A popular comedian turned actor who started his career
on-stage as a dare, funnyman Eddie Griffin has built an ever-growing fan base
since jumping into the comedy scene in 1990.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Eddie was voted class clown
three years in a row in high school. His
first love was always dance and by the young age of 16, he opened his own dance
studio and was choreographing the Kansas City Chiefs half-time shows. But all of that would soon change when one
night his cousin dared him to go on stage at the local comedy club Sanford and
Sons where he was told to do 3 minutes.
He performed off-the-cuff for 45 minutes successfully. It was then that Griffin purchased a one-way
ticket to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming a stand up.
In only one short month, he was a regular at the renowned
Comedy Store, where he was compared with esteemed talents such as Richard
Pryor, Redd Foxx, and Lenny Bruce. After
only 2 short months, Griffin was chosen to open for Andrew Dice Clay at Madison
Square Garden that kicked off a 22-city tour.
These many successful performances led to Eddie Griffin’s
appearance on Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam (1992), the Cable Ace
Award-nominated HBO special One Night Stand (1992), HBO Comedy Half Hour
Special (1995), the HBO special Voodoo Child (1997) and onstage at the
legendary Apollo Theater. He also
recorded the successful comedy albums Message In The Hat (1993) and The Message
(1999) featuring comedic and musical performances by him as well as Master P,
Silk the Shocker, and Fiend.
Griffin began branching out into acting.
Roles in such films as The Last Boy Scout (1991), Coneheads
(1993), and Jason’s Lyric (1994) soon led to his own hit comedy series Malcolm
and Eddie (1996-2000), for which role he was nominated (1996) and won (2000)
the NAACP Image Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition to lending his acting experience
to this sitcom, he also wrote and directed four episodes, one of which starred
his mentor and Richard Pryor.
After, he was offered a lead role in Double Take (2001)
along side Orlando Jones. Griffin then
starred alongside Denzel Washington in John Q (2002), earning him respect as a
dramatic actor. Shortly thereafter, his
leading-man status lead to his role as Anton Jackson in Undercover Brother
(2002). Mr. Griffin’s extensive film
resume includes films such as Armageddon (1998), and the worldwide successful
comedy franchise Deuce Bigalow: Male
Gigolo (1999) and Deuce Bigalow:
European Gigolo (2005), as well as Date Movie (2006), Scary Movie 3
(2003), My Baby’s Daddy (2004) which he starred, wrote and Executive Produced
for Miramax.
Eddie also contributed and performed on Dr. Dre’s
Multi-Platinum selling albums The Chronic (1992) and Chronic 2001 (2001).
Eddie Griffin is widely known for his award winning Comedy
Stand-up Special Dysfunktional Family (2003), which he starred, wrote,
Executive Produced and performed on the film’s soundtrack with Snoop Dogg, Dr.
Dre and Tupac.
Eddie most recently starred alongside Eddie Murphy in the
hit feature Norbit (2007) and starred, wrote and Executive Produced his next comedy
special Freedom of Speech (2007). Later
that year he contributed to and performed on T-Pain’s worldwide successful
album Circus (2008) and starred in Disney’s Beethoven’s Big Break (2008).
Eddie’s most recent comedy special You Can Tell ‘Em I Said
It premiered on Comedy Central on February 19, 2011.
Comedy Central honored him as the Top 100 Greatest Stand-ups
of all time.
Eddie Griffin has conquered not only the stage, but the
silver screen as well.
Eddie has appeared in 47 films and numerous television
shows.
In addition to his Comedic talent, Griffin is also a gifted
Actor, Dancer, Choreographer and Singer.
Eddie Griffin is a highly accomplished individual who has
contributed significantly to the arts and the entertainment industry and is a
star and gifted entertainer in the entertainment world.
(bio courtesy of Front of the
Bus, Inc. and the Gersh Agency, Inc.)