Damon Wayans
| Damon Wayans | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | Damon Kyle Wayans |
| Born | September 4, 1960 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, film, books |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, improvisational comedy, satire/political satire |
| Subject(s) | Family, children, parenting, marriage, American politics, everyday life |
| Spouse | Lisa Thorner (m. 1984; div. 2000) |
| Children | 4, including Damon Wayans Jr. |
| Relative(s) | See Wayans family |
| Notable works and roles | Saturday Night Live In Living Color Maj. Benson Winifred Payne in Major Payne Michael Kyle in My Wife and Kids Roger Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon |
Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (/ˈdeɪmən ˈweɪ.ənz/;[1] born September 4, 1960)[2] is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer, and member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a yearlong stint on the sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, although his true breakthrough came as a co-creator and performer on his own sketch comedy show, In Living Color, from 1990 to 1992. Since then he has starred in a number of films and television shows, some of which he has co-produced or co-written, including The Last Boy Scout and Major Payne, and the sitcom My Wife and Kids.
Contents
Early life[edit]
Wayans was born in Harlem[3] in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker, singer[4] and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager.[5][6][7][8][9] He has five sisters, Elvira, Vonnie, Nadia, Kim, Diedre, and four brothers, actors Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Dwayne Wayans. He was club footed as a child. This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife and Kids and his character on the short-lived cartoon series Waynehead. Wayans attended Murry Bergtraum High School.[10]
Career[edit]
Damon started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the 1984 Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop. From 1985 to 1986, he appeared on Saturday Night Live as a featured performer, before getting fired after just seven episodes for improvising during a live sketch, playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. Wayans later claimed that he wanted to be fired due to lack of creative freedom and screen time. Wayans further explained that Lorne Michaels did not want Wayans to do too much too soon and begin drawing unfair comparisons to Eddie Murphy who had just left the show.[11] He later claimed that He also appeared in the syndicated TV series Solid Gold during the 1980s as a comedian.
With his brother Keenen, Wayans created the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color, which had a mostly African-American cast. The show went on the air in 1990. It continued running until 1994, although Wayans left the show in 1992 to pursue a film career.
After In Living Color, he starred in films such as Mo' Money, The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne, Celtic Pride, Bulletproof, and The Great White Hype, and wrote and starred in the film Blankman. He also appeared in Janet Jackson's video "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and was considered for the role of The Riddler in Batman Forever (the role went to Jim Carrey, his co-star from In Living Color and Earth Girls Are Easy).
In 1996, he produced Waynehead, a short-lived cartoon for the WB, loosely based on his own childhood growing up in a large family, starring a poor boy with a club foot. The show only lasted a season due to poor ratings. From 1997 to 1998, he was the executive producer of 413 Hope St., a short-lived drama on the FOX network starring Richard Roundtree and Jesse L. Martin.
In 1998, he starred in the short-lived comedy TV series Damon, in which he played a Chicago detective. It aired on Fox. In 1999, his New York Times bestselling book Bootleg with co-author David Asbery was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family.[12]
Wayans starred in the ABC comedy series My Wife and Kids from 2001 to 2005.
In 2006, he produced and starred in the Showtime sketch comedy series The Underground, which also featured his son, Damon Jr. He also hosted the 2006 BET Awards.
In 2011, he also added author of a serious fictional novel to his credits with "Red Hats" which is the story of a suicidal 65-year-old woman who finds friendship and happiness when she joins the Red Hat Society.
As of 2014, Wayans continues to perform stand up comedy and has developed apps with his company of freelancers "MIMS" (Money in My Sleep).[4] The company created applications such as Flick Dat, Diddeo[13] and VHedz.[4]
On November 12, 2015, at the Irvine Improv, Damon Wayans announced his retirement from stand-up commencing December 2015.
In 2016, he was cast as Roger Murtaugh in the television version of Lethal Weapon, a role originated by Danny Glover in the film series.
Awards and honors[edit]
Wayans received four Emmy awards nominations for his acting and directing in In Living Color.
For his role in My Wife and Kids, he won the 2002 People's Choice Awards for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Series,[14] and received four International Press Academy "Golden Satellite Award" nominations.
Personal life[edit]
Wayans was married to Lisa Thorner; they divorced in 2000. He has four children with Thorner: sons Damon Wayans Jr., Michael Wayans and daughters Cara Mia Wayans, Kyla Wayans; and is a grandfather.[4] He is the uncle of Damien Dante Wayans, Chaunté Wayans and Craig Wayans.
Wayans is a close personal friend of both NBA legend Michael Jordan and fellow In Living Color star Jim Carrey.
Wayans was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in early 2013.[15]
In September 2015, Wayans defended American comedian Bill Cosby from his sexual assault accusations, stating, "It's a money hustle". He continued, saying, "Forty years – listen, how big is his penis that it gives you amnesia for 40 years? If you listen to them talk, they go, 'Well, the first time…' The first time? Bitch, how many times did it happen? Just listen to what they're saying and some of them really is unrape-able. I look at them and go, 'You don't want that. Get outta here.'"[16][17]
In Living Color[edit]
Characters[edit]
- Whiz (Homeboy Shopping Network)
- Homey D. Clown
- Blaine Edwards (Men on...)
