David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier | |
---|---|
Grier in August 2007 | |
Born |
Detroit, Michigan, United States | June 30, 1956
Education |
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (BA) Yale University (MFA) |
Occupation | Actor, comedian, singer |
Years active | 1983–present |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | 1 |
Website |
www |
David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956)[1] is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.
Early life
One of three children,[2] Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of mother Aretas Ruth (née Blaney), a school teacher, and father William Henry Grier, a psychiatrist and writer who co-wrote the book Black Rage.[3]
Grier graduated from Detroit's magnet high school, Cass Tech, and received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama in 1981.
When Grier was young, his family marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in a March on Poverty in Detroit, where King gave an early version of the "I Have A Dream" speech.[4]
Career
Immediately after graduating from Yale, Grier landed the role of Jackie Robinson in the short-lived Broadway musical The First, directed by Martin Charnin and written by Joel Siegel.
Grier got his start on the National Public Radio radio drama adaptation of Star Wars in 1981. He was the voice of a nameless X-wing fighter pilot during the Battle of Yavin.
Grier was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award for The First. He later starred as James "Thunder" Early in the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Grier made his film debut in 1983 in Streamers, directed by Robert Altman. He won the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the film. He also appeared in the Negro Ensemble Company production A Soldier's Play and reprised his role in the film version A Soldier's Story. Grier also appeared as a geology professor at the fictitious Hillman College in the show A Different World where he was a crush of several of the girls on the show including lead character Denise Huxtable played by actress Lisa Bonet.
In Living Color
Although primarily known for his dramatic work, Grier began to shift towards comedy, making memorable appearances in the cult films Amazon Women on the Moon and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Keenen Ivory Wayans, the director of Sucka, cast Grier in his new variety show In Living Color. It became a ratings hit and won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series. Grier became a popular cast member through his characters, which ranged from hyperactive children to crotchety old men. Among his prominent characters were obnoxious, megaphone-blaring shop teacher Al MacAfee; the elderly Mr. Brooks, whose autumn years are a never-ending verbal battle with his wife; Calhoun Tubbs, a blues musician with very limited creativity; a member of Funky Finger Productions, a production company with more ambition than resources; Tiny, a prison inmate obsessed with female "breastses"; and, perhaps most famously, flamboyant and effeminate Antoine Merriweather in the "Men on..." sketch series. He also played Rev. Leon Lonnie Love on the TV series Martin. After his success on the show, Grier began appearing in comedies such as Boomerang (as Eddie Murphy's shy friend Gerard), Blankman (with Damon Wayans), In the Army Now (as Fred Ostroff) along with Pauly Shore and Andy Dick in 1994, and as a policeman whose car is memorably crushed and eaten by a giant pod in Jumanji. Grier appeared with Tom Arnold in the 1997 comedy McHale's Navy as Ensign Charles Parker. In 1999, he made a guest appearance as himself in the "Aw, Here it Goes to Hollywood" episode of Nickelodeon's sitcom, Kenan & Kel.[5]
Acting career
After the cancellation of In Living Color, Grier starred in the short-lived sitcoms The Preston Episodes, Damon (with In Living Color co-star Damon Wayans), and DAG.
Grier had a cameo in the Robert De Niro and Edward Burns movie 15 Minutes as a Central Park mugger. In a departure from the childlike roles he often played on In Living Color, he portrayed an abusive father in Rusty Cundieff's anthology film Tales from the Hood. He began doing stand-up comedy and began hosting the Comedy Central series Premium Blend. He was ranked no. 94 on Comedy Central 100 Greatest Stand-Ups.
Grier returned to Broadway to perform in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In 2002, Grier joined the cast of the improv-based ABC sitcom and Bonnie Hunt vehicle Life with Bonnie which ran only two seasons. During this time, he continued to appear in comedy films but also returned to drama in the films Baadasssss! and The Woodsman. He starred in his own Comedy Central stand-up special The Book of David: The Cult Figure's Manifesto. He is also a frequent guest on the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers. Grier was the host of the NBC show Thank God You're Here. He also appeared in the revival production of The Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse directed by Des McAnuff.
Grier starred in Gym Teacher: The Movie playing the villain, Shelly Bragg. He appeared as Uncle Henry in the ABC 2005 television movie The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.
