Eddie Griffin

Edward Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman on the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, the title character in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother, and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005).

Eddie Griffin
Griffin in January 2008
Birth nameEdward Griffin
Born (1968-07-15) July 15, 1968
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
MediumStand-up, film, television
Years active1989–present
GenresImprovisational comedy, observational comedy, blue comedy, satire
Subject(s)African-American culture, recreational drug use, human sexuality, race relations, politics, racism, religion, everyday life
SpouseKo Lee Griffin (2017-present)
Carla Griffin
​
(
m. 1984; div. 1997)

Rochelle Griffin
​
(
m. 2002; div. 2009)

Nia Rivers
​
(
m. 2011; div. 2012)
Children11
Websiteeddiegriffin.com

Early life

Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator.[1] His family were Jehovah's Witnesses.[2] In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California to live with his cousins. He later become a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was discharged within months for using marijuana. After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses. Then, at a comedy club open-mike night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned a standing ovation with family stories. He talked his way into 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.[3] Griffin did not see his mother for four years, after Griffin and his mother got into an argument at his 20th birthday party, where Griffin's mother accused him of stealing jewelry from her, which Griffin denied doing. Griffin later moved back to Los Angeles, California in March 1992, to be closer with his family when his mother was injured in a car accident.[4]

Career

Griffin has starred in The Meteor Man (1993), The Walking Dead (1995) Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Double Take (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), John Q (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) and Norbit (2007). In 2007, he starred in Urban Justice, a thriller set in New Mexico. He also starred in the UPN television series Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000).

Griffin was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.[5] In 2011 Comedy Central released You Can Tell 'Em I Said It on DVD.

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 also has appeared on commercials for Miller Beer's Man Laws. He is well known for his comedic routine of imitating Michael Jackson on crack cocaine. He also made an appearance on Chappelle's Show in the skit "World Series of Dice" as Grits n' Gravy. He will be starring alongside Charlie Sheen, Jason Momoa, Emily Blunt, Robin Wright, Dolph Lundgren, Lindsey Stirling, Connie Nielsen and Selena Gomez in The Seeker: Wild Run.

In December 2019, his comedy special, E-Niggma, was released on Showtime. Griffin discusses his 30 year career, real world issues, interracial relationships and his personal life including his ex-wives, 10 children and being 52 years old.

Personal life

Griffin has been married four times. He married his first wife, Carla, in 1984; he was 16 years old.[6] However he married his second wife, Rochelle, in 2002,[6] but they have since divorced. On September 8, 2011, he married Nia Rivers.[7] However, they filed for divorce after one month of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. They were officially divorced six months later.[8] He married Ko Lee Griffin on July 27, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[9]

In March 2007,[10] 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.[10] He walked away unscratched, but the $1.5 million supercar was badly damaged.[10] Griffin later criticized reporters who suggested the crash was a publicity stunt.[11]

During the sexual assault allegations on Bill Cosby, Griffin suggested that Cosby was the victim of a conspiracy to destroy his image and that several other prominent African-American men had been victims of similar conspiracies.[12]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role
1991 The Last Boy Scout Club DJ
1992 Brain Donors Messenger
1993 Coneheads Customer
1993 The Meteor Man Michael Anderson
1994 House Party 3 Guest at Kid's Bachelor Party (uncredited)
1994 Jason's Lyric Rat
1995 The Walking Dead Pvt. Hoover Brache
1997 Eddie Griffin: Voodoo Child Himself
1998 Armageddon Bike Messenger
1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks
1999 The Mod Squad Sonny
1999 Foolish Miles "Foolish" Waise
2000 All Jokes Aside Himself
2000 Picking Up the Pieces Sediento
2001 Double Take Freddy Tiffany
2002 John Q Lester Matthews
2002 The New Guy Luther
2002 Undercover Brother Anton Jackson / Undercover Brother
2002 Pinocchio The Cat (voice: English dub)
2003 Dysfunktional Family Himself
2003 Scary Movie 3 Orpheus
2004 Blast Lamont Dixon
2004 My Baby's Daddy Lonnie
2005 The Wendell Baker Story McTeague
2005 Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks
2006 Date Movie Frank Jones
2006 The Year Without a Santa Claus Jingle
2006 Who Made the Potatoe Salad? Malik
2006 Irish Jam Jimmy Winston "Da Jam" McDevitt
2007 Norbit Pope Sweet Jesus
2007 Redline Infamous
2007 I'm Rick James Himself
2007 Urban Justice Armand Tucker
2008 Beethoven's Big Break Stanley Mitchell
2008 Freedom of Speech Himself
2009 Young World
2010 Hollywont
2010 Bunyan and Babe
2011 You Can Tell 'Em I Said It Himself
2014 Going to America Fumnanya
2015 American Hero Lucille
2017 All About the Money Christopher Jefferson Johnson
2018 Undeniable Himself
2018 A Star Is Born Pastor
2020 The Comeback Trail

