Famed civil-rights advocate and comedian Dick Gregory died Aug. 19 at age 84.

"It is with enormous sadness that the Gregory family confirms that their father, comedic legend and civil rights activist Mr. Dick Gregory departed this earth tonight in Washington, DC," son Christian Gregory stated in a Facebook post. Christian told the Associated Press that his father died of a bacterial infection.

Gregory gained attention in the 1960s as a comedian, becoming the first Black funnyman to widely win accolades from white audiences. As for his activism, that started during the same decade; among other things, he attended the historic 1963 March on Washington.

However, Gregory was not known for his support of LGBT rights. In fact, at a 2013 rally for Trayvon Martin, he criticized the country's majority support of same-sex marriage, making President George Washington the target of the first joke in his speech, The Daily Caller noted.

But Gregory also said in a radio conversation that can be heard on YouTube ( at Website Link Here ), "I've been going to Black churches all my life, and in every church, everybody knew who the gay preachers were and which members of the congregation were gay. So I'm like, 'Why, all at a sudden, are you condemning homosexuality, like you didn't know what was going on under your noses all that time?'"

In 1966, Gregory, who had strong Chicago connections, ran against Richard J. Daley for mayor of the city.

The Daily Caller item is at dailycaller.com/2013/07/21/george-washington-mocked-with-gay-joke-at-dc-trayvon-rally-video/ .