Columbia Pictures Television
24-801: Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playing Maurice Warfield in What's Happening Now!! (1987–1988), and is known for his lead performance in the Fox television sitcom Martin , as well as the Bad Boys film franchise. His other films include House Party , Boomerang , Life , Blue Streak , Big Momma's House , Open Season , and Wild Hogs . The fourth of six children, Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence
48-514: A Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender. In his early days, Lawrence did comedy shows in the Washington, D.C., area and supported himself through odd jobs. Comedian Ritch Snyder saw his act and suggested Lawrence make connections in New York. Lawrence ended up moving to New York City and found his way to the comedy club The Improv . Shortly after appearing at The Improv, Lawrence won
72-920: A bored suburbanite seeking adventure on the open road in a biker comedy alongside John Travolta , Tim Allen and William H. Macy . In 2006, Lawrence appeared on Inside the Actors Studio , during which Lawrence briefly brought back to life some of the characters he had portrayed on Martin . He also appeared in Open Season as the voice of Boog, one of the main characters of the film, which also starred Ashton Kutcher , Debra Messing , and Gary Sinise . In 2008, Lawrence starred in his first G-rated film, Walt Disney Pictures ' College Road Trip , in which he co-starred with Raven-Symoné . In 2011, Lawrence reprised his role as FBI agent Malcolm Turner in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son ,
96-445: A computer programmer, while Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs ( Fred Berry ) is now a used-car salesman. The old soda shop hangout, Rob's Place, has gone out of business and has been left abandoned. Reminded of his youth, and seeing an opportunity, Raj and Shirley Wilson ( Shirley Hemphill ), who used to wait tables there, decide to buy the business together, renaming it "Rob's." After the first successful season, Fred Berry attempted to negotiate
120-535: A higher salary than his co-stars based on what he perceived as the popularity of the "Rerun" character. Having caused similar issues during the production of the original series, which led to its cancellation, producers fired Berry from the series. A partial list of stations the show was syndicated to: On June 12, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of What's Happening Now!! on DVD in Region 1 . Def Comedy Jam Def Comedy Jam
144-416: A performance spot on Star Search . He did well on the show and made it to the final round, but did not win. However, executives at Columbia Pictures Television saw Martin's performance and offered him the role of Maurice Warfield in What's Happening Now!! ; this was his first acting job. Upon cancellation of that show, Lawrence found bit parts in various films and television series. His breakthrough role
168-566: A sales representative and cashier at various department stores, to support her family. Small for his size growing up in the projects, Lawrence often engaged in street fights with other kids. He stated that it was his mother and older brothers who kept him out of jail where most of his childhood friends ended up. During his teen years, Lawrence excelled at boxing . While living in Fort Washington, Maryland , Lawrence attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School and Friendly High School , and became
192-446: A ventilator. What%27s Happening Now!! Coca-Cola Telecommunications (1987) (seasons 2-3) What's Happening Now!! is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–1979 sitcom What's Happening!! focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 1988. In the series, Roger "Raj" Thomas ( Ernest Thomas ) has graduated from
216-684: Is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons , Stan Lathan , and Bob Sumner. The series was hosted by Martin Lawrence and Joe Torry in its first six seasons and by D. L. Hughley for its seventh and eighth seasons. Simmons and long-time collaborator Lathan were inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and The Comedy Act Theatre in Los Angeles, California. They teamed up with Def Jam Records label executive and veteran comedy scout Sumner to launch
240-566: The University of Southern California , and become a fledgling writer. He and his new wife Nadine ( Anne-Marie Johnson ), a social worker, move in to his old home in Watts (given to him by his mother, Mabel Thomas ( Mabel King ), now remarried and living in Phoenix, Arizona ). His sister, Dee ( Danielle Spencer ), is away at college. Childhood friend, Dwayne Nelson ( Haywood Nelson ), has become
264-540: The Entertainer ) mainstream exposure. During his stint with Def Comedy Jam , Lawrence appeared in his own hit series, Martin , which aired on Fox . The show ran from 1992 to 1997 and was an enormous success. Martin was the flagship of Fox's Thursday night line-up, which drew millions of viewers away from NBC 's " Must See TV " line-up. He hosted Saturday Night Live on February 19, 1994, where he made crude remarks about women's genitalia and personal hygiene;
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#1732787842298288-667: The Washington D.C. area in the town of Landover, Maryland . Lawrence's mother had moved herself and her six children into the troubled King Square housing projects where he would attend Dodge Park Elementary. Following his parents' divorce when he was eight years old, Lawrence rarely saw his father, who was a police officer, serving as the Police Chief for the Franklin D. Roosevelt VA Medical Center in Montrose, New York. His mother, Chlora (née Bailey), worked several jobs, including as
