Wayans, Damon 1961–

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Damon Wayans 1961–

Comedian, actor, writer, film director

In 1990 comedian Damon Wayans burst onto the television scene with In Living Color, an outrageously funny and often controversial comedy show broadcast on the Fox Network. Each week, the half-hour variety show—starring Wayans, brother, executive producer, and creator of the show Keenan Ivory Wayans, sister Kim Wayans, David Alan Grier, James Carrey, and the Fly Girls dancers—parodied life in America, with one big distinction—its street-smart, urban perspective.

David Hiltbrand of People labeled In Living Color “a riotously energetic, recklessly funny comedy-revue show … that proves that prime time has been sorely lacking in satire with a black sensibility.” When asked by George Wayne of Interview if he thought it was breakthrough television, Wayans responded: “On certain levels, yes. It’s breakthrough on the level of black people determining what’s funny about black people.”

Though the program became popular with the black community, it surprised network executives with its popularity among critics and the rest of the TV-viewing public. In fact, in its first season, In Living Color won an Emmy Award for outstanding variety, music, or comedy program; and Wayans won an Emmy in 1990 and 1991 for outstanding writing in a variety, music, or comedy program.

The popularity of In Living Color hinged on its parodies of famous African Americans like Arsenio Hall, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Milli Vanilli. Wayans’ comedie talent made him especially adept at mimicking people like Louis Farrakhan. But his self-created characters Homey the Clown, Anton the Bum, and Handi-Man (a handicapped superhero) distinguished him from the rest of the ensemble and made Damon Wayans one of the most popular cast members.

Humor Too Pointed for Some

Some critics, however, labeled his brand of humor as too “in your face.” Wayans’ character Blaine Edwards, a gay film critic, has often been targeted by television watchdog groups who find the humor offensive. But Wayans dismisses any criticism of his work. “You can’t care what the critics say,” he told Veronica Chambers of Essence. “First of all, it’s not the gay community complaining; it’s some special-interest group that sees itself as the defender of them all.”

In spite of the reaction of some critics, Wayans has been successful in the entertainment industry. But for him,

At a Glance…

Born in 1961 in New York, NY; son of Howell and Elvira Wayans; married; wife’s name, Lisa; children: Damon, Michael, Cara Mia, Kyla.

Stand-up comedian, Good Times nightclub, New York City, 1982; performed in numerous nightclubs 1982—; host of M/7/er Lite Comedy Search Finals, 1989. Television appearances include series Saturday Night Live, 1985-86, and In Living Color, 1990-92; and special programs Take No Prisoners: Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime, 1988, The Mutiny Has lust Begun: Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime, 1989, HBO Comedy Hour, 1990, (also executive producer) Damon Wayons: The Last Standi, 1991. Film appearances include Beverly Hills Cop, 1984; Hollywood Shuffle, 1987; Roxanne, 1987; Colors, 1988; /’m Conna Cet You Sucka, 1988; Punchline, 1988; Earth Girls Are Easy, 1989; Look Who’s Talking Too (voiceover), 1990; The Last Boy Scout, 1991; (also co-executive producer and author of screenplay) Mo Money, 1992; Blankman, 1994.

Awards: Emmy Awards for outstanding writing in a variety program, 1991 and 1992, for In Living Color, Soul Train Comedy Award for best actor in a TV sketch comedy role, 1993.

Addresses: Office— Wife & Kid Productions, 102202 West Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.

personal success has been measured in his abilities as a husband and father. “I’ve learned that your family really cares about you,” he told Wayne. “People in the world don’t really care about you. They care about what you do and what you have.” His success has enabled him and his family—wife Lisa and children Damon, Michael, Cara Mia, and Kyla—to live a life far from the housing project where he grew up.

Raised in the Chelsea district of New York City as one of 11 children, Wayans learned the value of a family. Though they were poor, he doesn’t hold any bad memories of his childhood. In fact, Wayans credits his upbringing for much of his comic ability, where as children he and his siblings would stretch their imaginations with a game of “make me laugh or die.”

Wayans started his standup-comedy career in 1982 at the Good Times club in New York City. With topics ranging from relationships and sex to rap music, he began his first professional routine with a joke on family life. “My opening killer joke,” he recounted to Allan Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “I’m from a poor family. We were so poor that my father drove a 1974 Big Wheel.”

