Marlon Wayans

Early life

Wayans was born in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager. He was raised in Fulton Houses, a housing project in New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Dwayne, Keenen Ivory, Damon Sr., Kim, Elvira, Nadia, and Shawn. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. Wayans went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the school made famous in Fame. After graduating from high school, he attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., but dropped out after two years.

Career

Between 1992 and 1993, Wayans appeared with his siblings on the sketch comedy show In Living Color. From 1995 until 1999, he co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. with his brother Shawn Wayans. He was originally considered for the role of Robin in the 1992 film Batman Returns, but it was felt that the film featured too many characters, so his character was omitted. Wayans was then formally signed to the role in the 1995 sequel Batman Forever to play opposite Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, but the mid-production change in directors from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher resulted in both parts being recast and Wayans being paid out (Williams was not yet signed on, but received a penalty fee as his contract for Batman allowed him the option of reprise), and he still receives royalty payments. He was replaced by Chris O'Donnell. In August 2021, a comic book adaptation of the original concept, Batman '89, began publication, by DC Entertainment, using Wayans's likeness for Robin with his permission, their civilian identity renamed Drake Winston.

Wayons film roles include the comedies Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009), and other films including Above the Rim (1994), The 6th Man (1997), Norbit (2007), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Heat (2013), A Haunted House (2013) and its sequel A Haunted House 2 (2014), Naked (2017), Fifty Shades of Black (2016), Sextuplets (2019), and On the Rocks (2020). Wayans produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. In 2000, he appeared as Tyrone C. Love in Requiem for a Dream and as Snails in Dungeons & Dragons. That same year, he and Shawn hosted the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2006, Wayans produced the Nickelodeon cartoon series Thugaboo. In 2017, NBC gave him his own sitcom, Marlon; it was canceled after two seasons.

In September 2017, Variety announced that Wayans would partner with LA-based entertainment company Shots Studios to launch a YouTube channel. He has appeared in videos alongside creators such as Anwar Jibawi and Hannah Stocking. In 2020, Wayans signed a deal with HBO Max.

Personal life

Wayans was in a long-term relationship with Angela Zackery from 1992 to 2013, and although he once called her his "ex-wife", he said in 2021 that he had never married. They have two children, one of whom is transgender. In 2023, Wayans expressed support for his trans son and the LGBTQ community.{{cite web |url=https://www.bet.com/article/nl9dco/marlon-wayans-shares-how-he-learned-to-embrace-his-trans-son-kai|title=Marlon Wayans Shares How He Learned To Embrace His Trans Son, Kai

Filmography

Film

Television

Comedy specials

Documentary

Music videos

Accolades

References

References

1. (April 19, 2014). "Marlon Wayans: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me". usmagazine.com.
2. (June 26, 2013). "Marlon Wayans Launching Urban Funny or Die (Exclusive)". Hollywoodreporter.com.
3. "What The Funny". What The Funny.
4. "Marlon Wayans' TBS series 'Funniest Wins' unveils comedian competitors". laughspin.com.
5. (July 21, 2014). "The Wayans Brothers Kick Off Brand-New Comedy Tour in U.S.". goodblacknews.org.
6. Ausiello, Michael. (December 21, 2018). "Marlon Cancelled at NBC". [[TVLine]].
7. "Keenen Ivory Wayans' Interactive Family Tree - Finding Your Roots - PBS".
8. Stein, Joel. (September 11, 2000) [https://web.archive.org/web/20071104105953/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997920,00.html Marlon Wayans]. Time. Retrieved on 2012-04-08.
9. Stated on ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'', January 19, 2016, PBS
10. "Marlon Wayans". Biography.com.
11. Rabin, Nathan. (February 25, 1998) [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/23240 Marlon Wayans]. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2012-04-08.
12. Mueller, Matthew. (March 9, 2016). "''Batman '89'' Series Would Have Picked Up Where Tim Burton Left Off".
13. Pedersen, Erik. (March 17, 2017). "NBC Sets Summer Premieres: 'Marlon,' 'Midnight, Texas,' 'Carmichael Show,' Reality & More". Deadline Hollywood.
14. Andreeva, Nellie. (September 28, 2017). "'Marlon' Renewed For Season 2 By NBC". Deadline Hollywood.
15. (December 23, 2018). "'Marlon' canceled by NBC after two seasons".
16. Spangler, Todd. (2018-09-07). "Marlon Wayans Launches YouTube Sketch-Comedy Channel With Shots Studios (Watch)". Variety.
17. (June 25, 2020). "Marlon Wayans Inks Overall Deal With HBO Max {{!}} Hollywood Reporter".
18. Victoria Uwumarogie. (March 1, 2018). ""I Got You": Marlon Wayans's B-Day Message For Former Wife Shows What A Healthy Relationship With Your Ex Can Be". [[MadameNoire]].
19. Brande Victorian. (August 19, 2021). "Marlon Wayans On 'RESPECT' And Why He Never Married: 'I Knew My Mom Needed Me'". [[Essence (magazine).
20. Thompson, Stephen. (2020-06-17). "Marlon Wayans and Snoop Dogg Honor Tupac on What Would Have Been His 49th Birthday".
21. "15 Things You Didn't Know About Marlon Wayans". [[BET]].
22. (July 19, 2022). "New movies coming to Netflix in fall". whats-on-netflix.com.
23. "The Daily Show Guest Host Lineup".
24. [https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000957/2001 2001 Black Reel Awards]
25. Shanfeld, Ethan. (January 14, 2024). "'Oppenheimer' Leads Critics Choice Awards with 8 wins, 'Barbie' Scores 6 — Full Winners List". [[Variety (magazine).
26. (January 22, 2007). "RAZZIE Voters Get Back to Basics In Picking the Berry Worst of 2006".
27. O'Neil, Tom. (February 1, 2010). "Razzie Award nominations: Can Sandra Bullock win worst AND best actress?". [[Los Angeles Times]].
28. Neglia, Matt. (December 15, 2023). "The 2023 San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) Nominations".