- Mr.H
- Handi-Man
- Reverend Ed Cash
- Anton Jackson
- Head Detective
- Tom Brothers (w/Keenen Ivory Wayans)
- Oswald Bates
- Maj. Benson Payne
Impressions[edit]
- Babyface (on Saturday Night Live)
- Don King (on In Living Color)
- Little Richard (on Saturday Night Live and In Living Color)
- Louis Farrakhan (on both Saturday Night Live and In Living Color)
- Redd Foxx (on In Living Color)
- Richard Pryor (on In Living Color)
- Fab Morvan (on In Living Color)
- Jamie Foxx (on In Living Color)
Filmography[edit]
Films[edit]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Beverly Hills Cop | Banana Man |
| 1987 | Hollywood Shuffle | Body Guard #2/Willie |
| 1987 | Roxanne | Jerry |
| 1988 | Colors | T-Bone |
| 1988 | Earth Girls Are Easy | Zeebo |
| 1988 | Punchline | Percy |
| 1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Leonard |
| 1990 | Look Who's Talking Too | Eddie (voice) |
| 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | James Alexander "Jimmy" Dix |
| 1992 | Mo' Money | Johnny Stewart |
| 1993 | Last Action Hero | Himself |
| 1994 | Blankman | Blankman/Darryl Walker |
| 1995 | Major Payne | Major Benson Payne (main character) |
| 1996 | Celtic Pride | Lewis Scott |
| 1996 | The Great White Hype | James "The Grim Reaper" Roper |
| 1996 | Bulletproof | Rock Keats/Jack Carter |
| 1999 | Harlem Aria | Wes |
| 1999 | Goosed | Dr. Steven Hemel |
| 2000 | Bamboozled | Pierre Delacroix |
| 2003 | Marci X | Dr. S |
| 2004 | Behind the Smile | Charlie Richman |
| 2006 | Farce of the Penguins (V) | "Hey, that's my ass!" Penguin (voice) |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1986 | Saturday Night Live (TV series) | Various | Featured performer |
| 1986 | Triplecross (TV) | Ornery Character #1 | |
| 1987 | A Different World | Marvin Haven | Episode: "War of the Words" |
| 1989 | One Night Stand | Comedian | |
| 1990–1994 | In Living Color | Various | Main cast |
| 1998 | Damon | Damon Thomas | Main cast |
| 2001–2005 | My Wife and Kids | Michael Kyle | Main cast |
| 2006 | The Underground | Various | |
| 2008 | Never Better | Keith | TV movie |
| 2011 | Happy Endings | Francis Williams | Episode: "Like Father, Like Gun" |
| 2016–present | Lethal Weapon | Roger Murtaugh | Main cast |
References[edit]
- ^ You nay it how?
- ^ "Damon Wayans Biography: Film Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Director, Producer (1960–)". Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks). Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ Tucker, Ernest (April 14, 1989). "Militant Wayans is mellowing out". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d Triangulation 175 Damon Wayans
- ^ https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/blog/keenen-ivory-wayans-interactive-family-tree/
- ^ Shawn Wayans Biography (1971–)
- ^ Marlon Wayans – TIME
- ^ The Movie Chicks – Interview – Marlon Wayans Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Stated on Finding Your Roots, January 19, 2016, PBS
- ^ Damon Wayans Biography – Yahoo! Movies
- ^ McCarthy, Sean L. (8 September 2015). "What Damon Wayans said in 2015 about getting fired at SNL, In Living Color, Kevin Hart, social media, and yes, Bill Cosby". The Comic's Comic. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ CNN Interview with Damon Wayans
- ^ Interview: Damon Wayans Sr. Joonbug.com February 14, 2014. Accessed August 25, 2014.
- ^ People's Choice Awards 2002
- ^ Devores, Courtney (May 22, 2014). "Damon Wayans Sr. confronts diabetes with a fork and a laugh". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ Kenneally, Tim (September 4, 2015). "Bill Cosby Scandal Blasted as a 'Money Hustle' by Damon Wayans (Video)". Yahoo. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ Chen, Joyce (September 6, 2015). "Damon Wayans Defends Bill Cosby, Calls Accusers "Bitches" and "Unrapeable"". US Weekly. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
External links[edit]
- 1960 births
- Male actors from New York City
- American male film actors
- African-American stand-up comedians
- American stand-up comedians
- American male screenwriters
- African-American television producers
- American television producers
- American television writers
- American people of Malagasy descent
- Living people
- Wayans family
- African-American male actors
- American male television actors
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- American sketch comedians
- Male television writers
- African-American film directors
- Comedians from New York City
- 20th-century American comedians
- 21st-century American comedians
