Keenen Ivory Wayans filmography and biography
Date of birth: 8 June 1958, New York City, New York, USA
Keenen Ivory Wayans biography
Keenan attended college at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama but dropped out
his senior year to persue comedy full time. His comic influence is
Richard Pryor.
The trail-blazing linchpin of a sprawling African-American family of
comic entertainers, it was multi-talented writer/director/producer
Keenen Ivory Wayans (born June 8, 1958, in New York City) who was the
first to achieve national prominence by successfully creating,
launching and hosting a landmark 1990s black-oriented comedy satire on
Fox TV. That, in turn, ignited and/or advanced the careers of not only
his younger siblings Damon Wayans, Kim Wayans,
Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, but others of his
extended family as well.
The second of ten children of Howell Wayans, a grocery store manager,
and Elvira Wayans, a social worker, Keenan attended Seward Park High
School, then majored in engineering at Alabama's Tuskegee University.
He dropped out during his senior year when the comedy bug hit him full
force. Heavily influenced by Richard Pryor, he found only
lukewarm success on the New York standup stage, deciding later to
relocate to Los Angeles in order to pursue film and TV opportunities.
After being glimpsed in bit parts in such TV shows as
CHiPs and Cheers and movies as
Star 80, in which he played a standup comic, he found his
first real break in a sudsy TV drama--the short-lived military series
For Love and Honor, in which he had a recurring role as
Pvt. Duke Johnson, who aspired to become a professional boxer.
After hooking up with comedian Eddie Murphy (I) and earning
writing credit on the star's raunchy live performance feature
Eddie Murphy Raw, Keenen's visibility rose. Partnering
with actor/director Robert Townsend (I), he had his first film
hit with Hollywood Shuffle, a pointed satire highlighting
the plight of the black actor in Hollywood. Done in hilariously
stereotypical fashion, one great bit had detective Townsend battling a
blaxploitation villain named Jerry Curl (Wayans). Following this came
another similar 1970s blaxploitation parody, the even bigger hit
Im Gonna Git You Sucka in which Keenen had the starring
role and made his directorial debut. He played the revenge-minded, but
not particularly macho Jack Spade alongside such icons of 1970s
blaxploitation cinema as Jim Brown (I), Isaac Hayes and
Bernie Casey. The film also featured several members of his
family.
The sketch-oriented, Emmy-winning variety series
In Living Color was Keenen's creative baby and ultimate
pièce de résistance. He also turned the show into a family act as well
with Damon, Kim, Marlon and Shawn all appearing on the irreverent
series that showcased the deviously scathing social humor Keenen was
infamous for. As host of the show he graciously spotlighted the comedy
ensemble more than himself. Not only did the show introduce the public
to a number of terrific black comedians, it made superstars out of
brother Damon, as well as Jamie Foxx and Jim Carrey, the
latter being one of the show's few white regulars.
Jennifer Lopez (I) also got her start as one of the original
hip-hop dancing, sexy "Fly Girls." Ironically, Keenen would be one of
the first of the cast to leave the show over creative issues and
contract disputes with the network. He felt Fox was overexposing the
show, which would have reduced its monetary value once it turned to
syndication. He abruptly left in 1992 and, by next season's end, the
rest of the Wayans clan had bailed as well. Nearly half of the regular
cast on the show's final season were white.
This unfortunately bitter and acrimonious incident led the one-time
driving force to become more selective in his projects, while
retreating more and more behind the scenes. In 1997, however, he
produced The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, a party-themed
talk show in which he served as the cool, urban-styled host. The set
resembled a nightclub and the atmosphere was rowdy and jaunty. The show
wasn't cool enough, apparently, as it was canceled before year's end.
Keenen also tried to turn buff action star with the films
A Low Down Dirty Shame, which he wrote and directed,
The Glimmer Man, pairing up with Steven Seagal,
and Most Wanted, but the attempt backfired and he
dropped, big time, out of the limelight.
When it comes to outrageous satire Keenen has few peers. Come the
millennium he directed the hilarious horror spoof
Scary Movie, which prominently displayed brothers Shawn
and Marlon and is one of the most successful feature films ever
directed by an African-American. He also directed its first sequel,
Scary Movie 2. Keeping things more or less a family
affair these days, he recently directed Shawn and Marlon in
White Chicks, and is helming Damon's upcoming feature
_Homey the Clown (2007)_, based on Damon's famous mean-spirited ghetto
character from the "In Living Color" days.
On the personal side, Keenen married wife Daphne in June 2001, and had
five children, but the couple have been separated since 2004. Older
brother Dwayne Wayans is a composer/musician who served as a
production assistant on "In Living Color," while various nephews and
cousins have since gotten into the act thanks to Keenen and his
groundbreaking accomplishments.
Keenen Ivory Wayans trivia
- Parents are Howell and Elvira Wayans. Brother of Dwayne Wayans,
Damon Wayans, Kim Wayans, Nadia Wayans,
Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. Also has sisters Elvira,
Diedre, and Vonnie.
- Father of Jolie Ivory Imani Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans Jr., Nala
Wayans, and Bella Wayans. Cousin of Craig Wayans. Uncle of
Damon Wayans Jr., Michael Wayans, Cara Mia Wayans,
Kyla Wayans, and Damien Dante Wayans.
- Is a vegetarian.
- Is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
- He is a vegan.
- Has five children by estranged wife Daphne: Jolie, Nala, Keenen Jr.,
Bella and Daphne Ivory.
- In Living Color alum Jim Carey (I) credits Keenen for giving him
his start in comedic acting.
- Keenen Ivory Wayans was the first movie director that Hollywood ever
allowed to depict a rape scene that was designed specifically for
laughs. (Little Man).
Keenen Ivory Wayans quotes
- "[Richard] Pryor started it all. He made the blueprint for the
progressive thinking of black comedians, unlocking that irreverent
style."
- "As a parent, I think it's important for kids to have a source of
entertainment that deals with life in positive and comedic ways."
- "Everything was a joke [in my family]. If you got a whippin', when you
got back to the table, you heard nine other people doing impressions of
your screaming."