Stan Lathan (born July 8, 1945) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is executive producer and director of BET's Real Husbands of Hollywood. He has produced and directed numerous stand-up comedy specials starring comedian Dave Chappelle, including Killin' Them Softly, Equanimity, The Bird Revelation, Sticks & Stones, and "The Closer". Early life The youngest of three boys, Lathan was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Julia Elizabeth (Dunston) and Stanley Edward Lathan. His mother was a clerical employee. His brothers are William Lathan of New York, a medical doctor, and Charles Lewis, a musician living in Phoenix, Arizona. Lathan graduated from Overbrook High School in 1963. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in theater at Pennsylvania State University in 1967 and moved to Boston to pursue a master's degree from Boston University. In response to the heightened tension surrounding the civil rights movement at that time, he was recruited by television station WGBH-TV in 1968 to help create and direct the country's first magazine show entirely produced by, for, and about African Americans-- Say Brother. Career Lathan has directed the pilots for many sitcoms, including Martin, Moesha, The Parkers, The Steve Harvey Show, Amen, South Central, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, All of Us, Eve, The Soul Man and Real Husbands of Hollywood. Lathan was the executive producer and director of the stand-up comedy special Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly written by and starring comedian Dave Chappelle. It was Chappelle's first hour-long HBO special, and premiered in 2000. Lathan would go on to produce and direct several more of Chappelle's specials, including For What It's Worth, which was produced in 2004 for Showtime. In 2017, Lathan produced and directed four Chappelle specials for Netflix: The Bird Revelation, Equanimity, The Age of Spin, and Deep in the Heart of Texas. He also produced and directed Chappelle's fifth Netflix special, Sticks & Stones, which was released in 2019. He executive produced and directed Cedric the Entertainer: Taking You Higher, a one-hour comedy special for HBO, and It's Black Entertainment, a two-hour musical documentary for Showtime. Lathan began directing network television in 1973, when he was brought to Los Angeles to direct multiple episodes of Sanford & Son. He went on to direct Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, Remington Steele, Cagney & Lacey, Frank's Place, Roc and others. He also directed the 1984 feature