312-672: The children. Lawrence owns a farm near Purcellville , Virginia. For several years, he owned a large mansion in the Beverly Park community in Beverly Hills, where he wedded Gibbs. However, following their divorce, the property was available for lease at $ 200,000 per month in June 2012. In 2013, the property was up for sale for $ 26.5 million, and eventually he sold it for $ 17.2 million to Bruce Makowsky , buying an Encino, Los Angeles property for $ 6.63 million. In July 1995, while on
336-635: The offensive portion of the monologue was edited out of NBC reruns and syndicated versions and Lawrence was banned from NBC for a period of time until he received an apology from the President of NBC at the time Warren Littlefield. Martin' s ratings continued to skyrocket so much that Fox became more of a contender against NBC and came closer to being considered among the top television networks. In 1995 he acted alongside Will Smith in Bad Boys with wide success. After Martin ended its run in 1997, Lawrence found work in comedy films. He often starred as
360-427: The reasons for this episode. On July 29, 1996, he tried to take a gun on a flight and received two years probation and a fine. In January 1997, Lawrence's Martin co-star Tisha Campbell-Martin filed a lawsuit against him, alleging sexual harassment and abuse both on and off set. By April 1997, Campbell had settled the lawsuit, and returned to appear in the last two episodes of the series. In March 1997, Lawrence
384-653: The second lead opposite actors including Eddie Murphy , Danny DeVito , and Tim Robbins . Many of his films were blockbusters at the box office, including Nothing to Lose , Life , Blue Streak , Big Momma's House , and Bad Boys II . He also starred in critical and box office failures, including Black Knight and National Security . Regardless, his salary steadily increased to over $ 10 million per film role. He continued to work in film, with such films as Big Momma's House 2 , which opened at No. 1 at North American box office and grossed almost $ 28 million its first weekend, and Wild Hogs (2007), in which he played
408-525: The set filming A Thin Line Between Love and Hate , Lawrence lashed out in a violent rage and was then hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center . On May 8, 1996, he became increasingly erratic and was arrested after he brandished a pistol in the middle of an intersection on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles, screaming, "They're trying to kill me!" He was again hospitalized, with his public-relations agent citing exhaustion and dehydration as
432-516: The show. The series had its original run from 1992 to 1997, and in 2006, it returned in the HBO fall lineup. The show helped to launch the careers of several African-American stand-up comedians. On September 10 2017, a Netflix special, Def Comedy Jam 25 , was filmed at the Beverly Hilton. It was shown on September 26, 2017 and featured many of the comedy stars listed below. The show produced
456-571: The third film in the Big Momma series. In January 2013, it was announced that Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer were considering pairing up to star in a comedy for Lionsgate Television . Partners , paired the two actors as Chicago lawyers from "vastly different backgrounds who unexpectedly meet in court on the worst day of their lives." The show premiered on August 4, 2014, but was cancelled after one season after receiving poor reviews. In 2020, Lawrence reprised his role as Detective Marcus Burnett in
480-478: The third installment of the Bad Boys franchise , Bad Boys for Life , again alongside Will Smith . The film was considered a financial success, grossing $ 112 million in its first four days of release. Lawrence starred in his first dramatic role in 2022's Mindcage alongside Melissa Roxburgh and John Malkovich . On April 20, 2023, Lawrence earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Lawrence
504-440: Was arrested after punching a man in a Hollywood nightclub. During August 1999, Lawrence slipped into a three-day coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while jogging in 100 °F (38 °C) heat in preparation for Big Momma's House while wearing heavy clothing and a "plastic suit". He recovered in the hospital after entering a near fatal coma due to a body temperature of 107 °F (42 °C), his breathing assisted by
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#1732787842298528-622: Was as Cee in Do the Right Thing . Other film roles followed, such as House Party , House Party 2 , Talkin' Dirty After Dark , and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Boomerang . During this period, entertainment mogul Russell Simmons selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam on HBO . Def Comedy Jam gave many comedians (including Chris Tucker , Dave Chappelle , Mike Epps , Eddie Griffin , Bernie Mac and Cedric
552-605: Was born on April 16, 1965, in Frankfurt , West Germany . His father, John Lawrence, was serving in the U.S. military at the time of his birth. Lawrence's first and middle names were after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. President John F. Kennedy , respectively. When Lawrence was seven, his father left the military, and the family moved from West Germany back to the United States, settling in
576-679: Was engaged to actress Lark Voorhies in 1993. He married Miss Virginia USA , Patricia Southall , in 1995. Lawrence and Southall have a daughter, Jasmine Page (born January 15, 1996). They divorced in 1997, and Lawrence began a relationship with Shamicka Gibbs. The couple married on July 10, 2010, at Lawrence's Beverly Hills home. Actors Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington were among the 120 wedding guests; Lawrence and Gibbs have two daughters, Iyanna Faith (born November 9, 2000) and Amara Trinity (born August 20, 2002). On April 25, 2012, Lawrence filed for divorce from Gibbs, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for joint legal and physical custody of
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