Martin Lawrence

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

Early life

Lawrence was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where his father, John Lawrence, served in the US military. When Lawrence was seven his father left the military and relocated the family to the projects in Landover, Maryland, about 20 minutes outside Washington D.C.. After his father and mother split, he rarely saw his father. His mother, Chlora, worked two jobs to try to support her family. She often worked as a cashier at various department stores to support Martin and his five siblings.

During his teen years, Martin excelled at boxing. While living in Maryland, he attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School and became a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender. Although he was 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 Lawrence give his comedic talents a shot on stage, at a local comedy club during open mike night. He took on the challenge and is now a very successful man.

Career

Lawrence moved to California 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. 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 an appearance on the television sitcom What's Happening Now!!; this was his first acting job. Following What's Happening Now!!, Martin had bit parts in various films and television roles before entertainment mogul Russell Simmons personally selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam on HBO. Def Comedy Jam gave many comedians (including Chris Tucker, Steve Harvey and Cedric The Entertainer) mainstream exposure, and it offered Martin his largest audience to date.

Around the same time he was cast in the Def Comedy Jam role, Martin appeared in his own sitcom, the hit series Martin, which aired on Fox. The show ran from 1992 to 1997 and was considered a success. Lawrence also hosted Saturday Night Live on February 19, 1994, where he made crude remarks on women's genitalia and personal hygiene. The monologue was later completely edited out of reruns and syndicated versions. As a result, Martin was banned from the show for life. After Martin ended its run, Lawrence worked on many film projects. He starred or co-starred in many movies alongside such talents as Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, and Tim Robbins. Many of his films were blockbusters (including Bad Boys (1995) and Big Momma's House (2000) and his salary increased dramatically to over $10 million per role. He continues to work in film, with his new movie Big Momma's House 2 (2006) opening #1 at the North American box office in late January, grossing almost $28 million its first weekend [1].

Personal life

Martin was once engaged to actress Lark Voorhies. Martin married Patricia Southall, a former Miss Virginia winner in 1995 January. They divorced in September 1996. Martin has a daughter named Jasmine Page with Patricia who was born on January 15, 1996. Martin also has two other daughters born in 2001 and 2003 [2].

In August 1999, he went into a coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while jogging; he recovered in the hospital.

Arrests and controversies

In August, 1996, he was arrested at Burbank Airport for carrying a loaded gun in his suitcase. On March 28 1997, he was again 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^{[citation needed]}. In 1997, Martin's Martin co-star Tisha Campbell sued him for sexual harassment and left the show during its final season.

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2006	Open Season	Voice Actor (Boog)
2005	Rebound	Roy McCormick/Preacher Don	Big Momma's House 2
2003	Bad Boys II	Lieutenant Marcus Burnett
2003	National Security	Officer Earl Montgomery
2002	Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat	Himself
2001	Black Knight	Jamal Walker/Skywalker
2001	What's the Worst That Could Happen?	Kevin Caffery
2000	Big Momma's House	Special Agent Malcolm Turner
1999	Blue Streak	Lead Detective Miles Logan
1999	Life	Claude Banks
1997	Nothing to Lose	Terrance Paul Davidson
1996	A Thin Line Between Love and Hate	Narrator/Darnell 'Deeny/'D'/D.W.' Wright
1995	Bad Boys	Detective Marcus Burnett
1994	You So Crazy!	Himself
1992	Boomerang	Tyler
1991	House Party 2	Bilal
1991	Talkin' Dirty After Dark	Terry
1990	House Party	Bilal
1989	Do The Right Thing	Black Man

Awards and nominations

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

Interviews

External links