# Damon Wayans

Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (/ˈdeɪmən ˈweɪ.ənz/; born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of the Wayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. He later joined his family on Fox's sketch comedy show In Living Color (1990–1992), and wrote and performed on his own animated series Waynehead (1996–1997) and live-action series Damon (1998). Since then, he has starred in a number of films and television shows, some of which he has co-produced or co-written, including Mo' Money, The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne, Bulletproof, and the sitcoms My Wife and Kids and Poppa's House, the latter featuring his son Damon Wayans Jr. From 2016 to 2019, he starred as Roger Murtaugh in the Fox television series Lethal Weapon.

## Early life

Wayans was born in Harlem in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker, singer and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager. He has five sisters—Elvira, Vonnie, Nadia, Kim and Diedra—and four brothers—Keenen, Marlon, Shawn and Dwayne. He was club footed as a child.
This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife and Kids, and his character on the short-lived cartoon series Waynehead. Wayans attended Murry Bergtraum High School.

## Career

Wayans started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the Eddie Murphy film of 1984, Beverly Hills Cop. From 1985 to 1986, he appeared on Saturday Night Live as a featured player, before getting fired after just eleven episodes for improvising during a live sketch, playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. Wayans later claimed that he wanted to be fired due to lack of creative freedom and screen time. Wayans further explained that Lorne Michaels did not want Wayans to do too much too soon and began drawing comparisons to Eddie Murphy who had just left the show. He also appeared in the syndicated television series Solid Gold during the 1980s as a comedian.
With his brother Keenen, Wayans created the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color, which had a mostly African-American cast. The show went on the air in April 1990. It continued running until May 1994, although Wayans left the show in 1992 to pursue a film career.
After In Living Color, he starred in films such as Mo' Money, The Last Boy Scout, Major Payne, Celtic Pride, Bulletproof, and The Great White Hype, and wrote and starred in the film Blankman. He also appeared in Janet Jackson's video "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and was considered for the role of the Riddler in Batman Forever (the role went to Jim Carrey, his co-star from In Living Color and Earth Girls Are Easy).
In October 1996, he produced Waynehead, a short-lived cartoon for The WB, loosely based on his own childhood growing up in a large family, starring a poor boy with a club foot. The show only lasted a season due to poor ratings. From 1997 to 1998, he was the executive producer of 413 Hope St., a short-lived drama on the FOX network starring Richard Roundtree and Jesse L. Martin.
In March 1998, he starred in the short-lived comedy television series Damon, in which he played a detective from Chicago. It aired on Fox. In 1999, his The New York Times bestselling book Bootleg, with co author David Asbery was published; it is a humorous compilation of his observations about family.
In October 2000, he was the lead in Spike Lee's Bamboozled. Wayans starred in the ABC comedy series My Wife and Kids from March 2001 to May 2005. He also was a co-creator of the short lived ABC sitcom Rodney starring Rodney Carrington and Jennifer Aspen that ran from 2004–2006. In the end of 2006, he produced and starred in the Showtime sketch comedy series The Underground, which also featured his son, Damon Jr. He also hosted the June 2006 BET Awards.
In 2011, he also added author of a serious fictional novel to his credits with Red Hats, which is the story of a suicidal 65-year-old woman who finds friendship and happiness, when she joins the Red Hat Society. As of 2014, Wayans continues to perform stand-up comedy and has developed apps with his company of freelancers "MIMS" (Money in My Sleep). The company created applications such as Flick Dat, Diddeo and VHedz.
On November 12, 2015, at the Irvine Improv, Wayans announced his retirement from stand up commencing December 2015. In September 2016, he was cast as Roger Murtaugh in the television version of Lethal Weapon, a role originated by Danny Glover in the film series. On October 3, 2018, it was reported that Wayans would leave Lethal Weapon after filming of the first thirteen episodes of Season 3 wrapped. Lethal Weapon officially ended in February 2019, after three seasons.
Wayans returned to scripted television in the fall of 2024 with his son Damon Jr. on the CBS sitcom Poppa's House.

## Awards and honors

Wayans received four Emmy awards nominations for his acting and writing in In Living Color.
For his role in My Wife and Kids, he won the 2002 People's Choice Awards for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Series, and received four International Press Academy "Golden Satellite Award" nominations.

## Personal life

Wayans was married to Lisa Thorner; they divorced in 2000. He has four children with Thorner: sons Damon Wayans Jr. and Michael Wayans and daughters Cara Mia Wayans and Kyla Wayans. He is also a grandfather. He is the uncle of Damien Dante Wayans, Chaunté Wayans and Craig Wayans.
Wayans was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in January 2013.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | Beverly Hills Cop | Banana Man | |
| 1986 | Triplecross | Ornery Character No. 1 | Television film |
| 1987 | Hollywood Shuffle | Body Guard No. 2 / Willie | |
| 1987 | Roxanne | Jerry | |
| 1988 | Colors | T-Bone | |
| 1988 | Earth Girls Are Easy | Zeebo | |
| 1988 | Punchline | Percy | |
| 1988 | I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Leonard | |
| 1990 | Look Who's Talking Too | Eddie | Voice |
| 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | Jimmy Alexander Dix | |
| 1992 | Mo' Money | Johnny Stewart | |
| 1993 | Last Action Hero | Himself | |
| 1994 | Blankman | Darryl Walker / Blankman | |
| 1995 | Major Payne | Major Benson Winefred Payne | |
| 1996 | Celtic Pride | Lewis Scott | |
| 1996 | The Great White Hype | James 'The Grim Reaper' Roper | |
| 1996 | Bulletproof | Detective Jack Carter / Rock Keats | |
| 1999 | Harlem Aria | Wes | |
| 1999 | Goosed | Dr. Steven Hemel | |
| 2000 | Bamboozled | Pierre Delacroix | |
| 2003 | Marci X | Dr. S. | |
| 2004 | Behind the Smile | Charlie Richman | |
| 2006 | Farce of the Penguins | Hey, That's My Ass! Penguin | Voice |
| 2006 | Legends Bells | Himself | Television film |
| 2008 | Never Better | Keith | Television film |
| 2011 | Herd Mentality | Jimmy Crowder | Short |
| 2023 | Cinnamon | Wally | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985–86 | Saturday Night Live | Himself/Various Characters | Main cast: Season 11 & Hosted 1995 Episode |
| 1987 | Sweet Surrender | Ray | Episode: "The Holdens Go to Dinner" |
| 1987 | A Different World | Marvin Haven | Episode: "War of the Words" |
| 1989 | One Night Stand | Himself | Episode: "Damon Wayans" |
| 1990–93 | In Living Color | Himself/Various Characters | Main cast (seasons 1–3); recurring guest star (season 4) |
| 1996–97 | Waynehead | — | Co-creator and executive producer |
| 1998 | Damon | Damon Thomas | Main cast |
| 2001–05 | My Wife and Kids | Michael Kyle | Main cast |
| 2004–06 | Rodney | — | Co-creator and executive producer |
| 2006 | The Underground | Himself/Various Characters | Main cast |
| 2011 | Happy Endings | Francis Williams | Episode: "Like Father, Like Gun" |
| 2016–19 | Lethal Weapon | Roger Murtaugh | Main cast |
| 2018 | Happy Together | Mike Davis | Episode: "Like Father, Like Son" |
| 2021 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience | Willis Drummond | Episode: "Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life" |
| 2024 | Poppa's House | Damon "Poppa" Fulton | Lead role; also co-creator and executive producer |

### Documentary

| Year | Title |
| 2009 | Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy |