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Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence^[2] (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, director, and producer. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. Lawrence has acted in numerous movie roles and starred in his own television series, Martin, which ran from 1992 to 1997.

Early life

Martin Lawrence born in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, where his American father, John Lawrence, served in the U.S. Military.^[2] After his parents divorced in 1973,^[3] Lawrence rarely saw his father, who worked as a police officer at the time.^[4] His mother, Chlora, began working several jobs to support her family.^[5] During his teen years, Lawrence excelled at boxing.^[2] While living in Maryland, he attended Thomas G. Pullen School of Creative and Performing Arts (Landover, Maryland), Fairmont Heights High School (Fairmount Heights, Maryland), Eleanor Roosevelt High School^[2] and also Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Maryland, becoming a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender.

Career

Lawrence moved to Los Angeles and found his way to the legendary Kings Wood comedy club. Shortly after appearing at the Wood, he won a performance spot on Star Search, a popular show in the United States.^[2] He did well on the show and made it to the final round before ultimately losing. However, executives at Columbia TriStar Television saw Martin's performance and offered him the role of "Maurice" on the television sitcom What's Happening Now!!; this was his first acting job.^[2] Upon cancellation of that show, Lawrence found bit parts in various films and television roles. His breakthrough role was as Cee in the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing. Other roles followed in films such as the House Party series 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, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer) mainstream exposure.

During his stint with Def Comedy Jam, Lawrence appeared in his own hit series, Martin, which aired on FOX.^[2] 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; the monologue was completely edited out of NBC reruns and syndicated versions, and Lawrence was banned from the show for the rest of his life. "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. SNL was rumored to have invited Martin back to the show months later. It was said that he declined the offer. After Martin ended its run, Lawrence found ample work in comedy films. He often starred as the second lead opposite actors including Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, and Tim Robbins.^[2] Many of his films were blockbusters at the box office, including Boomerang (1992), Bad Boys (1995), Blue Streak (1999), Big Momma's House (2000) and Bad Boys 2 (2003). He also starred in critical and box office failures including Black Knight (2001) and National Security (2002). Regardless, his salary steadily increased to over $10 million per film role. He continues to work in film, with such films as Big Momma's House 2, which opened #1 at the North American box office and grossed almost $28 million its first weekend,^[6] and Wild Hogs (2007), in which he plays 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'd portrayed on Martin.

At the 2009 BET Awards he appeared in a spoof movie trailer with Jamie Foxx for a fictitious movie that featured, respectively, their infamous TV characters Sheneneh Jenkins and Ugly Wanda.

Lawrence has reportedly signed on to star in an upcoming comedy titled Back To Africa. According to Variety, Lawrence will play a working-class man from Queens, New York who discovers that he is the heir to the throne of an African country and travels there to claim his birthright. Lawrence will serve as a producer on the film, which will be released via his Runteldat imprint and Alcon Entertainment. A release date for the film has not been announced. Also Produced show on tvone called Love that Girl

Personal life

Lawrence was engaged to Lark Voorhies in 1993.

He married Patricia Southall, a former Miss Virginia USA, in January 1995. Lawrence has a daughter with Southall named Jasmine Page, born on January 15, 1996. They divorced in September 1996. Lawrence also has two other daughters, Lyana and America, born in 2001 and 2003.

In 1996, Lawrence's Martin co-star, Tisha Campbell-Martin, filed a lawsuit against Lawrence and the show's producers for sexual harassment and verbal and physical assaults. HBO Studios settled the lawsuit so the show's final season could be completed. Campbell-Martin agreed to complete the season on the condition that she not appear in any scenes in the last two episodes with Lawrence.^[7] No criminal charges were ever filed and the accusations were never brought to court.

In the mid-1990s, Lawrence began abusing psychotropic drugs, and during filming of A Thin Line Between Love and Hate lashed out in a violent outburst on the set. He became increasingly erratic and was arrested after he reportedly brandished a pistol and screamed at tourists on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles.^[2] He was also arrested at Burbank Airport for carrying a loaded gun in his suitcase. In March 1997, Lawrence was arrested again after assaulting a man in a Hollywood nightclub.^[2]

During August 1999, Lawrence slipped into a three-day coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while jogging in 100-degree heat while wearing several layers of heavy clothing.^[2] He recovered in the hospital after very nearly dying and running a body temperature of 107 °F (41.7 °C), his breathing assisted by a respirator.

Filmography

Television

• What's Happening Now!! (cast member from 1987–1988) - Maurice
• A Little Bit Strange (1989) (unsold pilot)
• Hammer, Slammer, & Slade (1990) (unsold pilot)
• Private Times (1991) (unsold pilot)
• Martin (1992–1997) - Martin Payne
• Def Comedy Jam (host from 1992–1993)
• Love That Girl (executive producer)

Albums

Awards and nominations

• Blockbuster Entertainment Award
  • nominated with Eddie Murphy for Favorite Comedy Team (2000) for the movie Life
  • nominated for Favorite Actor (2001) for the movie Big Momma's House
• NAACP Image Award
  • won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1995) for the series Martin
  • won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1996) for the series Martin
  • nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1997) for the series Martin
• Kids' Choice Award
  • nominated for Favorite Television Actor (1995) for the series Martin
  • nominated for Favorite Television Actor (1996) for the series Martin
  • nominated for Favorite Movie Actor (2001) for the movie Big Momma's House
• MTV Movie Award
  • nominated with Will Smith for Best On-Screen Duo (1996) for the movie Bad Boys
  • nominated for the movie Big Momma's House
  • nominated with Will Smith for Best On-Screen Team (2003) for the movie Bad Boys II
• ShoWest - Male Star of Tomorrow (1995)
• Teen Choice Award - nominated for Wipeout Scene of the Summer (2000) for the movie Big Momma's House
• BET Comedy Award - won Icon Comedy Award (2005)

References

External links

• Martin Lawrence at the Internet Movie Database
• interview, 2005, BlackNews
• interview, 7/03, BlackFilm
• interview: January 25, 2006 on the Tavis Smiley show
• Martin Lawrence HBO Stand-Up Special Videos