EDDIE GRIFFIN Special Engagement

A popular comedian turned actor who started his career on-stage as a dare,funnyman Eddie Griffin has built an ever-growing fan base since jumping onto thecomedy scene in 1990.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Eddie was voted class clown three years in a row inhigh school. His first love was always dance and by the young age of 16, he openedhis own dance studio and was choreographing the Kansas City Chiefs half-timeshows. But all of that would soon change when one night his cousin dared him togo on stage at the local comedy club Sanford and Sons where he was told to do 3minutes. He performed off-the-cuff for 45 minutes successfully. It was then thatGriffin purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becominga stand-up comedian.In one short month, he was a regular at the renowned Comedy Store, where he wascompared with esteemed talents such as Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, and LennyBruce. After two months, Griffin was chosen to open for Andrew Dice Clay atMadison Square Garden that kicked off a 22-city tour.These successful performances led to Eddie Griffin’s appearance on RussellSimmons' Def Comedy Jam (1992), the Cable Ace Award-nominated HBO specialOne Night stand (1992), HBO Comedy Half Hour Special (1995), the HBO specialVoodoo Child (1997) and onstage at the legendary Apollo Theater. He alsorecorded the successful comedy albums Message In The Hat (1993) and TheMessage (1999) featuring comedic and musical performances by him as well asMaster P, Sikk the Shocker, and Fiend. Griffin began branching out into acting.Roles in such films as The Last Boy Scout (1991), Coneheads (1993), and Jason’sLyric (1994) soon led to his own hit comedy series Malcolm and Eddie(1996-2000),for which he was nominated (1996) and won (2000) the NAACP Image Award forBest Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition to lending his acting experience to thissitcom, he also wrote and directed four episodes, one of which starred hisGodfather and mentor Richard Pryor.In 2001, Eddie was offered a lead role in Double Take alongside friend OrlandoJones. Griffin then starred beside Denzel Washington in John Q (2002), earning himrespect as adramatic actor. Shortly thereafter, his leading-man status lead to oneof his most notable roles, Anton Jackson in Undercover Brother (2002). Eddie’sextensive film resume includes films such as Armageddon (1998), and theworldwide successful comedy franchise Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005); as well as Date Movie (2006), ScaryMovie 3 (2003), My Baby’s Daddy (2004) which he starred, wrote and executiveproduced for Miramax.