Eddie Griffin

Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, the title character in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother, and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005). He also portrayed Lester Matthews in John Q. (2002), Orpheus in Scary Movie 3 (2003), Pope Sweet Jesus in Norbit (2007), and voiced Richard Pryor on Black Dynamite (2012–2015). Griffin was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.

Early life Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California, to live with his cousins. He later became a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was discharged within months for using marijuana. After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses.

Career

At a comedy club open-mic night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned a standing ovation with family stories. He talked his way into stand-up gigs around town and in L.A. One popular bit was his gay version of tough-guy comic Andrew Dice Clay, who later hired Griffin to open for him.

Once he achieved success in standup, Griffin became known at The Comedy Store for doing guest sets on open mic nights and staying on stage long enough to tire the audience out for the next comedian.

Griffin has appeared in films such as The Meteor Man (1993), The Walking Dead (1995), David E. Talbert: A Fool & His Money (1997), Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Double Take (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), John Q (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), Norbit (2007), and Urban Justice (2007).

Griffin has appeared on television shows such as Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000) and Chappelle's Show in the skit "World Series of Dice" as Grits n' Gravy. Griffin performed on two tracks from Dr. Dre's 1999 album, 2001, and the intro track from The D.O.C.'s 1996 album Helter Skelter. He has also appeared on commercials for Miller Beer's Man Laws.

In 2011, Comedy Central released Griffin's stand-up comedy special You Can Tell 'Em I Said It on DVD. In December 2019, his stand-up comedy special, E-Niggma, was released on Showtime.

Personal life Griffin and his mother got into an argument at his 20th birthday party when she accused him of stealing jewelry from her, which Griffin denied doing. Afterward, Griffin did not see his mother for four years until he moved back to Los Angeles, California, in March 1992, to be closer with his family when his mother was injured in a car accident.

Griffin has been married four times. He married his first wife, Carla in 1984 when he was 16 years old. They divorced in 1997. He married his second wife, Rochelle, in 2002 and divorced in 2009. He married his fourth wife, Ko Lee Griffin, on July 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In March 2007, Griffin participated in a charity race at Irwindale Speedway to promote the film Redline, using a Ferrari Enzo owned by Daniel Sadek. During a practice run, Griffin accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and lost control of the Enzo, crashing hard into a concrete barrier.

During the sexual assault allegations on Bill Cosby, Griffin suggested that Cosby was the victim of a conspiracy to destroy his image and claimed, without specification, that several other prominent African-American men had been victims of similar conspiracies. Griffin has also been called out by the Sikh community for referring to an elderly Sikh man as "Osama Bin Laden" in the aftermath of 9/11, despite Osama bin Laden being Muslim and not Sikh. Such comments were believed to have helped fuel the rising hate crime rates against both groups.

In October 2024, Griffin stated that he would likely vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election. He said, referring to Kamala Harris, "Everybody I talk to don't like you. Ain't nobody gonna vote for you."

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Dice Rules Gas Station Attendant The Last Boy Scout Club DJ 1992 Brain Donors Messenger 1993 Coneheads Customer The Meteor Man Michael Anderson 1994 The Legend of Dolemite Himself House Party 3 Guest at Kid's Bachelor Party Jason's Lyric Rat 1995 The Walking Dead Pvt. Hoover Brache 1998 Armageddon Bike Messenger 1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks The Mod Squad Sonny Foolish Miles "Foolish" Waise 2000 All Jokes Aside Himself Picking Up the Pieces Sediento 2001 Double Take Freddy Tiffany 2002 John Q. Lester Matthews The New Guy Luther Undercover Brother Anton Jackson/Undercover Brother Pinocchio The Cat (voice) 2003 Dysfunktional Family Himself Scary Movie 3 Orpheus 2004 My Baby's Daddy Lonnie Blast Lamont Dixon Pryor Offenses Richard Pryor TV movie 2005 The Wendell Baker Story McTeague Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks 2006 Date Movie Frank Jones Irish Jam James "Jimmy Da Jam" McDevitt Who Made the Potatoe Salad? Malik The Year Without a Santa Claus Jingle TV movie 2007 Norbit Pope Sweet Jesus Redline Infamous Urban Justice Armand Tucker Video 2008 Beethoven's Big Break Stanley Mitchell Video 2012 ATypical Love Sweet Jimmy Highway Redneck Trucker 2013 How Sweet It Is Ronnie 2014 The Slimbones K-Kutta Going to America Fumnanya 2015 American Hero Lucille 2017 All About the Money Christopher Jefferson Johnson 2018 A Star Is Born Pastor 2020 The Comeback Trail Devon Bad President The Devil 2023 All You Need Is Blood Detective Moses T. Swan 2025 Raging Midlife El Duque