In October 2008, Grier hosted Chocolate News, a Comedy Central spoof of a TV news magazine show. Comedy Central did not renew the show for a second season.
Grier appeared as Sugar Bear in the 2009 movie Dance Flick. He also provided the voice for Kobe Bryant in the Nike puppet commercials.
He returned to Broadway for the premiere of Race, written and directed by David Mamet, opposite James Spader, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas, which opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 6, 2009. Grier received his second Tony Award nomination for his role.[6]
Grier most recently appeared on Broadway as Sportin' Life in the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on January 12, 2012, alongside Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for this role.[7] In addition to his Tony Award nomination, Grier received a 2013 Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for his performance on the cast recording of the play.[8]
Grier guest-starred in Season 6 of FOX's Bones. He played Professor Bunsen Jude the Science Dude, the host of a children's TV program. This character was inspired by Bill Nye "the Science Guy".[9]
In May 2013, Grier appeared in Tyler Perry Presents Peeples, playing the role of Virgil Peeples, alongside Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson. Also in 2013, Grier appeared in The Watsons Go To Birmingham, a Hallmark Channel adaptation of Christopher Paul Curtis' 1995 Newbery Honor-winning novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963.
Grier appeared on the CBS TV-adaptation of Bad Teacher, playing the role of principal Carl Gaines.[10] The series also featured actors Sara Gilbert, Ryan Hansen, Kristin Davis, and Sara Rodier.
He played the Cowardly Lion in NBC's live performance of The Wiz, which aired on December 3, 2015.[11]
Loveline
He was often referred to as the third host of the radio show Loveline, as he was a frequent guest and guest host (usually filling in for Adam Carolla). One of his most famous contributions was a bit where he began calling out various pharmaceutical drugs Dr. Drew was recommending to a caller as though they were the names of black children being yelled at by their parents. The episode aired on September 7, 2005, towards the end of the show.
“ | Ethinyl, Estradiol, Norethindrone y'all get in the house! And where is Levonorgestrel!? | ” |
In another notable episode - that of September 25, 2002 - Grier stopped by to lament his recent breakup with his girlfriend of four years. He had just found out she had been cheating on him with several famous actors; he coughed while saying the names to avoid legal difficulties. During the show Engineer Anderson slowed down the recording and played it back, and the listeners were able to discern the names Tom Sizemore, Colin Farrell, and Cuba Gooding Jr..
Grier's supposed last appearance on Loveline was April 16, 2006. On his MySpace page, Grier posted:
“ | To all of my loyal fans. It pains me greatly to inform you all that I will probably never be heard on the radio show Loveline again. I have been informed of this sad fact by the one and only Dr. Drew Pinsky. I know not how or why this has happened, but we must ALL move on... | ” |
On March 3, 2009, Grier was a guest on The Adam Carolla Podcast. He explained that the reason he was not asked back on Loveline was that the producers of the show did not want him back on despite Dr. Drew pressing for him to continue to be a guest. While Dr. Drew was not open with him about this at the beginning, Grier felt no resentment toward him and Dr. Drew has since apologized for what happened. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Drew explained what had happened on Loveline and expressed his intent to petition the producers for Grier to return. On August 10, 2009, after a gap of over three years, Grier was once again on Loveline, joining former host Adam Carolla and Dr. Bruce Heischober.
The Adam Carolla Show
Grier has made many guest appearances on the Adam Carolla Show, usually to plug his improv performances. One of his recurring bits is where he enacts a heavy-set black woman named Peanut who does a terrible job answering the phones for The Adam Carolla Show. He also frequently antagonized the former co-host Alison Rosen. He did this by snoring loudly while Alison read the news and also by referring to her as "Teresa" or "Fake Teresa," the name of Alison's predecessor Teresa Strasser.
Dancing with the Stars
David was a contestant on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars,[12] partnered with Kym Johnson. By the fourth week of the competition, Grier announced that he had lost 26 pounds.[13] He was eliminated in the fifth week.
Other work
Grier co-starred with Jon Stewart in Elmopalooza, as the director of Jon's production crew.
In 2008 Grier starred in the Comedy Central TV series Chocolate News which had satirical sketches about current events and news stories. It lasted for 1 season (10 episodes).
Grier's first book Barack Like Me: The Chocolate-Covered Truth was published by Simon & Schuster in 2009.[14][15] The book recounts Grier's own life story, and was written with Alan Eisenstock.
