Morgan, Tracy 1968-

views updated May 29 2018

Morgan, Tracy 1968-

PERSONAL

Born November 10, 1968, in the Bronx, New York, NY; son of Jimmy Morgan (a musician) and Alicia; married Sabina, c. 1985 (divorced); children: Tracy, Jr., Malcolm, Gitrid.

Addresses:

Agent—Endeavor, 9601 Wilshire Blvd., Third Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90210; Super Artists, 2910 Main St., Second Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Manager—3 Arts Entertainment, 9460 Wilshire Blvd., Seventh Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career:

Actor and comedian. Appeared in advertisements. Stand-up comedian at various venues.

Member:

Screen Actors Guild.

Awards, Honors:

Screen Actors Award nomination (with others), outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series, 2008, for 30 Rock.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Various characters, Uptown Comedy Club, syndicated, 1993-94.

Hustle man, Martin, Fox, 1994-96.

Various characters, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live '80, SNL, and SNL 25), NBC, 1996-c. 2003.

Host, Comic Groove, Comedy Central, 2002.

Voice of Spoonie Luv, Crank Yankers, Comedy Central, beginning 2002.

Tracy Mitchell, The Tracy Morgan Show, NBC, 2003-2004.

Voice of Woof, Where My Dogs at? (animated), MTV 2, 2006.

Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock (also known as Rockefeller Plaza and Untitled Tina Fey Project), NBC, 2006—.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

(Uncredited) Himself, Heroes of Comedy: Women on Top, Comedy Central, 2003.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Roxy, Breaking the Silence, CBS, 1992.

Darnell, Totally Awesome, VH1, 2006.

Television Appearances; Specials:

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Iron Mike Tyson, The Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live, NBC, 1998.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Iron Mike Tyson, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Rock, NBC, 1999.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Jamal Wilkes Booth, SNL: 25 Years of Music, NBC, 1999.

(Uncredited) Himself and in archive footage, Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (also known as Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Primetime Special), NBC, 1999.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Himself and various characters, Saturday Night Live: Game Show Parodies, NBC, 2000.

Little Richard, VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin, VH1, 2001.

Himself, Saturday Night Live Primetime Extra 2, NBC, 2001.

Various characters, Saturday Night Live: Mother's Day Special, NBC, 2001.

Himself, Tracy Morgan: One Mic, Comedy Central, 2002.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Aretha Franklin, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Kattan, NBC, 2003.

Bobby Brown, Randy Jackson, and Al Sharpton, Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Halftime Special, NBC, 2003.

Himself, The Osbourne Family Christmas Special, MTV, 2003.

Himself, The Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special, NBC, 2003.

Christmas in Rockefeller Center, NBC, 2003.

The Sixth Annual Sears Soul Train Christmas Starfest, UPN, 2003.

Himself, Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem, NBC, 2004.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Various characters, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Cheri Oteri, NBC, 2004.

Voice of Spoonie Luv, Comedy Central's "Bar Mitzvah Bash!," Comedy Central, 2004.

Himself, Richard Pryor: The Funniest Man Dead or Alive, Black Entertainment Television (BET), 2005.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Various characters, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies, NBC, 2005.

Himself, "Holiday Special," Howard Stern on Demand (also known as Howard TV and Howard TV on Demand), iN DEMAND, 2006.

Himself, Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation, NBC, 2007.

Television Appearances; Awards Presenations:

The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards 2000, UPN, 2000.

Presenter, The VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, VH1, 2001.

VH1 Big in 03 (also known as Big in 2003, VH1 Big in 2003, and VH1 Big in '03 Awards), VH1, 2003.

ESPY Awards (also known as The 2004 ESPY Awards), ESPN, 2004.

VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, VH1, 2004.

Presenter, On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize Celebrating Lorne Michaels (also known as The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize Celebrating Lorne Michaels), PBS, 2005.

The 58th Anniversary Primetime Emmy Awards, NBC, 2006.

The Third Annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, VH1, 2006.

Host, The Fourth Annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, VH1, 2007.

Host, Guys' Choice Awards (also known as Guys' Choice and Spike "Guys' Choice Awards"), Spike, 2007.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Performer, Def Comedy Jam, HBO, multiple episodes, beginning c. 1992.

