Cedric Kyles and his family lived on Alder Avenue in Berkeley before he attended Southeast Missouri State University. After college, he worked in St. Louis as a claims adjuster with the State Farm insurance company. In 1991, at age 26, he began performing in comedy clubs. Later known as Cedric the Entertainer, Kyles starred in movies such as The Original Kings of Comedy, Barbershop, Intolerable Cruelty, Madagascar and Ice Age.