Grier made an appearance on the Dave, Shelley, and Chainsaw (DSC) Show (San Diego Jack 100.7 FM) on October 5, 2012 before performances at The Madhouse Comedy Club. He mentioned the "other" David Alan Grier and the "Farrakhan - The Musical" stories.[16]
Grier appeared in an episode of Clean House along with his brother and his brother's family. Grier invited the show to help his brother due to his severe problems with clutter, and the family received a home makeover.
Grier hosts the game show series Snap Decision, debuting, August 7 on the Game Show Network and many Sinclair TV stations.[17]
Personal life
Grier was married to Maritza Rivera and divorced in 1997. In July 2007, he married Christine Y. Kim, an associate curator of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She gave birth to their daughter, Luisa Danbi Grier-Kim on January 10, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles.[18] On June 9, 2009, according to TMZ, Kim filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
He is a fan of motorcycles[19][20][21][22][23] and owns the rare Yamaha YZF-R1 Limited Edition.[24] On the August 10, 2009, episode of Loveline, Grier agreed to auction it to aid Bryan Bishop's Tumor Fund, but walked off set while Carolla and the audio engineer bickered on air.
He is an avid cook and began food blogging during the run of the play Race, where James Spader helped to critique the food Grier made.[4]
He is also a black belt in taekwondo. Grier was able to showcase his skills in the 1994 film Blankman as his character, Kevin Walker, "The Other Guy," was shown to be particularly adept in martial arts.
In Living Color
Characters
- Al MacAfee
- Antoine Merriweather ("Men on...")
- Calhoun Tubbs
- Cephus (Cephus & Reesie)
- Clavelle (Funky Finger Productions)
- Doug McPherson (Hemorrhoid Guy)
- Hoke (Driving Miss Schott)
- Joseph Jackson
- Lamont Hightower
- Leon (Snackin' Shack)
- Lil' Magic's Mom
- Little Kid (Homey D. Clown)
- Lonnie Anderson
- Loomis Simmons
- Mac
- Mr. Brooks
- Muhammad Ali
- Sammy (Zodiac Comedy Shack)
- Tiny (Prison Cable Network)
- Don 'No Soul' Simmons (Amazon Women on the Moon)
- Silky (Forever Silky)
Other notable roles / characters
- Da Samurai (Samurai Jack)
- Memnon (Hercules: The Animated Series)
- Jimmy (My Wife and Kids)
- Kevin Walker / That Other Guy (Blankman)
- Sugar Bear (Dance Flick)
- Officer Carl Bentley (Jumanji)
- Rev. Leon Lonnie Love (Martin)
- Don "No Soul" Simmons (Amazon Women on the Moon)
- David Bellows (Life with Bonnie)
- Phat Man/Candelabra (Chocolate News)
- Performed as himself in a video installation created by artist Edgar Arcenaeux called The Alchemy of Comedy... Stupid. The work was originally commissioned by Gallery 400[25] at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was later shown at the 2008 Whitney Biennial.[26]
Impressions
- Al Sharpton
- Bushwick Bill of The Geto Boys
- Kobe Bryant in Nike MVPuppets Commercials
- Clarence Thomas
- Colin Powell
- Dr. Dre
- Gary Coleman
- Ike Turner
- Joe Jackson
- Leonard Nimoy
- Marion Barry
- Maya Angelou
- Michael Winslow
- Muhammad Ali
- Ray Charles
- Teddy Pendergrass
- Rodney King
- Sinbad
- Dr. Drew Pinsky[27]
- Rev. Jeremiah Wright[27]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Streamers | Roger | Venice Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
1984 | A Soldier's Story | Corporal Cobb | |
1985 | Beer | Elliott Morrison | |
1986 | From the Hip | Steve Hadley | |
1987 | Amazon Women on the Moon | Don 'No Soul' Simmons | |
1988 | Off Limits | Rogers | |
1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Newsman | |
1988 | Me and Him | Peter Conklin | |
1990 | Loose Cannons | Drummond | |
1990 | Almost an Angel | Det. Bill | |
1992 | Boomerang | Gerard | |
1994 | In the Army Now | Fred Ostroff | |
1994 | Blankman | Kevin Walker | |
1995 | Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Spike | |
1995 | Tales from the Hood | Carl | |
1995 | Jumanji | Carl Bentley | |
1999 | Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby | Mr. Butz | |
1999 | Stuart Little | Red | Voice |
