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Elliott Branch Jr.

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Elliott Branch Jr.
Branch Jr. in Jules Winnfield cosplay in 2014
Born
Elliott Lee Branch, Jr.

(1962-07-18)July 18, 1962
Highland Park, Michigan, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 2024(2024-08-01) (aged 62)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesElliot Branch, Elliott L. Branch
Alma materHighland Park Community High School
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • cosplayer
  • actor
Years active1988–2024
Known for
Notable credits
Television

Elliott Branch Jr. was an American comedian and actor. He began performing stand-up comedy in the late 1980s and subsequently toured throughout the United States and internationally. His comedy has drawn on his upbringing in Detroit, relationships and observations about race and everyday life. Branch later worked as an actor, including portraying Jules Winnfield-inspired characters in parody films.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life

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Branch grew up in Highland Park, Michigan, near Detroit.[1] After high school Branch held several jobs before joining the United States Air Force. He subsequently worked in telecommunications before turning to comedy.[1]

Career

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Stand-up comedy

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Branch began performing stand-up comedy in 1988.[3] He got his start at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle in Michigan.[1] By 1997, Branch was a professional comedian of eight years who toured nationally and headlined at Comedy Castle.[3]

Branch described his material as addressing his parents, upbringing, relationships and his experiences living as a Black man.[6] After performing throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe and Japan, Branch moved to Los Angeles.[2]

Branch spent an average of 30 to 40 weeks a year touring. He had appearances on BET's ComicView, America's Funniest People, Night Shift and VH1's Black Comedy Tribute.[1] In 1996, he performed at Lebanon Valley College after having a lead role in WGPR's radio program Court of Love and an appearance on WTVS's Tribute to Black Comedy Special.[7]

Branch was also associated with the Detroit Comedy Machine alongside comedians Norm Stulz and Derek Richards. The trio undertook an 18-month national tour beginning in 1998.[6]

Reviewing a 1995 performance in Tennessee, The Daily News Journal described Branch's act as "loud and animated" and noted that he reenacted experiences from childhood through adulthood, including material about driving and holidays.[4] A Flint Journal review of a comedy performance headlined by Kim Coles discussed Branch's opening set, including material about Detroit and a parody of The Three Stooges.[5]

Charity performances

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Branch organized and hosted comedy benefits during his stand-up career. In 1997, he assembled a group of Michigan comedians for a benefit at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle supporting Caring Together, an organization assisting people affected by HIV/AIDS.[3] The Canton Observer reported that Branch had also been involved in a benefit for the Motor City Women of Comedy.[3]

Branch later toured with Stulz and Richards as part of the Detroit Comedy Machine's "On Tour for a Cure", a multi-city comedy tour benefiting cancer research. The tour was scheduled to visit 26 cities and benefit the American Cancer Society.[8][9]

Acting

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Branch later appeared in film and video productions. In 2003, he starred as Jabari in an independent drama film based in Detroit called Cut Me a New Path, also known as Ahead of the Game.[10] In 2016, he portrayed Jules in Quentin Tarantino's Suicide Squad, a parody trailer produced by Loot Crate Productions.[11][12]

Branch later starred in Pulp Friction, another project drawing on the character of Jules. Reviewing the film for Film Threat, Sumner Forbes singled out Branch's performance and described him as one of the better performers they had seen imitate Samuel L. Jackson.[13]

Filmography

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Short films
Year Title Role Notes
2009 Killing Tarantino Jules Best Editing winner at 2010 Beverly Hills Film Festival[14]
2010 Viva Castrama Guard Toreno
2013 Pain N Love Boom Mic Operator
2014 F.O.S. Jules TV movie featuring Dan Hicks
2016 Anger Anonymous Jules
Quentin Tarantino's Suicide Squad Jules Winnfield [12][11][15]
2018 Deadpool The Musical 2 – Ultimate Disney Parody Nick Fury [16]
2021 Pulp Friction Jules [13]

Accolades

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Event Year Award Title Result Ref.
Oceanside International Film Festival 2022 Best Supporting Actor Pulp Friction Nominated [17]
Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema Best Actor - Short Film Nominated
Southeast New England Film, Music & Arts Festival Best Acting - Comedy Won

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Archer, Bill (1996-02-20). "Elliott Branch Jr. BHS grad's BSC 'homecoming' something to laugh at". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-11-23 – via NewspaperArchive.
  2. 1 2 "Whirlwind comic Branch blows into Ann Arbor". The Ann Arbor News. 2001-12-06. p. 49. Retrieved 2025-11-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Wygonik, Keely (1997-07-24). "Local comedians 'Laugh, Make a Difference'" (PDF). Canton Observer. pp. E1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  4. 1 2 Tucker, Nan (1995-11-10). "Just for laughs... Comedy finds audience on Murfreesboro Square". The Daily News-Journal. p. 24. Retrieved 2025-11-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 Pullen, Doug (1990-11-09). "Coles gives Flint a good laugh". The Flint Journal. p. 44. Retrieved 2024-09-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Morphy, Marcia (1999-06-16). "Laughing matters". The Brighton-Pittsford Post. Retrieved 2026-01-02 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  7. ↑ "Elliot Branch will present a comedy routine at LVC". Lebanon Daily News. 1996-02-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-08-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Chesna, James (1999-08-12). "Detroit Comedy Machine hopes to manufacture funds to fight cancer". The Flint Journal. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-02-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Chesna, James (1999-08-12). "Detroit Comedy Machine hopes to manufacture funds to fight cancer". The Flint Journal. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-02-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Koehler, Robert (2003-03-18). "Cut Me a New Path". Variety. ProQuest 454644734. Archived from the original on 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  11. 1 2 Trumbore, Dave (2016-07-30). "Suicide Squad Quentin Tarantino-Style in a New Fan Trailer". Collider. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  12. 1 2 Jayson, Jay (2016-07-29). "Suicide Squad Trailer Done In Quentin Tarantino Style". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  13. 1 2 Forbes, Sumner (2022-09-13). "Pulp Friction Featured, Reviews Film Threat". Film Threat. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  14. ↑ "Beverly Hills Film Festival Announces 2010 Award Winners - Cinema Without Borders". 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  15. ↑ Skowronski, Robert (2016-08-01). "Legion samobójców w wersji Quentina Tarantino - Antyradio". Antyradio (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  16. ↑ "SMASH HIT: Deadpool Musical Parody". Cosplay-Culture. 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  17. ↑ "OIFF 2022 - Official Nominations Announcement". Oceanside International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
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