| 24th | Top people from Atlanta |
| 20th | Top actors who have played multiple roles in the same film |
| Tyler Perry | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emmitt Perry, Jr. September 13, 1969 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Occupation | Actor, author, screenwriter, film director, theatre director, television director, playwright, film producer, television producer |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Official website | |
Tyler Perry (born September 13, 1969) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and author.[1] As of July 2009, Tyler Perry's films have earned him nearly $400 million worldwide.[2] In 2008, Perry earned around $75 million, placing him just outside the top five highest-paid men in Hollywood.[3]
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Tyler got $5.5 million, his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, grossed $50.6 million, while scoring a 16 percent approval rating at the film review web site, Rotten Tomatoes.[4] On its opening weekend, February 24, 2006, Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at number one at the box office with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million; as with Diary, almost all of the Madea's earnings originated in the United States. Perry and the co-stars promoted the film on the Oprah Winfrey show.[5]
Perry's next LionsGate project, Daddy's Little Girls, starred Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba and was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million.[6] Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next movie, Why Did I Get Married?, released on October 12, 2007. It opened number one, grossing $21.4 million at the box office that weekend. It is loosely based on his play of the same name. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia, Vancouver, then Atlanta, where Perry opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott and Tasha Smith appeared in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, released on March 21, opened at #2 with a $20,082,809 weekend gross.[7] The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over $37.1 million.
Madea Goes to Jail opened #1 on February 20, 2009, grossing $41 million and becoming his largest opening to date. This was Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate Entertainment. At the request of director J. J. Abrams,[8] Perry had a cameo appearance in the movie Star Trek, which opened on May 8, 2009. This was his first movie appearance outside of his own projects.
Perry next wrote, directed, and starred in I Can Do Bad All By Myself, a film structured around his Madea character.[9] Perry also teamed with Oprah Winfrey to present Precious, a movie based on the novel Push by Sapphire.[10]
Perry movies are co-produced and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment while he retains full copyright ownership under his corporate name, Very Perry Films, and places his name in front of all titles.[11]
Perry produces a television show entitled Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which follows an African-American household of three generations. The show demonstrates the family members' struggles with faith and love, as well as living with different generations. The show ran briefly in the spring of 2006 as a 10-show pilot. After a successful pilot run, Perry signed a $200 million, 100-episode deal with TBS. On June 6, 2007, the first two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne ran on TBS. After receiving high ratings, House of Payne entered broadcast syndication. Reruns were played through December 2007 before the second season began. The third season began on March 5, 2008 and the fourth season on June 4, 2008. House of Payne now airs on The CW Plus and has aired 100 episodes.
The Writers Guild of America, West has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that Perry's production company, House of Payne, unlawfully fired four writers in October 2008 in retaliation for their trying to get a union contract.[12]
Perry wrote, directed and produced the sitcom Meet The Browns, premiered on TBS on January 7, 2009.
Perry has said he may produce another series entitled Floyd's Family.
In early 2009, Perry threatened legal action against Mo' Money Taxes, a tax preparation company based in Memphis, for running a TV spot that he felt offensively parodied his work, in particular Madea Goes to Jail. The ad features a large Caucasian male (John Cowan) in drag, named "Ma'Madea". The offending ad was dropped from circulation.[citation needed]
Tyler Perry's first novel, Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, appeared on April 11, 2006. The book sold more than 25,000 copies.[13] The hardcover reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed on the list for 12 weeks. It was voted the "Book of the Year" and "Best Humor Book" at the 2006 Quill Awards.
Perry always uses possessory credit in his works' titles (e.g., Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?). Several recurring narrative themes surface in Perry's work and they feature a predominantly African-American cast.
The recurring character of Mabel "Madea" Simmons appears in much of Perry's work. Perry portrays Madea by cross-dressing[14] in his plays and films. Perry has said he based Madea on an aunt who lives in Georgia, as well as on his mother. Madea dispenses wisdom in a "no-nonsense manner", and she is usually involved in physical comedy and/or a sight gag. The nickname "Madea" comes from a Southern African-American contraction of the words "mother dear", which is commonly used as a term of affection. It is also used as a reference to a great-grandmother.
Perry often refers to Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, which he notes as one of his favorite movies. Perry's plays refer to 1970s R&B and soul music, and the differences between that and the current state of rap/hip-hop music and other music popular among the black community.
Other references include singers Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, R. Kelly, Ike & Tina Turner, the movie Forrest Gump, the television sitcom Good Times, rapper Missy Elliott, and the singer Tweet.
