Biographic - Sunday January 19, 2020 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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Martin Lawrence Born in Frankfurt, West Germany, on April 16, 1965, where his father was serving in the U.S. military, Martin Lawrence was raised in Maryland, although he excelled at boxing as a teen, after graduating from High School he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. A run on the tv series "Star Search" led to a role on the sitcom "What's Happening Now" he made his movie debut in 1989 in Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" and went on to appear in "House Party 2" and the Eddie Murphy vehicle "Boomberg" 1992 was a banner year for Lawrence. Music mogul "Def Comedy Jam" the hit HBO series that helped boost the careers of such comedians as Chris Tucker, Dave Chappelle, and Bernie Mac, he also debuted his sitcom "Martin" and it quickly became one of the highest-rated shows on the fledging Fox Network. "Martin" ran for five seasons and 132 episodes. Just weeks before the release of his 1999 movie "Blue Streak" he collapsed with apparent heat exhaustion and was in a coma for three days, breathing with the aid of a ventilator, but he recovered in time to see "Blue Streak" top the box office charts. He enjoyed huge success with 2000's "Big Momma's House" and its 2006 sequel, and starred with John Travolta and Tim Allen in the hit road comedy "Wild Hogs" 2003's "Bad Boys II" grossed more than $270 million worldwide. Subsequent movies performed respectably- 2011's "Big Mommas House: Like Father, Like Son" earned more than $80 million worldwide- but failed to scale previous heights. His sitcom failed Kelsey Grammer, 2014's "Partners" lasted for just 10 episodes. 2020 sees Lawrence team up with Will Smith again for "Bad Boys For Life" and hit the road to continue his nationwide "Lit AF" stand-up comedy tour.

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