Keenen Ivory Wayans
Keenen Ivory Wayans | |
|---|---|
 Wayans in 2019 | |
| Born | Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans June 8, 1958 New York City,U.S. |
| Education | Tuskegee University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse |
Daphne Wayans
(m.2001;div.2006) |
| Partner | Brittany Daniel(2007–2014) |
| Children | 5 |
| Family | Wayans family |
| Awards | 1990–Emmy AwardOutstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series In Living Color(as executive producer) |
Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans(born June 8, 1958)[1]is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a member of theWayans familyof entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and creator of the 1990–1994Foxsketch comedy seriesIn Living Color.He has produced, directed or written several films, starting withHollywood Shuffle,which he cowrote, in 1987. Most of his films have included him and one or more of his siblings in the cast.
One of these films,Scary Movie(2000), which Wayans directed, was the highest-grossing movie directed by an African American until it was surpassed byTim Story'sFantastic Fourin 2005. From 1997 to 1998, he hosted the talk showThe Keenen Ivory Wayans Show.[2]Most recently, he was a judge for the eighth season ofLast Comic Standing.
Life and career
[edit]Wayans was born inHarlem,New York City, son of Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager, and his wife Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker.[3]He was the second of ten children.[4]Genealogical TV showFinding Your Rootsrevealed that his paternal line traced back toMadagascar.[4]His father was a devoutJehovah's Witness.[5][6]The family later moved to Manhattan'sFultonhousing projects,[7]where he primarily grew up. He attendedSeward Park High Schoolduring his teenage years, and attendedTuskegee Universityon an engineering scholarship.[7]He entertained his friends at college with made-up stories about life in New York.[8]One semester before graduation, he dropped out of school to focus on comedy.[9]
During his first set performing atThe Improvin New York, Wayans metRobert Townsend,who helped him learn about the comedy business.[8]Townsend and Wayans drove to Los Angeles together when Wayans moved to Los Angeles in 1980.[8]Wayans worked there as an actor. He had a regular role as a soldier on the television seriesFor Love and Honor[8]and appeared onHill Street Bluesas an NFL linebacker.
Townsend wrote, directed, and starred in the movieHollywood Shuffle;Wayans was costar and cowriter.[8]The movie's success allowed him to raise the money to makeI'm Gonna Git You Sucka.[8]Fox Broadcasting Company approached Wayans to offer him his own show.[10]Wayans wanted to produce a variety show similar toSaturday Night Live,with a cast of people of color that took chances with its content.[7]
Fox gave Wayans a lot of freedom with the show, although Fox executives were a bit concerned about the show's content before its debut.[10]Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the show,In Living Color,asketch comedytelevision series that originally ran on Fox from 1990 to 1994.
Personal life
[edit]Wayans marriedDaphne Polkin 2001, but the couple filed for divorce in 2004, and their divorce was finalized in December 2006.[11]
In Living Color
[edit]Characters
[edit]- Death Row Comic (Prison Cable Access)
- Frenchie
- Ice Man (Homeboy Shopping Network)
- Tom Brothers (The Brothers Brothers)
- Wes (Wes & Les)
Impressions
[edit]- Arsenio Hall
- Billy Dee Williams
- Don Cornelius
- Jesse Jackson
- Little Richard
- Mike Tyson
- Marsha Warfield
- Milli (Rob Pilatus) ofMilli Vanilli
- Morgan Freeman(Damon Wayans was Hoke Coburn fromDriving Miss Daisy/Riding Miss Daisy, PrincipalJoe Louis ClarkfromLean on Me)
- Rick James
- Steve Harvey
- Carl Weathers(asApollo Creed)
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Star 80 | Comic |
| 1983 | For Love and Honor | Duke |
| 1986 | Benson | Clete Hawkins |
| 1987 | A Different World | Professor Lawrence |
| 1987 | Hollywood Shuffle | Donald / Jheri Curl |
| 1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Jack Spade |
| 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame | Andre Shame |
| 1996 | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood | Mailman |
| 1996 | The Glimmer Man | Lieutenant Jim Campbell |
| 1997 | Most Wanted | Gunnery Sergeant James Anthony Dunn |
| 2000 | Scary Movie | Slave (AmistadII) |
| 2001 | My Wife and Kids | Ken |
| 2009 | Dance Flick | Mr. Stache |
| 2009 | Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy | Himself |
| 2013 | Happily Divorced | Tony |
| 2014 | Last Comic Standing | Judge |
Writing/producing/directing credits
[edit]| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Hollywood Shuffle | No | Yes | No | |
| 1987 | Eddie Murphy Raw | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1990-1992 | In Living Color | Yes | Yes | executive | creator |
| 1991 | The Five Heartbeats | No | Yes | No | |
| 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1996 | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood | No | No | Yes | |
| 1997 | The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show | No | No | executive | |
| 1997 | Most Wanted | No | Yes | executive | |
| 2000 | Scary Movie | Yes | No | No | |
| 2001 | Scary Movie 2 | Yes | No | No | |
| 2004 | White Chicks | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2006 | Little Man | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | Dance Flick | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | The Boo Crew | No | Yes | Yes | creator |
| 2020 | The Last O.G. | No | Yes | No | episode: "Lookin' at The Front Door" |
References
[edit]- ^"Keenen Ivory Wayans".PBS.RetrievedAugust 17,2021.
- ^Braxton, Greg (August 3, 1997)."Will 'Hip' Equal 'Hit'?".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
- ^Stated onFinding Your Roots,January 19, 2016, PBS
- ^abJohnson, Martin (January 18, 2016)."Finding Your Roots: Shonda Rhimes, Maya Rudolph and Keenen Ivory Wayans Learn Shocking Facts About Their Families".The Root.G/O Media Inc.RetrievedFebruary 23,2022.
- ^Stein, Joel (September 11, 2000)."Marlon Wayans".Time.Archived fromthe originalon November 4, 2007.
- ^The Movie Chicks – Interview – Marlon Wayans
- ^abcLaurence, Robert P. (April 13, 1990)."Is prime time ready for rudeness? Fox's new comedy 'In Living Color' will offend some, tickle others".The San Diego Union.p. E1.
- ^abcdefHughes, Mike (April 13, 1990)."Laughing with 'Living Color'".USA Today.
- ^McIntyre, Mike (February 16, 1989)."Keenen Wayans gambles and wins on an offbeat 'Sucka'".The San Diego Union.p. E3.
- ^ab"New Fox Show Pokes Fun at Black Stereotypes".Greensboro, North Carolina: Greensboro News & Record. Associated Press. April 12, 1990. p. B6.
- ^"Keenen Ivory Wayans files for divorce".Today.NBC. May 7, 2004.RetrievedApril 16,2024.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1958 births
- Living people
- 20th-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century American comedians
- 21st-century American comedians
- African-American film directors
- African-American male actors
- African-American male comedians
- African-American male writers
- African-American screenwriters
- African-American television producers
- African-American television talk show hosts
- American comedy actors
- American male comedians
- American male film actors
- American male screenwriters
- American male television actors
- American male television writers
- American parodists
- American people of Malagasy descent
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- American television writers
- Comedians from Manhattan
- American comedy film directors
- Film directors from New York City
- Film producers from New York (state)
- Late night television talk show hosts
- Male actors from Manhattan
- Parody film directors
- People from Chelsea, Manhattan
- People from Harlem
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Screenwriters from New York (state)
- Seward Park High School alumni
- Television producers from New York City
- Television show creators
- Wayans family