Television Year Title Role Notes 1992 One Night Stand Himself Episode: "Eddie Griffin" Just for Laughs Himself Episode: "Episode #7.0" Def Comedy Jam Himself Episode: "Episode #1.8" 1993 Roc Al Episode: "Labor Intensive" 1994 HBO Comedy Half-Hour Himself Episode: "Eddie Griffin" 1996–2000 Malcolm & Eddie Eddie Sherman Main Cast 1999 Hollywood Squares Himself/Panelist Recurring Guest 2003 Punk'd Himself Episode: "Episode #1.1" The Osbournes Himself Episode: "The Osbourne Family Christmas Special" 2004 Celebrity Blackjack Himself Episode: "Tournament 1, Game 3" Chappelle's Show Grits N' Gravy Episode: "World Series of Dice & Mooney on Movies" 2005 Independent Lens Himself/Narrator Episode: "Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove" Reel Comedy Himself Episode: "Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo" Comedy Central Roast Himself/Roaster Episode: "Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson" 2008 Black Poker Stars Invitational Himself Main Guest 2009 Eddie Griffin: Going for Broke Himself Main Cast 2011 Comedy All-Stars Himself Episode: "Eddie Griffin" 2012 Black Dynamite Richard Pryor (voice) Episode: "Taxes and Death or Get Him to the Sunset Strip" 2014 The Boondocks Himself (voice) Episode: "Good Times" 2017 The Comedy Get Down Himself Main Cast 2020 This Is Stand-Up Himself Episode: "Episode #1.2" The Comedy Store Himself Recurring Guest 2020–22 Woke 40 Oz. Bottles (voice) Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 2021 Dark Humor Himself Recurring Guest 2022–23 Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars Himself/Host Main Host

Music video appearances

Year Artist Song 1993 Snoop Dogg featuring Daz Dillinger, Heney Loc & Jewell "Gin & Juice" 1997 Mariah Carey "Honey" Puff Daddy featuring Mase "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" 1999 Magic, Master P & Mo B. Dick (musician) "Foolish (Master P song)" 2001 Lil' Bow Wow featuring Fundisha "Take Ya Home"

Comedy specials

Year Title 1997 Eddie Griffin: Voodoo Child 2003 Eddie Griffin: Dysfunktional Family 2008 Eddie Griffin: Freedom of Speech 2011 Eddie Griffin: You Can Tell 'Em I Said It! 2018 Eddie Griffin: Undeniable 2019 Eddie Griffin: E-Niggma

Documentary Year Title 2007 I'm Rick James

Discography

Live albums Title Album detailsMessage in the Hat Released: July 27, 1993 Label: Epic Formats: CD, digital download, LPThe Message Released: March 29, 1999 Label: Warner Bros. Formats: CD, digital download, LPFreedom Of Speech Released: April 24, 2008 Label: Comedy Central/CodeBlack Formats: digital download|-You Can Tell 'Em I Said It Released: February 22, 2011 Label: Comedy Central Formats: digital download

Soundtrack albums Title Album details Peak chart positions CertificationsUSUS R&BFoolish (with various artists) Released: March 23, 1999 Label: No Limit Records/Priority Records Format: CD, digital download, LP 32 10 RIAA: Gold

Album appearances 1996 "Intro" (from The D.O.C. album Helter Skelter) 1998 "DP Gangsta" (from Snoop Dogg & C-Murder album Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told) 1999 "Bar One" (with Traci Nelson and Ms. Roq) (from Dr. Dre album 2001) 1999 "Ed-ucation" (from Dr. Dre album 2001) 2002 "Bitch Ass Niggaz" (from Xzibit album Man vs. Machine) 2003 "I Thought U Knew" (with Crooked I, Eastwood & The Dramatics album Dysfunktional Family) (Various artists) 2003 "Dys-Funk-Tional" (from Spider Loc & Eddie Griffin album Dysfunktional Family) (Various artists) 2008 "Take A Ride Skit" & "Feed The Lions Skit" (from T-Pain album Thr33 Ringz)

Awards

AwardFilmEventBest ActorLast SupperLos Angeles International Film Festival 2014 Best ActorLast SupperSan Francisco Global Movie Fest 2014