1997 | McHale's Navy | Ensign Charles Parker | |
1997 | Top of the World | Detective Augustus | |
2000 | 3 Strikes | Detective Jenkins | |
2000 | Return to Me | Charlie Johnson | |
2000 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | Measures | |
2001 | 15 Minutes | Mugger in Central Park | |
2003 | Baadasssss! | Clyde Houston | |
2003 | Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie | Himself/Announcer | |
2003 | Tiptoes | Jerry Robin, Jr. | |
2004 | The Woodsman | Bob | |
2005 | The Muppets' Wizard of Oz | Uncle Henry | |
2005 | Bewitched | Jim Fields | |
2006 | Little Man | Jimmy | |
2008 | Kissing Cousins | The Griller | |
2008 | The Hustle | Rev. Isaac Montgomery Paid | |
2008 | The Poker House | Stymie | |
2008 | An American Carol | Rastus Malone | |
2009 | Dance Flick | Sugar Bear | |
2009 | Astro Boy | Mr. Squirt / Math Cowboy / Boxer Robot | Voice |
2010 | Something Like a Business | 3D | |
2011 | Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil | Moss the Troll | Voice |
2013 | Peeples | Virgil Peeples | |
2015 | Road Hard | Michael | |
2017 | The Big Sick | Andy Dodd | |
2018 | Arizona | Coburn |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | The Equalizer | Desk Sergeant | Episode: "The Lock Box" |
1986 | All Is Forgiven | Oliver Royce | 9 episodes |
1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Deter Phibin | Episode: "Kingpins" |
1987 | A Different World | Prof. Bryan Walcott | Episode: "Romancing Mr. Stone" |
1988 | Tour of Duty | Harold | Episode: "Soldiers" |
1988 | Duet | Gordon | Episode: "Oh My God, I Left the Baby on the Bus" |
1988 | Tanner '88 | Secret Serviceman | 2 episodes |
1989 | ALF | FBI Agent #1 | Episode: "Wanted: Dead or Alive" |
1990 | Equal Justice | Stone | Episode: "A Sucker's Bet" |
1990–1994 | In Living Color | Various | 143 episodes |
1993–1997 | Martin | Reverend Leon Lonnie Love | 4 episodes |
1995 | Saturday Night Live | Antoine Meriweather | Episode: "Damon Wayans/Dionne Farris" |
1995 | Dream On | Marshall | Episode: "Take Two Tablets, and Get Me to Mt. Sinai" |
1995 | The Preston Episodes | David Preston | 10 episodes |
1995 | Pinky and the Brain | Marlon (voice) | Episode: "TV or Not TV" |
1995–2000 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Various voices | 3 episodes |
1998 | Damon | Bernard | 13 episodes Nominated – Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series |
1998 | Cosby | Gil | Episode: "Chemistry" |
1998 | Hercules: The Animated Series | Memnon (voice) | Episode: "Hercules and the Phil Factor" |
1999 | A Saintly Switch | Dan Anderson | Television movie |
1999 | The '60s | Fred Hampton | Television movie |
1999 | Kenan & Kel | Himself | Episode: "Aw, Here It Goes To Hollywood : Part 2" |
2000 | Angels in the Infield | Bob Bugler | Television movie |
2000 | The X-Files | Cinema Audience | Episode: "Hollywood A.D." |
2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Tubunch (voice) | Episode: "Stress Test" |
2000–2001 | DAG | Jerome Dagget | 17 episodes |
2002 | King of Texas | Rip | Television movie |
2002 | Sesame Street | Aladdin | Episode: "#33.45" |
2002 | Boston Public | Laurence Williams | Episode: "Chapter Forty-Two" |
2002 | The Proud Family | Reuben (voice) | Episode: "Behind Family Lines" |
2002–2004 | Life with Bonnie | David Bellows | 44 episodes Nominated – Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Television Series |
2002–2005 | Crank Yankers | Various voices | 15 episodes |
2003 | Samurai Jack | Da Samurai/Junk Monster (voice) | Episode: "Samurai Versus Samurai" |
2003–2005 | My Wife and Kids | Jimmy | 3 episodes |
2007 | Thank God You're Here | Host | 7 episodes |
2010 | Bones | Professor Bunsen Jude | Episode: "The Body and the Bounty" |
2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jeremy Swift | Episode: "Branded" |
2013 | Happy Endings | Terry Chuckles | Episode: "In the Heat of the Noche" |
2013 | Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja | Rudd Rhymez (voice) | Episode: "Hip Hopocalypse Now" |
2014 | The Soul Man | Jesse | Episode: "Obama Drama" |
