An African-American, Walter Latham was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he was raised in a single-parent home with his mother and younger sister.

[2][3] In December 1997, Walter Latham took a group of black comedians who would in time be known as the Kings of Comedy on tour.

Steadfastly believing that packaging a number of popular comedians would be wildly successful, Latham mounted a triple-headliner tour starring Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer, and Bernie Mac.

[4] Latham decided to capture the experience of the live Kings of Comedy Tour on film.

The Original Kings of Comedy was directed by Spike Lee and produced by Latham Entertainment and MTV films.