Tracy Morgan Biography

Facts:

Name: Tracy Jamal Jordan Sex: Male
Height: 5’10″ Weight: 170 Pounds
Birthday: November 11, 1968 Age: 41 Years Old
Spouse: Sabrina Morgan 1985 – 2008(Divorced) Siblings: Four Other Siblings
Off Spring: Three Sons

Index:

Early Years
Autobiography
Tracy Morgan Gets Discovered
The Martin Show
Tracy Morgan And The Law
Saturday Night Live
Filmography
The Tracy Morgan Show
Awards & Nominations
30 Rock

Introduction:

Tracy Morgan was born on November 11th, 1968 in the Bronx, New York, USA. He is a professional stand-up comic and actor who is best known for his work as Tracy Jordan on the critically acclaimed television show 30 rock. He also achieved significant fame for his seven year role on the American staple Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Early Years


Tracy was the second of five kids to be born to mother Alicia Nee Warden (homemaker) and father Jimmy Morgan, Sr. (musician). At the age of six Tracy’s father left their family and tragically died of AIDs in 1985 when Tracy was only 17.

Tracy attended De Witt Clinton High School near the Marcy projects in Bedford-stuyvesant, Brooklyn where he grew up. Rap star Jay-Z also grew up in the same projects and was one year Tracy’s junior.

Tracy Morgan Gets Discovered


In 1984 at the age of 16 Morgan was discovered while performing stand up comedy at the notorious The Apollo theatre.

The Martin Show

It wasn’t until 1992 that Morgan got his first appearance on television as part of the television show “Martin”. His character was known as “hustleman” and he would sell random items from the ‘hood with his pet chihuahua that he had dressed as a rapper. He was also known for always uttering his catchphrase “what’s happenin’ chief!”

In 2003 he appeared in Chris Rocks’ movie “Head of State” in which he played a man who watched TV and asked why more people weren’t watching Martin.

During his time on Martin, Morgan was also part of the sketch comedy show “Uptown Comedy Club” which lasted six years from 1992-1998 and was exclusively filmed in Harlem, New York.

Saturday Night Live (SNL)

In 1996 Morgan joined the cast of the American institution “Saturday Night Live”. His best known and loved characters were Astronaut Jones And Brian Fellow. But he also played; Uncle Jemima, Dominican Lou, Bishop Don “Mack” Donald, African Andy, Benny the Bengal, and Woodrow. He was also responsible for the impressions of; Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Maya Angelou, Samuel L. Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Mike Tyson, Judge Greg Mathis, Lou Bega, Mr. T, Tito Jackson, Petri Hawkins-Byrd, Star Jones, and Al Sharpton. In 2003 Tracy left to start his own television show titled “The Tracy Morgan Show”. On March 14th 2009 he returned to the SNL set as host and revived his two most popular characters.

The Tracy Morgan Show

During 2003 he was given his own show titled “The Tracy Morgan Show” unfortunately it was canceled after one season due to poor ratings.

30 Rock

In 2006 Morgan began working on a new NBC television show titled “30 rock” which is a fictional behind the scenes comedy that is loosely based on Tina Fey’s (writer and co-star) time spent at SNL. Tracy Morgan plays the role of Tracy Jordan who is an outrageous outthere caricature of himself.

30 rock has dominated tv ratings in it’s time slot, it has also been nominated and won a variety of awards.

Morgan was nominated for the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the 2009 Emmy Awards, he unfortunately lost to Jon Cryer for his work in Two And A Half Men.

Autobiography

On October 20th, 2009 Tracy released his autobiography “I Am The New Black”

Personal Life

In 1985 Morgan married his school sweetheart, Sabrina. They have had three sons together; Gitrid (born 1986), Malcolm (1988) and Tracy Jr. (1992).

On August 7th, 2009, Tracy filed for divorce from Sabrina after 24 years of marriage. Since then Tracy has made it public that they had actually been separated for eight years previously to this.

In 1996 Morgan was diagnosised with type two diabetes, it wasn’t until he suffered a high fever on the set of 30 Rock nearly ten years later that he started to take his disease seriously.

The writers of 30 Rock have used lots of elements of Tracy Morgan’s real life in his character Tracy Jordan, with his full blessing.

Tracy Morgan And The Law

Tracy has a colorful history with the law, in 2005 he had his first run in and was charged with D.U.I. (driving under the influence). In 2006 he was again arrested and charged with DWI (driving while intoxicated).

In 2007 a female DJ from Miami filed a misdemeanor battery complaint. She claimed that he groped her – although in the end no charges were filed.

Filmography

  • Half Baked (1998)
  • How High (2001)
  • Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
  • 30 Years to Life (2001)
  • Head of State (2003)
  • The Longest Yard (2005)
  • Are We There Yet? (2005)
  • Little Man (2006)
  • VH1′s Totally Awesome (2006)
  • Farce of the Penguins (2006)
  • First Sunday (2008)
  • Superhero Movie (2008)
  • Beer for My Horses (2008)
  • Scare Tactics (2008)
  • G-Force (2009)
  • Deep in the Valley (2009)
  • Nailed (2010)
  • Cop Out (2010)
  • Death at a Funeral (2010)
  • The Other Guys (2010) (non speaking cameo)