Tracy Morgan

Since joining the cast of the long-running variety show “Saturday Night Live” in 1996, Tracy Morgan has gained popularity for creating memorable characters, most notably “Safari Planet” host Brian Fellow, Bronx resident Dominican Lou and Astronaut Jones, a space traveler infatuated with female aliens. In addition to creating his own characters, Morgan is known for his impersonations of boxer Mike Tyson, actress Della Reese, rapper Busta Rhymes, author and Civil Rights activist Maya Angelou and actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Morgan grew up in the heart of the Bronx, an experience he later used as the inspiration for much of his comedy. At 6 years-old, Morgan’s dad, Jimmy, a musician and Vietnam veteran, left the family, forcing his mother to raise five children on her own. Morgan developed his sense of humor to cope with the emotional distress—he felt hard hit by his father’s abandonment. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Sabina, at a young age, Morgan ventured into comedy in the early 1990’s. He began by performing stand-up, making appearances on “Uptown Comedy Club” (1992-3), “Showtime at the Apollo” (1987-2002) and “Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam” (HBO, 1991-97).

Stand-up comedy soon segued into small appearances in movies and television. His first appearance onscreen was the recurring role as a Hustle Man on “Martin” (FOX, 1992-7). Morgan then broke into film, playing a bartender in the romantic comedy “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” (1996). That same year, producer Lorne Michaels put Morgan on “SNL”, where the young comedian spent seven years creating his unforgettable characters and impersonations. Meanwhile, Morgan made more appearances in film, playing Pumpkin Escobar in Kevin Smith’s self-reflexive “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001) and Meat Man in the Chris Rock vehicle “Head of State” (2003). Though making a steady stream of appearances in television series and specials, as well as movies, Morgan kept performing his stand-up routine. Since stand-up has been the bedrock of his career, the idea of not performing live would probably spell an end to everything else, according to Morgan. The comedian performed his stand-up for television audiences on “Tracy Morgan: One Mic” (Comedy Central, 2002), a comedy special in which Morgan shared his experiences with his family, career and athletic ambitions that never came to fruition. Morgan also lent his distinct voice to “Crank Yankers” (Comedy Central, 2001-04), a subdued take on the Jerky Boys, where real life prank calls are animated by puppets. As all “SNL” alumni are apt to do, Morgan branched out from the show in order to do his own thing. Though most go on to make movies—many of which are one-note and unsuccessful—Morgan starred his own comedy series, aptly titled “The Tracy Morgan Show” (NBC, 2003- ). Loosely based on his own life and experiences in the Bronx, Morgan took the high road and produced a show that he felt was quality family entertainment. While not exactly “Leave it to Beaver”, Morgan did portray himself and television family as being average, though not exactly wholesome people. As the owner of an auto shop, Morgan played Tracy Mitchell, a good husband and father living a mundane life and dreaming of grand ambitions. The show received lukewarm reviews, but the network did order an additional five episodes atop the original thirteen.