Trevor Noah is best known as the host of the iconic US late night comedy programme The Daily Show. But what is less known is the extraordinary story of his upbringing during apartheid in South Africa.
The child of a black mother and a white father, Trevor Noah’s very existence was evidence of his parent’s criminality in a world ruled by racial segregation. His parents’ union was punishable by up to 5 years in prison. And this fact gives rise to the title of his new book, Born a Crime, Stories of a South African Childhood.
‘Growing up in a society where my very conception was illegal at the time. My father being white, was restricted from being with my mother. My mother, being black, would have been arrested being caught with my dad. As a kid, conceived between the two of them, I was even classified as a different race altogether.’
Speaking on the Today programme, presenter Sean O’Rourke observed how Trevor’s mother dominates this book, a woman who has had a profound influence on his life and character. Given the pressures and pains of his upbringing, she frequently used humour to get them through the worst of times. But in order to protect her son from the oppressive and violent society around them, sometimes drastic action was required. One such episode took place in a taxi, when he was a young boy.
‘In the middle of the ride, the man threatened to kill myself and my mom. He said he was going to teach my mum a lesson for being a black woman who clearly had this mixed child. My mum said, at the next traffic lights, I’m going to throw you out, because the man wasn’t stopping.’
And she did exactly that. Together with his younger brother, the three of them plunged out of the car, rolled, and managed to escape. ‘My mother’s story is about a woman who, against all odds, educated herself, fended for herself, fed herself, clothed and housed herself.’
Sean, of course, didn’t miss the opportunity to speak to Trevor about his rise to fame and his elevation to the comedic throne of The Daily Show, one of Comedy Central’s greatest brands, made so by the legendary Jon Stewart.
‘It’s extremely difficult. Jon Stewart is a behemoth in what he did,’ said Trevor. ‘Everybody is trying to do with Jon Stewart did. The hardest job is not just doing it, but doing it in the exact same spot that he was doing it in. It is hallowed ground for many people.’
‘I will say this. If I didn’t take it, then what would I take? This I always say to my friends, only an idiot would follow Jon Stewart. Luckily, Comedy Central found the right man for the job.’
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood is published by John Murray.
