Chris Rock Biography

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer, and director.

After working as a standup comic and appearing in small film roles, Rock came to wider prominence as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s. He went on to more prominent film roles, and a series of acclaimed comedy specials for HBO.

He was voted as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central. He was also voted in the United Kingdom as the ninth greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007, and again in the updated 2010 list as the eighth greatest stand-up comic.

Early life

Rock was born in Andrews, South Carolina. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. A few years later, they relocated and settled in the working-class area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His mother, Rosalie (née Tingman), was a teacher and social worker for the mentally handicapped; his father, Julius Rock, was a former truck driver and newspaper deliveryman. Julius died in 1988 after ulcer surgery. Chris's younger brothers Tony, Kenny and Jordan are also in the entertainment business. His older half-brother, Charles, died in 2006 after a long struggle with alcoholism. Rock has said that he was influenced by the performing style of his paternal grandfather, Allen Rock, a preacher.

Rock was bussed to schools in predominately white neighborhoods of Brooklyn, where he endured bullying and beatings from white students. As he got older, the bullying became worse and Rock's parents pulled him out of James Madison High School. He decided to drop out of high school altogether and later received a GED. Rock worked menial jobs at various fast-food restaurants.

Career

Early career

Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1984 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star. He slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV series Miami Vice. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy befriended and mentored the aspiring comic. Murphy gave Rock his first film role in Beverly Hills Cop II.

Saturday Night Live

Rock became a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1990. He and other new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade became known as the Bad Boys of SNL. In 1991, he released his first comedy album, Born Suspect and won acclaim for his dramatic role as a crack addict in the film New Jack City. His tenure on SNL gave Rock national exposure.

Standup success

A frustrated Rock left Saturday Night Live in 1993, appearing instead as a special guest star on the predominantly African-American sketch show In Living Color. The show, however, was cancelled months later. Rock then decided to concentrate on a film career. He wrote and starred in the mockumentary CB4 but the film was not a success. Acting jobs became scarce, and Rock abandoned Hollywood to concentrate on stand-up comedy.

Rock starred in his first HBO comedy special in 1994 titled Big Ass Jokes. But it was his second stand-up special, 1996's Bring the Pain, that reinvented Rock as one of the best comedians in the industry. For it Rock won two Emmy Awards and gained large critical acclaim. The segment on race in America, in which Rock used the "N word" extensively was most talked about. Adding to his popularity was his much-publicized role as a commentator for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect during the 1996 Presidential elections which earned him another Emmy nomination. Rock also was the voice for the "Lil Penny" puppet who was the alter ego to basketball star Penny Hardaway in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994"1998, and hosted the '97 MTV Video Music Awards.

Rock later had two more HBO comedy specials: Bigger & Blacker in 1999, and Never Scared in 2004. Articles relating to both specials called Rock "the funniest man in America" in Time and Entertainment Weekly. HBO also aired his talk show, The Chris Rock Show, which gained critical acclaim for Rock's interviews with celebrities and politicians. The show won an Emmy for writing. His television work has won him a total of three Emmy Awards and 15 nominations. By the end of the decade, Rock was established as one of the preeminent stand-up comedians and comic minds of his generation.

During this time, Rock also translated his comedy into print form in the book Rock This! and released the Grammy Award-winning comedy albums, Roll with the New, Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared.

Rock's fifth HBO special, Kill the Messenger, premiered on September 27, 2008, and won him another Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.

Film star

It was not until the success of his stand-up act in the late 1990s that Rock began receiving major parts in films. Though he started off with supporting roles in films such as Dogma, Beverly Hills Ninja, Lethal Weapon 4, and Nurse Betty, he went on to star in films like The Longest Yard, Bad Company, and Down to Earth. Some of his 2010s film appearances include Death at a Funeral, Grown Ups, and 2 Days in New York.

Rock has also increasingly worked behind the camera, both as a writer and director of Head of State and I Think I Love My Wife (both in which he played the lead role). Additionally, he has done voice work for the popular Madagascar animated film franchise.

Following the release of his first documentary, 2009's Good Hair, Rock is working on a documentary about debt called Credit Is the Devil.

Television producer

In the fall of 2005, the UPN television network premiered a comedy series called Everybody Hates Chris, based on Rock's school days, of which he is the executive producer and narrator. The show has garnered both critical and ratings success. The series was nominated for a 2006 Golden Globe for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy), a 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, and two 2006 Emmy Awards for costuming and cinematography. More recently, he produced the series Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, which premiered in August 2012.

