"And for my family, comedically, that was the key to a lot of the humor.""And my marriage was perfect when I wasn't famous.""Being a celebrity, I don't even have to talk.""I never thought about being famous.""I was 12 years old when I had my first job, delivering packages.""My father is a Jehovah's Witness, and he raised us under a very strict hand.""My father was the guy on the block who said hi to everyone.""My kids have a competitive drive I never had growing up.""Nobody can stop you but you. And shame on you if you're the one who stops yourself.""Some struggle is healthy. If you can embrace it rather than be angry, you can use it as your pilot light.""The less food, the more time to talk, the more to talk about.""The show has become my therapy.""This town was built on nepotism.""We have four beautiful children and some wonderful memories."
Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager. Shawn Wayans Biography (1971-) Marlon Wayans - TIME The Movie Chicks - Interview - Marlon Wayans He has five sisters, Elvira, Vonnie, Nadia, Kim, Diedre, and four brothers, actors Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Dwayne Wayans. He had a clubbed foot as a child. This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife & Kids and his character on the cartoon series Waynehead. Wayans attended Murry Bergtraum High School. Damon Wayans Biography - Yahoo! Movies
Damon started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the 1984 Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop. He was briefly on Saturday Night Live as a featured performer, before getting fired for playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. His character was meant to only have one line but he started ad-libbing. He went against the script during the live performance. In the SNL book Live From New York, it was stated that Wayans did this largely due to growing frustrations that his sketches were not being considered for the show and increasing stress. He also appeared in the syndicated TV series Solid Gold during the 1980s as a stand-up comedian. After that, he went on to do the TV-show In Living Color from 1990 to 1992, part of a team that was nominated for Emmy Awards all three years.
After In Living Color, he starred in films such as The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne and The Great White Hype and wrote and starred in the film Blankman. He also appeared in Janet Jackson's video "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and was considered for the role of The Riddler in Batman Forever (the role went to Jim Carrey, his co-star from In Living Color and Earth Girls Are Easy).
In 1996, he produced Waynehead, a cartoon for the 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 of 413 Hope St., a short-lived drama on the FOX network starring Richard Roundtree and Jesse L. Martin.
In 1998, he starred in a short-lived comedy titled Damon, in which he played a Chicago detective. It aired on FOX. In 1999, his New York Times bestselling book Bootleg with co-author David Asbery was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family.
In 2005, Damon Wayans was in a celebrity ad campaign for Hanes.
In 2006, he began starring in The Underground, a sketch comedy series on Showtime. His son, Damon, Jr. also stars on the show.
He hosted the 2006 BET Awards which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 2006.
In May 2008, Wayans was highlighted by the media for the production of a controversial video titled, "Abortion Man". This viral video portrays a young man in need of killing the unborn child of his pregnant girlfriend and thus calls upon Abortion Man for aid. Abortion Man (portrayed as a super hero) then finds the pregnant girl and proceeds to knee, punch and stomp the girls stomach until the fetus flies out. Some sources hold that this video is satire and is an attempt to show the violence and cruelty of abortion while other sources think the video is simply a product of Wayans' sense of humor.
For his outstanding role in the ABC comedy series My Wife and Kids, Wayans earned 4 International Press Academy "Golden Satellite Award" nominations and 4 Emmy awards nominations for his acting and directing in the 90's series "In Living Color".
Wayans was married to Lisa Thorner, however they divorced in 2000. He is the father of Damon Wayans, Jr., Michael Wayans, Cara Mia Wayans, and Kyla Wayans. He is also the uncle of Damien Dante Wayans, Chaunté Wayans and Craig Wayans.
Wayans is a close personal friend of NBA legend Michael Jordan.
He won the People's Choice Awards for Favorite Male Performer.
Anton Jackson, a gross, drunken homeless man who hosts his own home-repair show and pops up in places where he shouldn't be
Blaine Edwards, one of the flamboyantly gay film critics in the Men On... series (this character and Anton Jackson were the only In Living Color recurring characters Wayans played when he hosted Saturday Night Live on an episode from the 1994-1995 season)
Handi Man, a mentally and physically disabled superhero
Head Detective, a police detective who was rebuilt to look like Mr. Potato Head after an accident
Homey D. Clown, a surly ex-con who performs as a kids' party clown as part of his parole agreement (written by Paul Mooney)
Les Brothers of the Brothers Brothers
Oswald Bates, a hyperliterate convict prone to malapropisms
The Wiz, a thief who runs the Homeboy Shopping Network, an operation for fencing stolen goods, with Iceman (played by Keenen Ivory Wayans)
Tom Brothers (The Brothers Brothers)
Reverend Ed Cash (partnered with Dr. Reverend Carl Pethos, played by Jim Carrey. Both were con artist preachers)
Blankman (1994 comedy film Blankman)
Impressions
Babyface (on Saturday Night Live)
Don King (on In Living Color)
Little Richard (on Saturday Night Live and In Living Color)
Louis Farrakhan (on both Saturday Night Live and In Living Color)