He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana as Emmitt Perry, Jr., named after his father, a construction worker. In addition to young Emmit, his family consisted of three siblings, his mother Willie Maxine Perry, and his violently abusive father. His childhood was far from ideal. Perry once said of Emmitt Sr., "his only answer to everything was to beat it out of you." As a child, Perry once even went so far as to attempt suicide in an effort to escape his father's beatings. In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week where he sensed a certain refuge and contentment.[15] At age 16, he had his first name legally changed from Emmitt to Tyler in an effort to distance himself from his father.[16] After seeing the film Precious, he was moved to relate accounts of being molested by a friend's mother and by another friend's father at age 10, and finding out that his own father was molesting a friend.[17]
While Perry never completed high school, he did earn his GED. In his early 20's, watching an Oprah Winfrey talk show, he heard someone describe the sometimes therapeutic effect that the act of writing can have, enabling the author to work out his or her own problems. This comment inspired him to apply himself to a career in writing. He soon started writing a series of letters to himself, which became the basis for the musical, ‘I Know I've Been Changed’.
Around 1990 he moved to Atlanta, which is where this musical was first performed two years later, when Perry was 22 years old. The musical initially received a ‘less than a stellar’ reception. It included Christian themes of forgiveness, self dignity and self worth, while addressing issues such as child abuse and dysfunctional families. However, Perry’s initial lack of success as a playwright would not deter him, and over the next 6 years he retooled and rewrote the musical numerous times, and paid to have it performed again and again, only to continue to receive lackluster reviews. During this initial 6 years of difficulty, Tyler’s determination to succeed as a playwright sustained him through periods of poverty, hunger, and even homelessness. Also during this period of financial difficulties, Tyler became active in a local Christian church. Finally in 1998, at age 28, after his mother had begun to voice her concerns about the direction of his life, Perry decided he would retool the script just one more time. Much to his surprise and delight, this final attempt at success soon began playing to sellout audiences. Appropriately enough, these first successful hit performances took place in a former Atlanta church that had been turned into a theater.[16]
Since first breaking the success-barrier in 1998, Perry has gone on to create his most popular character, Madea. A wise, yet enigmatic and sometimes not entirely law abiding black matron which Perry describes as being drawn from aspects of both his mother and his aunt. This black grandmother who is known by her children for her infamous bag of leather belts, which she does not use sparingly on her children so as not to spoil them, first appeared in his 2000 play, ‘I Can Do Bad All by Myself’. Perry wearing drag, convincingly plays the part of this eccentric character himself. He also sometimes simultaneously plays other characters who are reminiscent of his father, such as “Uncle Joe”. He sometimes uses the alternate multiple character roles he plays in his movies to create a source of comic relief. Another comical aspect is provided by Perry's 6'- 5" stature, which is in no way diminished by his wearing a wig.
In 2005 Perry first began to make national celebrity status with the release of his acclaimed movie, ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman’. In 2009 Perry was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 6th highest paid man in Hollywood.[18] Perry is known to be a devout Christian.[19] Perry has become good friends with Oprah Winfrey, rapper/actor Will Smith and Bishop T.D. Jakes.[20]
On July 20, 2009, Perry sponsored 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to go to Walt Disney World after reading that a suburban swim club (Valley Swim Club, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania) had shunned them.[21] Perry wrote on his website, "I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them."[22]
On December 8, 2009, Tyler's mother, Willie Maxine Perry, died at the age of 64, following an illness.[23] As of 2010, Perry remains unmarried.[24] He lives and works in Southwest Atlanta where he operates the Tyler Perry movie and TV studios.[25]
| Year | Film | Credited as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Role | ||
| 2005 | Diary of a Mad Black Woman | Yes | Yes | Yes | Madea, Joe Simmons, and Brian Simmons | |
| 2006 | Madea's Family Reunion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Madea, Brian, Joe |
| 2007 | Daddy's Little Girls | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Why Did I Get Married? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Terry | |
| 2008 | The Family That Preys | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ben |
| Meet the Browns | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Madea, Joe | |
| 2009 | Madea Goes to Jail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Madea, Joe, Brian |
| Star Trek | Yes | Admiral Barnett | ||||
| I Can Do Bad All by Myself | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Madea, Joe | |
| 2010 | ||||||
| Why Did I Get Married Too? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Terry | |
| Year | Film | Credited as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Role | ||
| 2006 | Tyler Perry's House of Payne | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Madea |
| 2009 | Meet the Browns | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
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   | Official website - The OFFICIAL Tyler Perry Website, OFFICIAL Videos by Actor, Author, Director and Producer - Tyler Perry |
| | more than 25,000 copies - The Book Standard is closed |
| | Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion (2006) - Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion (2006) |
| | Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (2007) - Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (2007) |
| | Interview with Tyler Perry on beliefnet.com - Tyler Perry's House of Payne is an inspirational TV series about family. - Beliefnet.com |
| | Frankly, Madea, Tyler Perry's appeal is universal - Frankly, Madea, Tyler Perry's appeal is universal | AccessAtlanta |
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