Himself, The Chris Rock Show, HBO, 1998.

Himself, The Jim Breuer Show, MTV, 1998.

Himself, "Dick'll Take Manhattan: Part 1," 3rd Rock from the Sun (also known as 3rd Rock and Life As We Know It), NBC, 2000.

Himself, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 2000 (multiple episodes), 2004, 2006, 2007 (multiple episodes).

Himself, Hollywood Squares (also known as H2 and H2: Hollywood Squares), syndicated, 2002.

Himself, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 2002.

Himself, "Head of State," HBO First Look, HBO, 2003.

Himself in footage from Comic Groove, Comic Remix, Comedy Central, 2003.

Himself, Punk'd (also known as Harassment), MTV, 2003.

Himself, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2003.

Himself, The Sharon Osbourne Show (also known as Sharon), syndicated, 2003, 2004 (multiple episodes).

Himself and commentator, 101 Most Unforgettable SNL Moments (also known as E's "101"), E! Entertainment Television, 2004 (multiple episodes).

Himself, The Daily Buzz, syndicated, 2004.

Himself, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest, syndicated, 2004.

Himself, Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry (also known as Def Poetry and Def Poetry Jam), HBO, 2004.

Himself, Tavis Smiley, PBS, 2004.

Various characters, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live '80, SNL, and SNL 25), NBC, multiple episodes, beginning 2004.

Himself, Jimmy Kimmel Live! (also known as The Jimmy Kimmel Project), ABC, multiple episodes in 2004, 2005, 2006.

Himself, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, CNBC, 2005.

Himself, Dinner for Five, Independent Film Channel, 2005.

Himself, 106 & Park Top 10 Live (also known as 106 & Park), Black Entertainment Television (BET), 2005.

Himself, Weekends at the DL, Comedy Central, 2005.

Captain Black Cawk, "Stereotype Olympics," Mind of Mencia, Comedy Central, 2006.

Himself, "Guilty Pleasure," Jamie Kennedy's "Blowin' Up" (also known as Blowin' Up), MTV, 2006.

Himself, "Saturday Night Live," Conversations with Michael Eisner, CNBC, 2006.

Himself, Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2006.

Himself, The Megan Mullally Show (also known as Untitled Megan Mullally Project), syndicated, 2006.

Himself, The Wendy Williams Experience, VH1, 2006.

Himself, "Tracy Morgan: Parts 1 & 2," Howard Stern on Demand (also known as Howard TV and Howard TV on Demand), iN DEMAND, 2006, 2007.

Himself, Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show and Late Show Backstage), CBS, 2007, 2008.

Himself, The View, ABC, 2007, 2008.

The Invisible Man, "I Want More Corn Chowder," Human Giant, MTV, 2008.

Himself, "January 11, 2008," eTalk Daily (also known as eTalk and e-Talk Daily), CTV (Canada), 2008.

Himself, "Morgan in the Morning," Howard Stern on Demand (also known as Howard TV and Howard TV on Demand), iN DEMAND, 2008.

Himself, Entertainment Tonight (also known as Entertainment This Week, E.T., ET Weekend, and This Week in Entertainment), syndicated, 2008.

Appeared in other programs, including Driven, VH1.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Himself, "Saturday Night Live," TV Tales, E! Entertainment Television, 2002.

Tracy Mitchell, The Tracy Morgan Show, NBC, 2003.

Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock (also known as Rockefeller Plaza and Untitled Tina Fey Project), NBC, 2006.

Television Producer:

Tracy Morgan: One Mic (special), Comedy Central, 2002.

The Tracy Morgan Show (series), NBC, 2003-2004.

Film Appearances:

Bartender, A Thin Line between Love and Hate (also known as Mister Bombastic and A Thin Line between Love & Hate), New Line Cinema, 1996.

V. J., Half Baked, Universal, 1998.

(Uncredited) Television personality, Bamboozled (also known as It's Showtime and The Very Black Show), New Line Cinema, 2000.

(Uncredited) Field of Dreams man, How High (also known as So High), Universal, 2001.

Pumpkin Escobar, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (also known as Jay and Silent Bob, VA5, and View Askew 5), Miramax/Dimension Films, 2001.

