Damon Wayans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Damon Wayans | |
| Birth name | Damon Kyle Wayans |
| Born | September 4, 1960 (age 46) New York, New York,  United States |
| Notable roles | Banana Man in Beverly Hills Cop Lenny in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Cast member - In Living Color (Seasons 1-3) Jimmy Dix in The Last Boy Scout Michael Kyle, Sr. in My Wife and Kids Pierre Delacroix in Bamboozled |
Damon Wayans (born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, and actor who began his career as a stand-up comic in 1982. He is one of the, and probably best known, Wayans brothers.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Wayans was born in New York City, New York to Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager. He has four sisters, Vonnie, Nadia, Elvira, Deidre, and three brothers, actors Marlon Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans and Shawn Wayans, . He was raised in his father's Jehovah's Witness religion and has described his upbringing as "strict".[1] He had a clubbed foot as a child. This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife & Kids and his character on the cartoon series "Waynehead". Wayans attended Murry Bergtraum High School.[2]
[edit] Career
Wayans's earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the 1984 Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop. He was briefly on Saturday Night Live as a featured performer, before getting fired for playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. In the SNL book "Live From New York", it was stated that Wayans did this largely due to growing frustrations that his sketches were not being considered for the show. He went on to do the TV-show In Living Color from 1990 to 1992, part of a team that was nominated for Emmy Awards all three years.
After that, he starred in films such as The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne and The Great White Hype, he also wrote and starred in the film Blankman. In 1996, he produced Waynehead, a cartoon for the WB, loosely based on his own childhood growing up in a large family, starring a poor boy with a clubfoot. It 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 a short-lived comedy titled Damon, in which he played a Chicago detective. It aired on FOX. In 1999, his New York Times bestselling book Bootleg was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family, children, marriage, and politics. From 2001 until 2005, Wayans starred in the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids. Through My Wife and Kids Damon Wayans became a household name throughout the US. The show was also popular in countries such as UK, South Africa, India, Brazil and Italy. His character, Michael Kyle, is a father of three and the show is famous for his sarcastic form of comedy.[3] In 2005 Damon Wayans was in a celebrity ad campaign for Hanes.
In 2006, he began starring in The Underground, a sketch comedy series on Showtime. His son, Damon, Jr. also stars on the show.
Wayans appears in Janet Jackson's video "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and was considered for the role of The Riddler in Batman Forever. He hosted the 2006 BET Awards which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 2006.
[edit] Personal life
Wayans married Lisa Thorner. They divorced in 2000. He is the father of Damon Wayans, Jr., Michael Wayans, Cara Mia Wayans, and Kyla Wayans. He is also the uncle of Damien Dante Wayans and the cousin of Craig Wayans.
Wayans is a close friend of NBA legend Michael Jordan.
[edit] Saturday Night Live
[edit] Recurring Characters
- Keith, one of the Stand-Up Comedians (because of his termination and cast changes after Season 11, he was replaced with host Tom Hanks' stand-up character, Paul)
- Ned Jones, one half of criminal pitchmen partners The Jones Brothers (his brother, Fed, was played by Anthony Michael Hall)
[edit] Celebrity Impersonations
- Louis Farrakhan (whom he also impersonated on In Living Color)
- Babyface
- Little Richard
[edit] In Living Color
[edit] Characters
- Anton Jackson, a gross, drunken homeless man who hosts his own home-repair show and pops up in places where he shouldn't be (It should be noted that his Anton Jackson character sounds like his character, Ned Jones, from the SNL recurring sketch, The Jones Brothers).
- Blaine Edwards, one of the flamboyantly gay film critics in the Men On... series (this character and Anton Jackson were the only In Living Color recurring characters Wayans played when he hosted Saturday Night Live on an episode from the 1994-1995 season)
- Handi Man, a mentally and physically disabled superhero
- Head Detective, a police detective who was rebuilt to look like Mr. Potato Head after an accident
- Homey D. Clown, an ex-con who performs as a kids' party clown
- Les (Les and Wes)
- Oswald Bates
- Major Payne
- The Wiz
- Tom Brothers (The Brothers Brothers)
- Reverend Ed Cash (partnered with Dr. Reverend Carl Pecos, played by Jim Carrey. Both were con artist preachers)
- Benson Payne in the 1995 movie Major Payne