2014 | Bad Teacher | Carl Gaines | 13 episodes |
2014 | Black Dynamite | Doctor (voice) | Episode: "How Honeybee Got Her Groove Back or Night of the Living Dickheads" |
2014–2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Network President | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
2015–2017 | The Carmichael Show | Joe Carmichael | Main cast; 32 episodes |
2015 | The McCarthys | Dr. Hugh Morris | Episode: "Family Therapy" |
2015 | Cutthroat Kitchen | Himself/judge | Episode: "Taco Dirty to Me" |
2015 | The Wiz Live! | The Cowardly Lion / Robert The Farmhand Man #2 | Live performance |
2016 | The Eric Andre Show | Himself/David Alan Thicke | Episode: "Dennis Rodman; Haley Joel Osment" |
2017 | Snap Decision | Host | |
2017 | A Christmas Story Live! | Santa Claus | Live performance |
2018 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | Hal | 2 Episodes |
2018–present | The Cool Kids | Hank | Main role |
References
- ↑ Katsilometes, John (July 1, 2010). "Albino gorillas? Farrakhan: The Musical? With Grier, anything is possible". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ↑ "David Alan Grier". Biography. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "David Alan Grier Biography (1955?-)". www.filmreference.com (in eng). Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- 1 2 King, Larry (19 May 2014). "David Alan Grier" (Video interview). Larry King Now. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- ↑ "Aww, Here It Goes to Hollywood: Part 2" on IMDb
- ↑ "2010 Tony Nominations Announced; Fela! and La Cage Top List". Archived from the original on 2010-05-06. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ↑ "David Alan Grier". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "59th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "Bones Exclusive: David Alan Grier to Woo Brennan?". TVGuide.com. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
- ↑ "David Alan Grier to Play Principal in CBS' 'Bad Teacher'". The Hollywood Reporter. February 16, 2013.
- ↑ Blake, Emily (August 4, 2015). "NBC's 'The Wiz Live!' finds its Cowardly Lion". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Dancing’s Season Eight Cast Is Revealed! - PEOPLE TV Watch", 2009-02-09
- ↑ "Dancing with the Stars Contestant Loses 26 Pounds" Us Weekly, March 31, 2009
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ↑ "The best things to eat, drink and do in Chicago - RedEye Chicago". www.chicagonow.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "Albino gorillas? Farrakhan: The Musical? With Grier, anything is possible". LasVegasSun.com. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (28 June 2017). "'Snap Decision' Game Show Hosted By David Alan Grier To Air On GSN & In Broadcast Syndication At the Same Time". Deadline Hollywood.
- ↑ "Comedian David Alan Grier Welcomes a Girl". PEOPLE.com. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "July 30 Seattle 100 Charity Event To Include Racing Stars, Celebrities". roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "2005 Seattle 100 Charity Ride - Motorcycle USA". Motorcycle USA. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "Yates, Gobert, Hayes To Ride In 4th Annual Seattle 100 Charity Event At Pacific Raceways". roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ Gay, Nancy (July 23, 2007). "MOTOGP AT LAGUNA SECA NOTEBOOK / Sponsor re-energizes series at racetrack". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ↑ Diamond, Jamie (August 13, 2006). "A NIGHT OUT WITH -- Adam Carolla; Is a Scallop an Animal?". The New York Times.
- ↑ Adam Carolla Podcast, 2009-05-29
- ↑ "College of Architecture, Design and the Arts | cada.uic.edu". www.uic.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- ↑ "2008 WHITNEY BIENNIAL". www.whitney.org. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
- 1 2 5/12/08 The Adam Carolla Show
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Alan Grier. |
- Official website
- David Alan Grier on IMDb
- David Alan Grier at the Internet Broadway Database
- David Alan Grier at Internet Off-Broadway Database