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Eddie Griffin
EddieGriffin 2008.jpg
Griffin in 2008
Birth name Edward Rubin Griffin
Born (1968-07-15) July 15, 1968 (age 56)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Medium Stand-up, film, television
Years active 1989–present
Genres Improvisational comedy, observational comedy, blue comedy, satire
Subject(s) African-American culture, recreational ..., human ..., race relations, politics, racism, religion, everyday life
Spouse
Carla Griffin
(m. 1984; div. 1997)
Rochelle Griffin
(m. 2002; div. 2009)
Nia Rivers
(m. 2011; div. 2012)
Ko Lee
(m. 2017)
Children 11

Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, the title character in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother, and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in Deuce Bigalow: Male ... (1999) and Deuce Bigalow: European ... (2005). He also portrayed Orpheus in Scary Movie 3 (2003) and voiced Richard Pryor on Black Dynamite (2012–2015). He is also known for his role as Pope Sweet Jesus in the movie Norbit (2007). Griffin was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

Early life

Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California, to live with his cousins. He later became a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was discharged within months. After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses.

Career

At a comedy club open-mic night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned a standing ovation with family stories. He talked his way into stand-up gigs around town and in L.A. One popular bit was his gay version of tough-guy comic Andrew Dice Clay, who later hired Griffin to open for him.

Once he achieved a fair amount of success in standup, Griffin became legendary at The Comedy Store for stopping in to do guest sets on open mic nights and staying up on stage long enough to tire the audience out for the hapless budding comic who had to follow him.

.....

Griffin has appeared on television shows such as Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000) and Chappelle's Show in the skit "World Series of Dice" as Grits n' Gravy. Griffin performed on two tracks from Dr. Dre's 1999 album, 2001, and the intro track from The D.O.C.'s 1996 album Helter Skelter. He has also appeared on commercials for Miller Beer's Man Laws.

In 2011, Comedy Central released Griffin's stand-up comedy special You Can Tell 'Em I Said It on DVD. In December 2019, his stand-up comedy special, E-Niggma, was released on Showtime.

Personal life

Griffin and his mother got into an argument at his 20th birthday party when she accused him of stealing jewelry from her, which Griffin denied doing. Afterward, Griffin did not see his mother for four years until he moved back to Los Angeles, California, in March 1992, to be closer with his family when his mother was injured in a car accident.

Griffin has been married four times. He married his first wife, Carla in 1984 when he was 16 years old. They divorced in 1997. He married his second wife, Rochelle, in 2002 and divorced in 2009. On September 8, 2011, he married his third wife, Nia Rivers. However, they filed for divorce after one month of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. They were officially divorced six months later in 2012. He married his fourth wife, Ko Lee Griffin, on July 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In March 2007, Griffin participated in a charity race at Irwindale Speedway to promote the film Redline, using a Ferrari Enzo owned by Daniel Sadek. During a practice run, Griffin accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and lost control of the Enzo, crashing hard into a concrete barrier. He walked away unscratched, but the $1.5 million supercar was badly damaged. Griffin later criticized reporters who suggested the crash was a publicity stunt.

..... Griffin has also been called out by the Sikh community for referring to an elderly Sikh man as "Osama Bin Laden" in the aftermath of 9/11, not understanding the difference between Sikhs and Muslims and also thinking that stereotyping Muslim Americans for the sake of "comedy" was appropriate given all the hate crimes both the Muslim and Sikh communities endured after 9/11.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Dice Rules Gas Station Attendant
The Last Boy Scout Club DJ
1992 Brain Donors Messenger
1993 Coneheads Customer
The Meteor Man Michael Anderson
1994 The Legend of Dolemite Himself
House Party 3 Guest at Kid's Bachelor Party
Jason's Lyric Rat
1995 The Walking Dead Pvt. Hoover Brache
1998 Armageddon Bike Messenger
1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male ... Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks
The Mod Squad Sonny
Foolish Miles "Foolish" Waise
2000 All Jokes Aside Himself
Picking Up the Pieces Sediento
2001 Double Take Freddy Tiffany
2002 John Q. Lester Matthews
The New Guy Luther
Undercover Brother Anton Jackson/Undercover Brother
Pinocchio The Cat Voice role; English version
2003 Dysfunktional Family Himself
Scary Movie 3 Orpheus
2004 My Baby's Daddy Lonnie
Blast Lamont Dixon
Pryor Offenses Richard Pryor TV movie
2005 The Wendell Baker Story McTeague
Deuce Bigalow: European ... Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks
2006 Date Movie Frank Jones
Irish Jam Jimmy Winston "Da Jam" McDevitt
Who Made the Potatoe Salad? Malik
The Year Without a Santa Claus Jingle TV movie
2007 Norbit Pope Sweet Jesus
Redline Infamous
Urban Justice Armand Tucker Video
2008 Beethoven's Big Break Stanley Mitchell Video
2012 ATypical Love Sweet Jimmy
Highway Redneck Trucker
2013 How Sweet It Is Ronnie
2014 The Slimbones K-Kutta
Going to America Fumnanya
2015 American Hero Lucille
2017 All About the Money Christopher Jefferson Johnson
2018 A Star Is Born Pastor
2020 The Comeback Trail Devon
Bad President The Devil

