Martin Lawrence is an African-American
actor, comedian, and television producer.
He was born in Frankfurt Germany. His father was
in the U.S. military. When Lawrence was six, his family
moved to the New York City borough of Queens. His family
then moved to Landover, Maryland. When his father left
the family, Lawrence claims he began performing comedy
to cheer-up his mother, Chlora, who was forced to cashier
at various department stores to support Martin and
his five siblings. He attended Eleanor Roosevelt High
School while living there.
Seven years later, Lawrence got a chance to perform
on Star Search. That appearance led to a role in the
1985 television series What's Happening Now!. Lawrence
made his movie debut in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing
and played minor roles in House Party and House Party
2. He had a more prominent role in Eddie Murphy's Boomerang,
and emceed Def Comedy Jam.
In 1991, Lawrence worked in his first starring role
in Talking Dirty After Dark. By 1992, he had his own
sitcom, Martin on Fox. Martin ran to 1997, and remains
in syndication. The show won a NAACP Image Award for
Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
In 1994, Lawrence released the controversial concert
film, You So Crazy!. The film received the NC-17 rating
and was later released unrated. Its crudeness, however,
did not prevent You So Crazy! from becoming one of
the highest-grossing concert films of all time.
He married Patricia Southall, a former Miss Virginia,
on January 7, 1995. They had a daughter and divorced
in 1996. Southall is now married to Emmitt Smith. The
divorce led to many personal problems in Lawrence's
life. In August 1996, he was arrested at Burbank Airport
for carrying a loaded gun in his suitcase. On March
28, 1997, he was arrested outside a Hollywood nightclub
after a man claimed Lawrence punched him; he was ordered
to perform community service. While directing A Thin
Line Between Love and Hate (1996), which he wrote,
produced, and starred in, he reportedly had violent
outbursts and took drugs on the set. Martin! co-star
Tisha Campbell sued him for sexual harassment, and
left the show during its last season. He went into
a coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while
jogging in August 1999.
Despite his personal problems, Lawrence appeared
in many popular movies such as Bad Boys with Will Smith,
Nothing to Lose with Tim Robbins, Life with Eddie Murphy,
Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House. |