Academy Awards

In early 2005, Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards ceremony. The decision to have Rock host the awards was seen by some as a chance to bring an "edge" to the ceremony, and to make it more relevant or appealing to younger audiences. Jokingly, Rock opened by saying "Welcome to the 77th and LAST Academy Awards!" During one segment Rock asked, "Who is this guy?" in reference to actor Jude Law seemingly appearing in every movie Rock had seen that year and implied Law was a low-rent Tom Cruise (he made a joke about filmmakers rushing production when unable to get the actors they want: "If you want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law, wait [to make the film]!"). Subsequently, a defensive Sean Penn took the stage to present and said, "In answer to our host's question, Jude Law is one of our finest young actors." (At the time, Penn and Law were shooting All the King's Men.) Law was not the only actor that Rock poked fun at that evening, however"?he turned the joke on himself at one point, saying, "If you want Denzel [Washington] and all you can get is me, wait!" Older Oscar officials were reportedly displeased with Rock's performance, which did not elevate ratings for the ceremony. Rock was also criticized for referring to the Oscars as "idiotic", and asserting that heterosexual men do not watch them, in an interview prior to Oscar night.

Music videos

Rock's first music video was for his song "Your Mother's Got a Big Head" from his album Born Suspect. Rock also made videos for his songs "Champagne" from Roll With the New and "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)" from Bigger & Blacker. Chris Rock also directed and appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump".

Rock appeared in the Big Daddy Kane music video "Smooth Operator" as a guy getting his hair cut.

He also appeared in Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down," one of the many celebrities seen lip-synching the song.

Stage plays

In 2011, Rock appeared on Broadway in Stephen Adly Guirgis' play The Motherfucker with the Hat with Bobby Cannavale and Annabella Sciorra. Rock was nominated for a Drama League Award.

Comedic style and views

Rock's subject matter typically involves family, politics, romance, music, class relationships, and race relations in the United States. Though not strictly autobiographical, much of his comic standpoint seem rooted in his teenage experience; his strict parents, concerned about the inadequacies of the local school system, arranged to have the adolescent Rock bused to a nearly all-white high school in Bensonhurst (an Italian-ethnic neighborhood of Brooklyn known at the time for poor race relations). In his memoir Rock This, the comedian recalls, "My parents assumed I'd get a better education in a better neighborhood. What I actually got was a worse education in a worse neighborhood. And a whole bunch of ass-whippings."

The comedian has also expressed discomfort with the notion that success in standup comedy"?or, indeed, in any aspect of the entertainment industry"?should oblige him to serve as a role model. In this position, he finds himself directly at odds with one of his comic idols, Bill Cosby. Cosby has reprimanded Rock both explicitly"?for his famous/notorious Niggas vs. Black People track"?and implicitly, for heavy use of the word "nigger." Rock has not wavered from a position explored in his 1996 Roll With The New show, and reiterated in his 1997 memoir: "Why does the public expect entertainers to behave better than everybody else? It's ridiculous...Of course, this is just for black entertainers. You don't see anyone telling Jerry Seinfeld he's a good role model. Because everyone expects whites to behave themselves...Nowadays, you've got to be an entertainer and a leader. It's too much." Often the subject of tabloids, when asked about paparazzi and the other negative aspects of fame, Rock says he accepts the bad with the good: "You can't be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips."

At the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, which was broadcast live on the BBC, before introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rock called the crowd "motherfuckers" and "shit" after a brief sigh when he said he was joking. Due to the broadcast being at 5:45 pm Rock was immediately cut off, and the BBC made several apologies for his use of the word "motherfucker."

Chris Rock has been an avid fan of the New York Mets baseball team since childhood. He famously complained that his team "had no money" in a comedic rant during a 2011 interview with David Letterman.

Personal life

Rock has been married to Malaak Compton-Rock since November 23, 1996. She is the founder and executive director of StyleWorks, a non-profit, full-service salon that provides free services for women leaving welfare and entering the workforce. They have two daughters together, Lola Simone (born 2002) and Zahra Savannah (born 2004).

In November 2006, the entertainment news website TMZ.com reported that Rock was filing for divorce after nearly ten years of marriage to Malaak. Two weeks later, however, TMZ reported that Rock had not filed divorce papers, and that it appeared that the couple had been able to work out their differences and stay together. In response to the reports, the Rocks released a statement to the press denouncing them as "untrue rumors and lies".

In 2007, freelance journalist and former actress Kali Bowyer filed a paternity suit against Chris Rock, claiming he was the father of her son, and in need of hospitalization. DNA testing proved that Rock was not the child's father.

Rock resides in Alpine, New Jersey.

In 2008, Rock's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that he is descended from the Udeme people of northern Cameroon. Rock's great-great-grandfather, Julius Caesar Tingman, was a slave for 21 years before serving as part of the United States Colored Troops until 1866; Tingman fought in the American Civil War. During the 1940s, Rock's paternal grandfather moved from South Carolina to New York City to become a taxicab driver and preacher.