From Stage to Silver Screen

For the next several years Wayans refined his routine at comedy clubs around the country. In 1984 he got his first part in a movie—the blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy. The following year, he got a big break in television when he won a role as a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wayans left the show a year later to pursue other projects, including a return to the standup-comedy circuit. “Standup is my roots,” he told Johnson, “and it’s hard for a comic to give it up. And the thing is, this is the only thing that I really have control of, in terms of [being] writer, producer, and star.”

One of Wayans’ next projects was a role in Robert Townsend’s 1987 spoof on the caricaturization of blacks in the movie industry, Hollywood Shuffle. The success of the film and his relationship with the director led to appearances on two of Townsend’s television specials: 1988’s Take No Prisoners: Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime and The Mutiny Has Just Begun: Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime, broadcast in 1989.

It wasn’t long before Wayans was working consistently with some of Hollywood’s biggest comic actors in some of the period’s biggest movies. He appeared in Vm Gonna Get You Sucka in 1984, with Steve Martin in 1987’s Roxanne, and in both Colors and Punchline —alongside co-stars Sally Fields and Tom Hanks—in 1988. Though none were starring roles, Wayans’ talents were in the spotlight long enough for casting directors to sit up and take notice. In 1989 he got a featured role in the movie Earth Girls Are Easy, and in 1990 his voice was used as one of the children in the sequel Look Who’s Talking Too.

The television industry was also taking notice of Wayans’ skills as a comic. In 1990, besides starting work on In Living Color, he had his first comedy special on Home Box Office (HBO). The following year he had another HBO comedy special, this time to celebrate the end of his standup-comedy career. Damon Wayans: The Last Stand?, taped at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem, was his last performance in a career that had taken him nine years to develop. Though he confessed to Johnson that “there’s nothing like the rush because standup has been like therapy for me,” Wayans had become concerned that he was doing it for all the wrong reasons and that his material was not as good as it should be. “They’re funny jokes, but I think there should be a little more depth to my comedy.”

Left In Living Color Behind

Wayans also surprised his television fans by announcing that he had decided to leave In Living Color at the end of the 1991-92 season. Like standup comedy, he found that the show had reached its creative limits. Even though Wayans proclaimed he was ending his comedy career as everyone had known it, he insisted that he wasn’t giving up on the business of comedy—he just wanted to try his hand at other things, including directing and producing.

In the winter of 1991 Wayans appeared in the action adventure movie, The Last Boy Scout, alongside actor Bruce Willis. Not only was this his first “non-comedic” role, it was also his first co-starring role. Unfortunately, the movie was panned by the critics, though Leah Rozen of People was quick to point out that “Wayans is sharp and shows much promise.” Though Wayans was disappointed with the reaction that the movie received, he was equally disappointed that a television show he had been developing for Fox, a clay-animated sitcom called The Wayneheads, had not taken off.

But in 1992 Wayans was finding success again, this time with the movie Mo’ Money. As writer, director, and star of the action comedy, he felt that he finally achieved the personal control and freedom that he had enjoyed as a standup comic. The movie centers around a credit-card con man, played by Wayans, who falls in love with a corporate executive and tries to go straight. Though the critics panned the script and the camera work on the film’s “action” sequences, praise was offered for Wayans. But more importantly, the movie-going public was enthusiastic; Mo’ Money was proclaimed a hit.

Wayans’ success in the entertainment industry has allowed him to shower his family with luxuries that his parents were not able to provide him. In 1993 he was able to move his family into a 10,000 square-foot Beverly Hills home with six bedrooms, a swimming pool, and tennis court. But Wayans was quick to point out that his kids won’t be spoiled by the good life. “My kids go to a private school,” he told Chambers, “and at one point they weren’t doing well. I wasn’t happy with their test scores. So I took them to a public school in South Central [Los Angeles]. They begged to go back to private school—and improved their work. I wanted them to understand that private school is a privilege.”

This sense of caring was featured in Wayans’ next film, Blankman, released in 1994. The story revolves around a man who believes strongly in the human spirit—that one man can make a difference. The movie reflects Wayans’ belief that comedy can serve as a motivator and show people what should be important in life. “Comedians are one of the few group of people who can tell the truth,” he told Chambers. “People underestimate the power of humor. I really believe that.”