Troy, 30 Years to Life, Exodus Entertainment, 2001.

Voice of Woo Ping for English dub, WaSanGo (also known as Hwasan Highschool, Volcano High, and Volcano High School), Amuse Pictures, 2001.

Reggie Rosengold, Frank McKlusky, C.I., Buena Vista, 2002.

Meat man, Head of State, DreamWorks, 2003.

Ms. Tucker, The Longest Yard (also known as Benknaeckargaenget, El clan de los rompehuesos, Golpe baixo, Golpe bajo—El juego final, L'altra sporca ultima meta, Le dernier essai, Luunmurskaajat, Mi-temps au mitard, and Spiel ohne Regeln), Paramount, 2005.

Voice of Satchel Paige, Are We There Yet?, Columbia, 2005.

Percy, Little Man (also known as Perfect Gem & Valuable), Revolution Studios, 2006.

Voice of Marcus, Farce of the Penguins, THINKFilm, 2006.

Busta Nut, Deep in Valley, Persistent Entertainment, 2008.

LeeJohn Jackson, First Sunday, Screen Gems, 2008.

Professor Xavier, Superhero Movie (also known as Superhero!), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2008.

Keyshawn, Nailed, Capitol Films/Persistent Entertainment/Red Wagon Entertainment, 2009.

Voice of Blaster, G-Force, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2009.

Radio Appearances:

Himself, "Holiday Special," The Howard Stern Show, Howard 100 (Sirius Satellite Radio), 2006.

Himself, "Tracy Morgan: Parts 1 & 2," The Howard Stern Show, Howard 100 (Sirius Satellite Radio), 2006, 2007.

Himself, "Morgan in the Morning," The Howard Stern Show, Howard 100 (Sirius Satellite Radio), 2008.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Saturday Night Live: The Best of Mike Myers, 1998.

(In archive footage) Himself and various characters, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Tracy Morgan, 2004.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Various characters, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell—Volume 2, 2004.

Himself, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse, 2006.

Music Videos:

The Notorious B.I.G., "Notorious B.I.G.," 1999.

Album Performer:

Chris Rock, Roll with the New, DreamWorks, 1997.

WRITINGS

Teleplays:

Tracy Morgan: One Mic (special), Comedy Central, 2002.

(With others) The Tracy Morgan Show (episodic), NBC, episodes 2003-04.

Screenplays:

Author of the screenplay Love Shack, Universal.

Writings for the Stage:

Author of comedic material.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 61, Gale, 2007.

Periodicals:

Constitution (Atlanta), May 27, 2005.

Entertainment Weekly, December 5, 2003, pp. 57-58.

Giant, October, 2006, p. 122.

People Weekly, January 12, 2004, p. 83.

TV Guide, June 26, 2006, p. 75.

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television

Morgan, Tracy

views updated May 17 2018

Morgan, Tracy

1968—

Comedian, actor

On the television sitcom 30 Rock, Tracy Morgan portrays a wild, unpredictable, egotistical entertainment industry personality. The real Tracy Morgan, on the other hand, has been married to his high school sweetheart for 20 years and is a devoted family man. Best known for his seven-season run on Saturday Night Live, Morgan has forged a successful comedy career by straddling the surprisingly fine line between those two roles. He has been both edgy and domesticated in both his private and professional lives.

Tracy Morgan was born on November 10, 1968, in the Bronx, New York. When he was six years old, his father Jimmy, a Vietnam veteran and musician, left the family, leaving his mother Alicia to raise her five children—of which Tracy was second oldest—as a single parent in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Growing up in a rugged housing project, Morgan dabbled in certain illicit activities in order to get by. He never fully embraced the street lifestyle, however. "I did some things I'm not proud of," Morgan was quoted as saying in a December 2003 Entertainment Weekly article. "I tried my little hand at drug dealing, but that wasn't me." Morgan turned instead to humor

as a way to deal with the sense of abandonment he felt from his father's departure.