Work

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Krush Groove	Person Standing Next to Phone During Fight in Club	uncredited
1987	Beverly Hills Cop II	Playboy Mansion Valet
1988	Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen	Himself	Direct-to-video Concert film
	I'm Gonna Git You Sucka	Rib Joint Customer
1989	Who Is Chris Rock?	Himself	Documentary Short
1991	New Jack City	Pookie
1992	Boomerang	Bony T
1993	CB4	Albert Brown/M.C. Gusto	Also wrote story, screenplay and was co-producer
1995	The Immortals	Deke Anthony
1995	Panther	Yuck Mouth
1996	Sgt. Bilko	1st Lt. Oster
1997	Beverly Hills Ninja	Joey Washington
1998	Dr. Dolittle	Rodney	Voice
	Lethal Weapon 4	Detective Lee Butters
1999	Torrance Rises	Himself	Documentary short
	Dogma	Rufus
2000	Nurse Betty	Wesley
2001	Down to Earth	Lance Barton	Also co-writer and executive producer
2001	'	Mecha Comedian	Voice/cameo
	Pootie Tang	JB/Radio DJ/Pootie's Father	Also producer
	Osmosis Jones	Osmosis Jones	Voice
	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Chaka Luther King	Cameo
2002	Bad Company	Jake Hayes/Kevin Pope/Michael Turner
	Comedian	Himself	Documentary
2003	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Himself	Cameo
	Head of State	Mays Gilliam	Also director, producer and co-writer
2004	The N-Word	Himself	Documentary
	Paparazzi	Pizza Delivery Guy	Cameo
2005	The Aristocrats	Himself	Documentary
	Madagascar	Marty	Voice
	The Longest Yard	Farrell Caretaker
2007	I Think I Love My Wife	Richard Marcus Cooper	Also director and co-writer
	Bee Movie	Mooseblood the Mosquito	Voice
2008	You Don't Mess with the Zohan	Taxi Driver	Cameo
	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	Marty and other zebras	Voice
2009	Good Hair	Himself	Documentary
2010	Death at a Funeral	Aaron	Also producer, Remake of the 2007 film of the same name
	Grown Ups	Kurt McKenzie
2012	2 Days in New York	Mingus
	What to Expect When You're Expecting	Vic
	Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted	Marty	Voice Nominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice Voice
2013	Madly Madagascar	Marty	Voice Role
	Grown Ups 2	Kurt McKenzie
2014	Finally Famous	Andre Allen	Filming, Director and writer

Discography

Year	Album	Peak positions		Certifications
		U.S.	U.S. R&B
1991	Born Suspect	"	"
1997	Roll with the New	93	41
1999	Bigger & Blacker	44	26
2005	Never Scared	"	"

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Uptown Comedy Express	Himself	HBO special
1987	Miami Vice	Carson	Episode: "Missing Hours"
1990"1993	Saturday Night Live	Various	Cast member
1993"1994	In Living Color	Various	Recurring
1994	Big Ass Jokes	Himself	HBO special
1995	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Maurice/Jasmine	Episode: "Get a Job"
1996"1998	The Moxy Show	Flea	Uncredited voice role
1996	Martin	Valentino	Episode: "The Love Jones Connection"
1996	Homicide: Life on the Street	Carver	Episode: "Requiem for Adena"
1996	Bring the Pain	Himself	HBO special
1996	Politically Incorrect	Himself	Correspondent
1997	MTV Video Music Awards	Himself	Host
1997"2000	The Chris Rock Show	Himself	Cast member, writer
1998	King of the Hill	Roger "Booda" Sack	Episode: "Traffic Jam"
1999	MTV Video Music Awards	Himself	Host
2000	Bigger & Blacker	Himself	HBO special
2003	MTV Video Music Awards	Himself	Host
2004	Never Scared	Himself	HBO special
2005	77th Academy Awards	Himself	Host
2005"2009	Everybody Hates Chris	Narrator/Mr. Abbott	Creator/Narrator/Chris' guidance counselor
2008	Kill the Messenger	Himself	HBO special
2010	The Graham Norton Show	Himself/Guest	Series 7, Episode 8
2011-2012	Louie	Himself	2 Episodes
2012	Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell		Executive producer
2012	Tosh.0	Himself	1 Episode
2013	A.N.T. Farm	Himself	Season 3, Episode: "animal husbANTry"

Internet

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	The Annoying Orange	Marty	Episode: Big Top Orange cameo appearance guest star
2012	Rap Battle Parody	Tremendous Repeat	Episode: 4

Stage

• The Motherfucker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis (2011)

Books

• Rock This! (Hyperion Books, 1997) " ISBN 0-7868-6289-0