Damon Wayans Sr. | |
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 Wayans in 2008 | |
| Born | Damon Kyle Wayans (1960-09-04)September 4, 1960 (age 65) New York City, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingDamon Wayans Jr. |
| Relatives |
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| Family | Wayans family |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1982–present |
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Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (/ˈdeɪmənˈweɪ.ənz/DAY-mənWAY-ənz;[1] born September 4, 1960)[2] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of theWayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint on theNBC sketch comedy seriesSaturday Night Live. He later joined his family onFox's sketch comedy showIn Living Color (1990–1992), and wrote and performed on his own animated seriesWaynehead (1996–1997) and live-action seriesDamon (1998). Since then, he has starred in a number of films and television shows, some of which he has co-produced or co-written, includingMo' Money,The Last Boy Scout,Major Payne,Bulletproof, and the sitcomsMy Wife and Kids andPoppa's House, the latter featuring his sonDamon Wayans Jr. From 2016 to 2019, he starred asRoger Murtaugh in the Fox television seriesLethal Weapon.
Wayans was born inHarlem[3] in New York City, the fourth child of Elvira Alethia (née Green), a homemaker, singer[4] and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager.[5][6][7][8][9] His three older siblings areDwayne,Keenen Ivory, and Diedra. His six younger siblings areKim, Elvira, Nadia, Vonnie,Shawn, andMarlon. The Wayans children were raised asJehovah's Witnesses.[10] As a child, he had aclub foot.
This attribute would also be given to his character inMy Wife and Kids, and his character on the short-lived cartoon seriesWaynehead. Wayans attendedMurry Bergtraum High School.[11]
Wayans started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in theEddie Murphy film of 1984,Beverly Hills Cop. From1985 to 1986, he appeared onSaturday Night Live as a featured player, before getting fired after just eleven episodes for improvising during a live sketch, playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. Wayans later claimed that he wanted to be fired due to lack of creative freedom and screen time. Wayans further explained thatLorne Michaels did not want Wayans to do too much too soon and began drawing comparisons to Eddie Murphy who had just left the show.[12] He also appeared in the syndicated television seriesSolid Gold during the 1980s as a comedian.
With his brother Keenen, Wayans created theFox sketch comedy seriesIn Living Color, which had a mostly African-American cast. The show went on the air in April 1990. It continued running until May 1994, although Wayans left the show in 1992 to pursue a film career.
During and afterIn Living Color, he starred in films such asThe Last Boy Scout (1991),Mo' Money (1992),Last Action Hero (1993),Major Payne (1995),Celtic Pride (1996),Bulletproof (1996), andThe Great White Hype (1996), and wrote and starred in the filmBlankman (1994). He also appeared inJanet Jackson's video "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and was considered for the role of theRiddler inBatman Forever (the role went toJim Carrey, his co-star fromIn Living Color andEarth Girls Are Easy).
In October 1996, he producedWaynehead, a short-lived cartoon forThe 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 of413 Hope St., a short-lived drama on theFOX network starringRichard Roundtree andJesse L. Martin.
In March 1998, he starred in the short-lived comedy television seriesDamon, in which he played a detective from Chicago. It aired onFox. In 1999, hisThe New York Times bestselling bookBootleg, with co author David Asbery was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family.[13]
In October 2000, he was the lead in Spike Lee'sBamboozled. Wayans starred in the ABC comedy seriesMy Wife and Kids from March 2001 to May 2005. He was also co-creator of the short lived ABC sitcomRodney, starringRodney Carrington andJennifer Aspen, that ran from 2004–2006. In the end of 2006, he produced and starred in theShowtimesketch comedy seriesThe Underground, which also featured his son,Damon Jr. He also hosted the June 2006BET Awards.
In 2011, he also added author of a serious fictional novel to his credits withRed Hats, which is the story of a suicidal 65-year-old woman who finds friendship and happiness, when she joins theRed Hat Society. As of 2014[update], Wayans continues to perform stand-up comedy and has developedapps with his company of freelancers "MIMS" (Money in My Sleep).[4] The company created applications such as Flick Dat, Diddeo[14] and VHedz.[4]
On November 12, 2015, at the Irvine Improv, Wayans announced his retirement from stand up commencing December 2015. In September 2016, he was cast asRoger Murtaugh in the television version ofLethal Weapon, a role originated byDanny Glover in thefilm series. On October 3, 2018, it was reported that Wayans would leaveLethal Weapon after filming of the first thirteen episodes of Season 3 wrapped.[15]Lethal Weapon officially ended in February 2019, after three seasons.