When Morgan was a sophomore at DeWitt Clinton High School, he learned that his father, a drug addict, had AIDS. He dropped out of school to help care for him until he died in 1987; Morgan had lost his father a second time. The same year, Morgan married his high school sweetheart, Sabina, and they were already raising the first of their three sons, Gitrid. While they were scraping by on public assistance, Morgan began to supplement the young family's income by doing comedy in the streets. "I was hustling. I would do a fat Michael Jackson from the projects. I was just working on pure imagination," Morgan was quoted as saying in a January 2004 article in People Weekly.

In the early 1990s, Morgan began bringing his comedy act indoors, finding stand-up work in some of New York's popular comedy clubs. His inspiration was Martin Lawrence, whom he had first seen on HBO in 1992. "I thought, ‘He's like me. I could do that too,’" Morgan was quoted as saying in People Weekly. His stand-up career gained steam over the next couple of years. He performed at the high-profile Uptown Com- edy Club in Harlem, where he created such characters as Hustleman, which became a permanent part of his repertoire. He soon began touring nationally, and he landed a spot on HBO's Def Comedy Jam, which regularly featured the country's best young African-American comics. His success on the stand-up circuit led to a recurring spot on his former role-model Lawrence's situation comedy Martin, on which he recreated the Hustleman character he had developed in his stand-up act.

Morgan continued to appear periodically on Martin through 1996. That year, he got the biggest break of his career when he was cast as a regular on NBC's legendary late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live, which has launched the big-league careers of a virtual Who's Who of American comedians. This sudden elevation to the heights of show business was jarring for Morgan. "It was definitely a culture shock for me," he remarked, according to People Weekly. "But I had people like Lorne (Michaels, SNL producer) and Will Ferrell to guide me." Morgan spent the next seven television seasons creating a vast list of memorable characters, including Bronx apartment superintendent Dominican Lou, Astronaut Jones, flamboyantly gay animal show host Brian Fellow, moonshiner Uncle Jemimah, and homeless ladies' man Woodrow. He also specialized in celebrity impersonations, some of his most well received being Star Jones, Maya Angelou, and Mike Tyson.

Throughout his tenure on SNL, Morgan branched out into other projects, including live comedy, films, and other television shows. He continued to tour with his stand-up act across the country. In 2001 he appeared in the role of Pumpkin Escobar in Kevin Smith's film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Two years later he played the character Meat Man in the movie Head of State, a vehicle for Chris Rock. In between, he made his own TV comedy special, "Tracy Morgan: One Mic," for Comedy Central in 2002. From 2002 to 2004, Morgan's voice was used in the Comedy Central series Crank Yankers, which employed puppets to reenact actual prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests.

In 2003 Morgan quit SNL to star in his own prime-time NBC sitcom, The Tracy Morgan Show. In the show, Morgan starred as Tracy Mitchell, a devoted family man and proprietor of his own auto repair shop. The role was actually much closer to the real Morgan—a parent since early adulthood—than were the outrageous characters he had been playing on SNL. This came as a surprise to both his costars and the show's audience, who were more accustomed to a wilder and crazier Tracy. But with the show, Morgan was determined to provide quality family entertainment. "The only difference is in real life, it takes more than 22 minutes to solve problems," he was quoted as saying in Entertainment Weekly. Unfortunately, The Tracy Morgan Show did not particularly impress either critics or a large number of viewers; it lasted only one season.

Morgan reunited with fellow SNL alum Tina Fey in 2006 on Fey's NBC sitcom 30 Rock. The show—whose executive producer is SNL producer Lorne Michaels—revolves around the set of a live comedy variety show reminiscent of SNL. Morgan plays Tracy Jordan, an unpredictable movie star who has been recruited to be a regular on the show. 30 Rock was generally applauded by critics, receiving nominations for a handful of industry honors. One of its stars, Alec Baldwin, won Golden Globe and Screen Actors' Guild awards. Ratings, on the other hand, were mediocre, but appeared likely that the show would survive to see a second season of production. Morgan's career, however, remained in high gear.

At a Glance …

Born on November 10, 1968, in Bronx, NY; married Sabina, 1987; children: Gitrid, Malcolm, Tracy, Jr. Education: Attended DeWitt Clinton High School, New York, NY.

Career:

Stand-up comedian, 1992-; recurring role on TV series Martin, 1994-96; cast of Saturday Night Live, 1996-2003; numerous television and film appearances, 2003-.