Television
Year Title Role Notes
Year not known Saved By The Bell The Glee Club
1996–2000 Malcolm & Eddie Eddie Sherman
2004 Chappelle's Show Grits N' Gravy
2009 Eddie Griffin Going For Broke Himself
2012–2015 Black Dynamite Richard Pryor
2014 The Boondocks Himself (voice) Episode: "Good Times"
2017 The Comedy Get Down Himself
2019 E-Niggma Himself

Awards
Award Film Event
Best Actor Last Supper Los Angeles International Film Festival 2014 [13]
Best Actor Last Supper San Francisco Global Movie Fest 2014 [14]

Music video appearances
Year Artists Song Title Notes Director
1993 Snoop Dogg featuring Daz Dillinger, Heney Loc & Jewell (singer) "Gin & Juice" Party Goer Dr. Dre
1997 Mariah Carey "Honey (Mariah Carey song)" Kidnapper/D.U.N.C.E. organization Member Paul Hunter
1997 Puff Daddy featuring Mase "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" Car Passenger Paul Hunter
1999 Magic (rapper), Master P & Mo B. Dick (musician) "Foolish (Master P song)" Miles "Foolish" Waise -
2001 Lil' Bow Wow featuring Fundisha "Take Ya Home" Store Owner Dave Meyers (director)

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) 3210
  • RIAA: Gold

Album appearances
gollark: I believe Zachary also said something about you threatening to "uppercut" me at some point, which based on the internet search I conducted would also be mean, so don't do that either.
gollark: Yes, that is what I typed.
gollark: I have an ethics machine so I decide.
gollark: Dehumanisation has always been ethical, yes.
gollark: That sounds mean. You should avoid that.

References
  1. "Eddie Griffin finds his material in his funky, troubled family". Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  2. Griffin, Eddie. "Eddie Griffin on Jehovah Witnesses and the Benefits of Polygamy. Standup Comedy From The Vault". The Vault. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  3. https://people.com/archive/verve-griffin-vol-59-no-15/
  4. "New Material Drives Comedian Eddie Griffin's New Special, Stand-up Tour". Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  5. Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time on IMDb
  6. Miller, Samantha (April 21, 2003). "Verve Griffin". People. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  7. "Eddie Griffin - The Walk-In VEGAS Wedding!!!!". TMZ.com. August 28, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  8. "Eddie Griffin FINALLY DIVORCED After 6 Months of Marriage". TMZ. March 24, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  9. {{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CAAwdwzDxLK/?igshid=1icb1yjjd89n7
  10. "Eddie Griffin Wrecks $1.5 Million Ferrari". CBS News. March 27, 2007.
  11. Norman, Pete; Pfeiffer, Kimberly (March 30, 2007). "Eddie Griffin: Car Wreck, Injuries No Hoax". People.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  12. Howard, Adam (December 31, 2015), Eddie Griffin defends Cosby, alleges 'systematic effort to destroy' black male stars, MSNBC, retrieved December 31, 2015
  13. Winners 2014, laufilmfest.com, retrieved December 1, 2014
  14. Awards 2014, sfmoviefest.com, archived from the original on August 26, 2014, retrieved August 16, 2014
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