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 One Night Stand Himself Episode: "Eddie Griffin"
Just for Laughs Himself Episode: "Episode #7.0"
Def Comedy Jam Himself Episode: "Episode #1.8"
1993 Roc Al Episode: "Labor Intensive"
1994 HBO Comedy Half-Hour Himself Episode: "Eddie Griffin"
1996–2000 Malcolm & Eddie Eddie Sherman Main Cast
1999 Hollywood Squares Himself/Panelist Recurring Guest
2003 Punk'd Himself Episode: "Episode #1.1"
The Osbournes Himself Episode: "The Osbourne Family Christmas Special"
2004 Celebrity Blackjack Himself Episode: "Tournament 1, Game 3"
Chappelle's Show Grits N' Gravy Episode: "World Series Of Dice & Mooney On Movies"
2005 Independent Lens Himself/Narrator Episode: "Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove"
Reel Comedy Himself Episode: "Deuce Bigalow European ..."
Comedy Central Roast Himself/Roaster Episode: "Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson"
2008 Black Poker Stars Invitational Himself Main Guest
2009 Eddie Griffin: Going For Broke Himself Main Cast
2011 Comedy All-Stars Himself Episode: "Eddie Griffin"
2012 Black Dynamite Richard Pryor (voice) Episode: "Taxes and Death or Get Him to the Sunset Strip"
2014 The Boondocks Himself (voice) Episode: "Good Times"
2017 The Comedy Get Down Himself Main Cast
2020 This Is Stand-Up Himself Episode: "Episode #1.2"
The Comedy Store Himself Recurring Guest
2020–22 Woke 40 Oz. Bottles (voice) Recurring Cast
2021 Dark Humor Himself Recurring Guest
2022–23 Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars Himself/Host Main Host

Music video appearances

Year Artist Song
1993 Snoop Dogg featuring Daz Dillinger, Heney Loc & Jewell "Gin & Juice"
1997 Mariah Carey "Honey"
Puff Daddy featuring Mase "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"
1999 Magic, Master P & Mo B. Dick (musician) "Foolish (Master P song)"
2001 Lil' Bow Wow featuring Fundisha "Take Ya Home"

Comedy specials

Year Title
1997 Eddie Griffin: Voodoo Child
2003 Eddie Griffin: Dysfunktional Family
2008 Eddie Griffin: Freedom of Speech
2011 Eddie Griffin: You Can Tell 'Em I Said It!
2018 Eddie Griffin: Undeniable
2019 Eddie Griffin: E-Niggma'

Documentary

Year Title
2007 I'm Rick James

Discography

Live albums

Title Album details
The Message in The Hat
The Message
  • Released: March 29, 1999
  • Label: Warner Bros, WEA International Inc
  • Formats: CD, digital download, LP
Freedom Of Speech
  • Released: April 24, 2008
  • Label: Comedy Central/CodeBlack
  • Formats: digital download|-
You Can Tell 'Em I Said It
  • Released: February 22, 2011
  • Label: Comedy Central
  • Formats: digital download

Soundtrack albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US US R&B
Foolish (with various artists)
  • Released: March 23, 1999
  • Label: No Limit Records/Priority Records
  • Format: CD, digital download, LP
32 10

Album appearances

  • 1996 "Intro" (from The D.O.C. album Helter Skelter)
  • 1998 "DP Gangsta" (from Snoop Dogg & C-Murder album Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told)
  • 1999 "Bar One" (with Traci Nelson and Ms. Roq) (from Dr. Dre album 2001)
  • 1999 "Ed-ucation" (from Dr. Dre album 2001)
  • 2003 "I Thought U Knew" (with Crooked I, Eastwood & The Dramatics album Dysfunktional Family) (Various artists)
  • 2003 "Dys-Funk-Tional" (from Spider Loc & Eddie Griffin album Dysfunktional Family) (Various artists)
  • 2008 "Take A Ride Skit" & "Feed The Lions Skit" (from T-Pain album Thr33 Ringz)

Awards

Award Film Event
Best Actor Last Supper Los Angeles International Film Festival 2014
Best Actor Last Supper San Francisco Global Movie Fest 2014

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Eddie Griffin (actor) para niños

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