markham's stage role as an irreverent courtroom judge who deals no-nonsense rulings (as of 10 November 2026) - [Internet Archive — How Long - How Long Blues, 78 rpm record (Blue Note 48-A, 1945), digitized by George Blood, L.P. ↗](https://archive.org/details/78_how-long-how-long-blues_pigmeat-alamo-markham-oliver-rev-mesheuxs-blue-six_gbia0234278a) "Pigmeat" Alamo Markham with Oliver "Rev." Mesheux's Blue Six; Blue Note 48-A; 1945; the other side is Blues Before Sunrise (as of 10 November 2026) - [Internet Archive — The Trial, LP (Chess LP 1451, 1961), Unlocked Recordings ↗](https://archive.org/details/lp_the-trial_pigmeat-markham) Pigmeat Markham; Chess LP 1451; 1961; comedy (as of 10 November 2026) - [Woodlawn Cemetery, Crematory and Conservancy — notable residents in Black history ↗](https://www.woodlawn.org/conservancy/notable-residents/black-history/) Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham (1904–1981), vaudevillian and TV comedian; The Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and Mike Douglas shows; the skit Here Come de Judge on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (as of 10 November 2026) - [Wikipedia ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigmeat_Markham) died 13 December 1981 Updated 11 November 2026 · the record checked 10 November 2026