By: Tunisia
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From a crackhead to middle-aged father, Chris Rock has provided us with classic characters that we’ll remember for a lifetime. He is one of the few comedians to have won both Emmy and Grammy awards for his work, and has already gone down in history as one of the most critically acclaimed comedians of our time.
Like all greats, Rock has not limited himself to comedy, as he has taken on the roles of actor, writer, director and producer as well. In honor of his birthday (Feb. 7), UrbLife.com is recognizing Chris Rock with a timeline of memorable moments throughout his life and career!
On February 7, 1965, Christopher Julius Rock III was born in Andrews, South Carolina. Shortly after his birth, his family relocated to Brooklyn, New York – a move that played a pivotal role in launching his career. He dropped out of high school, and worked in local restaurants as he developed a plan to utilize his natural talents.
In 1984, Rock began doing stand-up comedy in New York City’s Catch a Rising Star. He was discovered by star comedian Eddie Murphy that same year, and in 1987 Rock made his movie debut in Murphy’s movie Beverly Hills Cop II.
In 1988, Rock had a cameo in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, a Blaxploitation parody directed by and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans. The film included several original Blaxploitation genre actors, alongside young Kadeem Hardison and Damon Wayans. Rock’s scene stealing performance as the “rib joint customer” earned him new fans across the country.
In 1990, Rock became a regular on Saturday Night Live. His most noted character was Nat X, a black perspective talk show host. Other cast members during his ’90-’93 run with the show included Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade.
Things started take off for Rock, and in 1991 he released his first comedy album, Born Suspect.
In the same year he received praise from famed critic Roger Ebert for his role as Pookie the crackhead in New Jack City.
In 1992, Chris had a bit part in Eddie Murphy’s epic comedy Boomerang, and after leaving SNL in 1993, he reconnected with the Wayans brothers as a guest star on the comedy sketch series In Living Color.
Rock also co-wrote and starred in CB4, a “mockumentary” that followed a rap group forced to take on a gangsta rap persona after their own image wasn’t making money. The film opened on March 12, 1993, and co-starred Allen Payne, Phil Hartman, Chris Elliott and Charlie Murphy.
On June 16, 1994, HBO aired Rock’s first comedy special Big Ass Jokes, but it was the 1996 HBO special Bring the Pain which earned Rock a place as one of the greatest comedians in history. Entertainment Weekly even called the special a classic.
Between ’94-’96, Rock also made several television guest appearances on shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin.
A personal high for Chris Rock was marrying Malaak Compton on November 23, 1996. She’s the founder of The Angel Rock Project, an online e-village that promotes volunteerism, social responsibility and sustainable change.
At that point, Rock was on a roll! In 1997, he won two Emmy awards for Bring the Pain and also released his book, Rock This.
Rock launched his own variety series The Chris Rock Show, which ran from 1997-2000. The show featured legendary Hip Hop DJ Grandmaster Flash and comedienne Wanda Sykes, and drew in a wide array of guest stars.
In 1998, Rock won a Grammy for Best Spoken Comedy Album for his second album project, Roll with the New.
Rock became executive producer of The Hughleys, which ran from 1998-2002, starring fellow comedian D.L. Hughley.
During that time period, Rock had another album and HBO special, Bigger and Blacker, which aired on July 13, 1999. The project spawned the popular video for “No Sex (In the Champagne Room)” featuring Gerald Levert.
He won an Emmy for The Chris Rock Show in 1999, and followed in 2000 with a Grammy award for Best Spoken Comedy Album for Bigger and Blacker, and an American Comedy Award for funniest male performer in a TV special.
A chronic over-achiever, Rock stayed active in big screen films between 1995-2001, with roles in nearly a dozen movies including Lethal Weapon 4 with Mel Gibson and Kevin Smith‘s controversial Dogma with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Salma Hayek.
In 2001, Rock produced and starred in Pootie Tang, which opened on June 21 to mostly negative reviews. Needless to say, the criticism was barely a bump in Rock’s fast-paced career.
Rock’s first child Lola Simone was born on June 28, 2002. With little down-time, the film Head of State opened on March 28, 2003, which Rock directed, produced, co-wrote and starred in. It also starred Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield and Robin Givens, and featured Tracy Morgan.
The Rock family had their second child, Zahra Savannah, on May 22, 2004. That same year, Chris appeared in the documentary The N-Word and made a cameo in the Mel Gibson thriller Paparazzi.
Rock’s fourth HBO special Never Scared aired on February 15, 2005, followed by the debut of Everybody Hates Chris, a TV comedy series loosely based on Rock’s childhood in Brooklyn. UPN launched the show on September 22, 2005, and it ran four seasons (’05-’09) with stars Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold and Tyler James Williams playing a young Chris.
Rock was on top of the world, and in 2005, he was asked to host the 77th Academy Awards. It was thought that having Chris Rock host would pull in the 18-34 audience, but his edgy humor was bit much for conservatives in Hollywood at the time. That same year he voiced the popular animated film Madagascar and appeared in The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler, Tracy Morgan and Nelly.
But who cares about hosting awards when you’re winning them? In 2006, Rock won yet another Grammy award – this time for Best Comedy Album for Never Scared.
Continuing his role behind the camera, Rock’s film I Think I Love My Wife opened on March 16, 2007 via Fox Searchlight. He also starred alongside Kerry Washington, Gina Torres and Steve Buscemi.
After more animated work with Bee Movie and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and a bit part in Adam Sandler‘s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Rock’s fifth HBO special Kill the Messenger, aired on September 27, 2008. The special featured segments of three different live shows performed in London, New York and Johannesburg, and in 2009 it earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for Variety, Music or Comedy special.
Good Hair, Rock’s first documentary, premiered at the Sundance film festival January 18, 2009 to good reception from fans and critics alike. Throughout the film, Chris Rock explores the secrets, controversy and special relationship between Black women and their hair.
In 2010, Rock co-produced a remake of the 2007 British film Death at a Funeral with an all-star cast including Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Luke Wilson, Martin Lawrence, Regina Hall, Columbus Short, Kevin Hart, Loretta Devine and Danny Glover.
He also reunited once again with Adam Sandler for the film Grown Ups, which starred his other former SNL castmates Rob Schneider and David Spade, along with Kevin James.
Today, Rock can be seen performing on Broadway with Annabella Sciorra and Bobby Cannavale in the play The Motherfucker with the Hat. He is currently producing a new documentary entitled Credit is the Devil, slated for release in 2012. He is also teaming with Adam Sandler once again, this time as a producer on the biopic Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said, which will star Marlon Wayans.
There is no doubt that Chris Rock is a comedic genius, and he is a true inspiration in both his career and family life to our generation and many to follow! We wish him a very happy birthday!
Find out more about Chris Rock’s work on his official site at ChrisRock.com
