Damon Wayans

For the actor's son, see Damon Wayans, Jr..
Damon Wayans

Damon at the Improv, 2007
Birth name Damon Kyle Wayans
Born (1960-09-04) September 4, 1960
New York, New York, United States
Medium Stand-up, television, film, books
Nationality American
Years active 1982–present
Genres Observational comedy, Improvisational comedy, Satire/Political satire
Subject(s) Family, children, parenting, marriage, American politics, everyday life
Spouse Lisa Thorner (1984–2000; divorced; 4 children)
Notable works and roles Saturday Night Live
In Living Color
Maj. Benson Winifred Payne in Major Payne
Michael Kyle in My Wife and Kids
Damon Thomas in Damon

Damon Kyle Wayans, Sr. (/ˈdeɪmən ˈweɪ.ənz/;[1] born September 4, 1960)[2] is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer, 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.

Early life

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 cartoon series Waynehead. Wayans attended Murry Bergtraum High School.[10]

Career

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 for playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop on a live sketch, going against the script. In the Saturday Night Live 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 and increasing stress. 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 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.[11]

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[12] and vHeads.[4]

On November 12, 2015, at the Irvine Improv, Damon Wayans announced his retirement from stand-up commencing December 2015.

Awards and honors

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,[13] and received four International Press Academy "Golden Satellite Award" nominations.

Personal life

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.[14]

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.’”[15][16]

In Living Color

Characters

Impressions

Filmography

Year Title Role
1984 Beverly Hills Cop Banana Man
1985–1986 Saturday Night Live (TV series) Various (only featured, never offered contract for permanent cast member)
1986 Triplecross (TV) Ornery Character #1
1987 Hollywood Shuffle Body Guard #2/Willie
1987 Roxanne Jerry
1987 A Different World (TV series) Marvin Haven
1988 Colors T-Bone
1988 Earth Girls Are Easy Zeebo
1988 Punchline Percy
1988 I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Leonard
1989 One Night Stand Comedian
1990 Look Who's Talking Too Eddie (voice)
1990–1994 In Living Color (TV series) Various
1991 The Last Boy Scout James Alexander "Jimmy" Dix
1992 Mo' Money Johnny Stewart
1993 Last Action Hero Himself
1994 Blankman Darryl Walker
1995 Major Payne Maj. 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
1998 Damon (TV series) Damon Thomas
1999 Harlem Aria Wes
1999 Goosed Dr. Steven Hemel
2000 Bamboozled Pierre Delacroix
2001–2005 My Wife and Kids (TV series) Michael Kyle
2003 Marci X Dr. S
2004 Behind the Smile Charlie Richman
2006 Farce of the Penguins (V) "Hey, that's my ass!" Penguin (voice)
2006 The Underground (TV series) Various
2008 Never Better (TV series) Keith
2011 Happy Endings (TV series) Francis Williams

References

  1. ↑ You nay it how?
  2. ↑ "Damon Wayans Biography: Film Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Director, Producer (1960–)". Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks). Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ Tucker, Ernest (April 14, 1989). "Militant Wayans is mellowing out". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Triangulation 175 Damon Wayans
  5. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/blog/keenen-ivory-wayans-interactive-family-tree/
  6. ↑ Shawn Wayans Biography (1971–)
  7. ↑ Marlon Wayans – TIME
  8. ↑ The Movie Chicks – Interview – Marlon Wayans
  9. ↑ Stated on Finding Your Roots, January 19, 2016, PBS
  10. ↑ Damon Wayans Biography – Yahoo! Movies
  11. ↑ CNN Interview with Damon Wayans
  12. ↑ Interview: Damon Wayans Sr. Joonbug.com February 14, 2014. Accessed August 25, 2014.
  13. ↑ People's Choice Awards 2002
  14. ↑ Devores, Courtney (May 22, 2014). "Damon Wayans Sr. confronts diabetes with a fork and a laugh". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  15. ↑ Kenneally, Tim (Sep 4, 2015). "Bill Cosby Scandal Blasted as a ‘Money Hustle’ by Damon Wayans (Video)". Yahoo. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Chen, Joyce (Sep 6, 2015). "Damon Wayans Defends Bill Cosby, Calls Accusers "Bitches" and "Unrapeable"". US Weekly. Retrieved 6 September 2015.

External links

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