Martin Lawrence

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Martin Lawrence
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Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, director and producer.

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Biography

He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where his mother served in the U.S. Military. When Lawrence was six, his family relocated to Landover, MD. Martin's father, John, left the family when Martin was only eight years old. Martin talks about this event in his life in his stand up routines and generally makes light of what happened but reminds men to take care of their children. Chlora, Martin's mother, worked as a cashier at various department stores to support Martin and his siblings.

During his teen years, Martin excelled in boxing. While living in Maryland he actually became a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender. Although he became a good boxer, comedy is where Martin found his greatest success, even early in life. In school, Martin would poke fun at others during breaks and recess and teachers would routinely let Lawrence have a few minutes of class time to tell jokes and make classmates laugh. It was a teacher who suggested that Martin give his comedic talents a shot on stage at a local comedy club during open mic night. He took on the challenge and from then on comedy was in his blood.

Lawrence ended up moving to New York City and found his way to the legendary Improv Comedy Club. Shortly after appearing at the Improv, he won a performance spot on the nationally televised Star Search. At the time, Star Search was a hugely successful and popular show in the United States. Martin did well on the show and ended up making it to the final round before losing out. Executives at Columbia TriStar Television saw Martin's performance and offered him an appearance on the television sitcom What's Happening Now!!; this was his first acting job in Hollywood, CA. Following What's Happening Now, Martin had bit parts in various movies and television roles before entertainment mogul Russell Simmons personally selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam airing on HBO. Def Comedy Jam gave many comedians their start such as Chris Tucker, Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer and it offered Martin his largest audience to date.

Around the same time he was given the Def Comedy Jam role, Martin started his own sitcom, the hit series Martin which aired on Fox. This show is what really gave Martin his star status. He starred along side Tisha Campbell, Carl Anthony Payne II, Tichina Arnold, Thomas Mikal Ford, and Garrett Morris. The show ran from 1992 to 1997. During this time, he starred or co-starred in many movies along side such talents as Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, and Tim Robbins. After Martin ended it's run, Lawrence worked on many film projects. Many of his films were blockbusters and his salary increased dramatically from hundreds of thousands per role to over $10 million per role. He continues to work in film today.

Although Martin was once engaged to Lark Voorhies, he married Patricia Southall, a former Miss Virginia, on January 7, 1995. They had a daughter, Jasmine, but divorced in 1996. Southall is now married to former NFL running back Emmitt Smith. The divorce led to many personal problems in Lawrence's life. In August 1996, he was arrested at Burbank Airport for carrying a loaded gun in his suitcase. On March 28, 1997, he was arrested outside a Hollywood nightclub after a man claimed Lawrence punched him. While directing A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, he reportedly had violent outbursts and took drugs on the set. Martin's co-star Tisha Campbell sued him for sexual harassment, and left the show during its final season. He went into a coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while jogging in August 1999.

Filmography

Television Work

Awards and Nominations

External links

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