Washington, DC - Business mogul, Walter Latham, President, Latham Entertainment, widely regarded as the most successful comedy production company in the world; and who, himself, is credited with launching the careers of several Award-winning actors and comedians, including Tyler Perry, Steve Harvey, Mo'Nique, and the late Bernie Mac, will be launching Walter Latham's "King of Comedy" Channel on YouTube beginning Spring, 2012.

Latham joins Jay-Z, Shaquille O'Neal, Barry Diller, Pharrell Williams, Ashton Kutcher, Amy Poehler, Deepak Chopra, and other well-known personalities and content producers from TV, film, music, news, and sports, as well as some of the most innovative new media companies in the world, in launching new advertising supported channels for YouTube's worldwide audience.

On October 28, 2011, when YouTube announced plans to bring more than one hundred new original channels created specifically for today's connected viewer's to its platform and announced its content partners, Latham's channel was described as being "the premier platform for original, cutting edge, urban comedy programming. "

Latham, one of the youngest, most innovative and creative producers and promoters of our time, has been so enormously successful in his trendsetting and groundbreaking ventures, that he is oftentimes referred to as "The King of Comedy." The Wall Street Journal once wrote, "Mr. Latham has been able to succeed in an industry that is rapidly leaving behind individual promoters like him."

"My partnership with YouTube is definitely going to play a large role in redefining urban entertainment as we know it," says Latham, " I'm excited about the new channel and the challenges that will come along with it as we introduce urban comedy to programming."

Walter Latham is a history maker.

In 1997, Latham launched the "Kings of Comedy" tour, which featured triple headlining acts: Steve Harvey, Cedric "The Entertainer" and the late, Bernie Mac. Latham later added comedian D.L. Hughley to the lineup. The tour grossed more than $40 million in its two year run and consistently sold out arenas seating 10,000 or more, even selling-out Atlanta's Georgia Dome. USA Today described it as being, "the top grossing comedy tour in US history."

So successful was the "Kings of Comedy" tour, that Mr. Latham decided to capture the experience of the live tour on film. Directed by Spike Lee and produced by Walter Latham, and MTV Films, the "Original Kings of Comedy" grossed $37 million during its run at the box office and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. The accompanying soundtrack, released on Universal Records, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Spoken Album.

In 2000, Latham launched the "Queens of Comedy" tour featuring Miss Laura Hayes, Adele Givens, Sommore and Mo'Nique. In addition to performing before sold out audiences, the quartet appeared in a "Queens of Comedy" Sho

Lee Daniels and Precious cast

"Precious" director Lee Daniels revealed in an exclusive interview with MTV News that casting is firming up for his next film, "Selma." Liam Neeson and Cedric the Entertainer are both on board in key roles, with the former playing President Lyndon Baines Johnson and the latter playing American civil rights movement leader and Martin Luther King Jr. associate Ralph Abernathy.

"Selma" is set against the backdrop of the civil rights disputes that raged during the 1960s. It is specifically focused on one moment in time in the middle of the decade. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ostensibly made segregation illegal, local governments in less forward-thinking parts of the country still built barriers designed to defeat black citizens who wished to exercise their constitutional rights.

This week marks the 45th anniversary of one historic act of protest during that time - on March 25, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. led a mass gathering of civil rights protesters to the doorstep of Alabama's State Capitol Building in Montgomery. It was the end of a five-day, four-night march that started in Selma, Alabama, an act of public protest that ultimately became an important component in the passage of the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory practices that had been used to prevent African-Americans from exercising their right to vote.

Daniels' story in "Selma" will encompass the march and the events leading up to it. His key players are Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo was cast in the role last week), President Johnson, Sheriff Jim Clark (Hugh Jackman), future Sheriff Wilson Baker (elected in '66), Andrew Young (Lenny Kravitz) and Ralph Abernathy.

"Liam Neeson's playing Johnson," Daniels told us. "Wallace is not [cast], but [an offer is] out. We're waiting for a deal to close."

One bit of casting that Daniels is...More 'Selma'