Wayans returned to scripted television in the fall of 2024 with his son Damon Jr. on theCBS sitcomPoppa's House.[16]
Wayans was married to Lisa Thorner; they divorced in 2000. He has four children with Thorner: sonsDamon Wayans Jr. and Michael Wayans and daughters Cara Mia Wayans and Kyla Wayans. He is also a grandfather[4] and a great grandfather. He is the uncle ofDamien Dante Wayans,Chaunté Wayans andCraig Wayans.
Wayans was diagnosed withtype 2 diabetes in January 2014.[17] In December 2015, Wayans successfully underwent brain surgery to remove abenign tumor on hispituitary gland. He retired from stand-up shortly thereafter, and spent three months recovering.[18][19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Beverly Hills Cop | Banana Man | |
| 1987 | Hollywood Shuffle | Body Guard No. 2 / Willie | |
| Roxanne | Jerry | ||
| 1988 | Colors | T-Bone | |
| Earth Girls Are Easy | Zeebo | ||
| Punchline | Percy | ||
| I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Leonard | ||
| 1990 | Look Who's Talking Too | Eddie | Voice |
| 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | James Alexander "Jimmy" Dix | |
| 1992 | Mo' Money | Johnny Stewart | Also writer |
| 1993 | Last Action Hero | Himself | |
| 1994 | Blankman | Darryl Walker / Blankman | Also writer |
| 1995 | Major Payne | Major Benson Winefred Payne | |
| 1996 | Celtic Pride | Lewis Scott | |
| The Great White Hype | James 'The Grim Reaper' Roper | ||
| Bulletproof | Detective Jack Carter / Rock Keats | ||
| 1999 | Harlem Aria | Wes | |
| Goosed | Dr. Steven Hemel | ||
| 2000 | Bamboozled | Pierre Delacroix / Peerlees Dothan | |
| 2003 | Marci X | Dr. S. | |
| 2004 | Behind the Smile | Charlie Richman | |
| 2007 | Farce of the Penguins | Hey, That's My Ass! Penguin | Voice |
| 2011 | Herd Mentality | Jimmy Crowder | Short film |
| 2023 | Cinnamon | Wally |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1986 | Saturday Night Live | Himself / various characters | Main cast:Season 11 & hosted 1995 episode |
| 1986 | Triplecross | Ornery Character No. 1 | Television film |
| 1987 | Sweet Surrender | Ray | Episode: "The Holdens Go to Dinner" |
| A Different World | Marvin Haven | Episode: "War of the Words" | |
| 1989 | One Night Stand | Himself | Episode: "Damon Wayans" |
| 1990–1993 | In Living Color | Himself / various characters | Main cast (seasons 1–3); recurring guest star (season 4) |
| 1996–1997 | Waynehead | N/a | Co-creator and executive producer |
| 1998 | Damon | Damon Thomas | Main cast; also co-creator and executive producer |
| 2001–2005 | My Wife and Kids | Michael Kyle | Main cast; also executive producer |
| 2004–2006 | Rodney | N/a | Co-creator and executive producer |
| 2006 | The Underground | Himself / various characters | Main cast; also producer |
| Legends Bells | Himself | Television film | |
| 2008 | Never Better | Keith | |
| 2011 | Happy Endings | Francis Williams | Episode: "Like Father, Like Gun" |
| 2016–2019 | Lethal Weapon | Roger Murtaugh | Main cast |
| 2018 | Happy Together | Mike Davis | Episode: "Like Father, Like Son" |
| 2021 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience | Willis Drummond | Episode: "Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life"[20] |
| 2024–2025 | Poppa's House | Damon "Poppa" Fulton | Lead role; also, co-creator and executive producer |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy |
An emotional and clearly hurting Damon Wayans went on to explain that as a 58-year-old diabetic, working 16-hour days had become too much. He also felt the strain that his current job was putting on his personal life. His mother and daughter recently underwent surgeries that the actor said he missed because he was working.
