Damon Wayans
| Damon Wayans | |
|---|---|
 Damon at the Improv, 2007 | |
| Birth name | Damon Kyle Wayans |
| Born | September 4, 1960 New York City, 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 Payne in Major Payne Michael Kyle in My Wife and Kids Damon Thomas in Damon |
Damon Kyle Wayans (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈdeɪmən ˈweɪ.ənz/;[1] born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans family.
Early life
Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager.[2][3][4] He has five sisters, Elvira, Vonnie, Nadia, Kim, Diedre, and four brothers, actors Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Dwayne Wayans. He had a clubbed foot 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.[5]
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. 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. He went against the script during the live performance. 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 and increasing stress. He also appeared in the syndicated TV series Solid Gold during the 1980s as a stand-up comedian. After that, he went on to co-create and appear in the TV-show In Living Color from 1990 to 1992, part of a team that was nominated for Emmy Awards all three years.
After In Living Color, he starred in films such as The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne 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 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 with co-author David Asbery was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family.[6]
In 2006, he began starring in The Underground, a sketch comedy series on Showtime. His son, Damon, Jr. also stars on the show. He hosted the 2006 BET Awards which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 2006.
For his outstanding role in the ABC comedy series My Wife and Kids, Wayans earned four International Press Academy "Golden Satellite Award" nominations and four Emmy awards nominations for his acting and directing in the 1990s' series In Living Color. He also added author of a serious fictional novel to his credits this past year 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.
Personal life
Wayans was married to Lisa Thorner, however they divorced in 2000. He has four children, sons Damon Wayans, Jr., Michael Wayans and daughters Cara Mia Wayans, and Kyla Wayans. 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.
He won the People's Choice Awards for Favorite Male.
In Living Color
Characters
- Whiz (Homeboy Shopping Network)
- Homey D.Clown
- Blaine Edwards (Men on...)
- Mr.Headley
- Handi-Man
- Reverend Ed Cash
- Anton
- Head Detective
- Tom Brothers (w/Keenen Ivory Wayans)
- Oswald Bates
Impressions
- 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
| 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 |
| 1990 | Look Who's Talking Too | Eddie (voice) |
| 1990–1994 | In Living Color (TV Series) | Various |
| 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | James Alexander 'Jimmy/Jim' 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 |
| 2010 | Untitled Damon Wayans Project (TV Series) | TBA |
References
External links
- Damon Wayans at IMDb