Mark Curry

Marcus G. Curry (born June 1, 1961), known professionally as Mark Curry, is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for his role as Mark Cooper, ex-basketball player turned teacher on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper which originally aired from 1992 to 1997. Curry also served as one of the various hosts of the syndicated series It's Showtime at the Apollo during the early 1990s. Curry co-starred in all three seasons of See Dad Run, Nick at Nite's first original live-action family comedy series, from 2012 to 2015.

Early life and education Born in Oakland, California, Curry is the youngest of nine. Curry attended St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in neighboring Alameda, and California State University, East Bay in nearby Hayward. As a child, Curry was a participant at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC), a local youth organization.

Career Curry's first role was in the 1991 feature film Talkin' Dirty After Dark where he appeared alongside Martin Lawrence.

Curry's first major role was on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper which made its debut in September 1992. On the show he played the lead role of Mark Cooper, an National Basketball Association (NBA) player-turned-substitute teacher/gym coach. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was eventually on air for five seasons with over a hundred episodes.

In 1994, Curry guest starred on the sitcom Living Single. In 1997, he made another guest appearance on the sitcom Martin. Curry was later featured on two episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show as eccentric driving instructor Sergeant Easy.

Curry also made cameos in the 1997 feature film Switchback and 1998 feature film Armageddon.

In 2000, Curry had a recurring role on The Drew Carey Show as Robert Soulard, Drew Carey's boss. That year he also hosted the Comedy Central game show Don't Forget Your Toothbrush and made a guest appearance on the sitcom For Your Love with his Hangin' with Mr. Cooper co-star, Holly Robinson Peete.

Curry went on to play the lead role of scientist Norton Ballard in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Poof Point. The movie reunited Curry with Hangin' with Mr. Cooper co-star Dawnn Lewis, who played his onscreen wife Marigold.

Curry was the host of the PAX-TV show Animal Tails and BET's Coming to the Stage in 2003. In 2004, he appeared on Celebrity Mole Yucatan. He came in second place to Dennis Rodman.

In 2005, Curry was featured on an episode of Less than Perfect and guest starred as Max Cooper on two episodes of Fat Actress. Curry made another guest appearance on a 2008 episode of the sitcom House of Payne. On November 30, 2008, Curry performed a stand-up comedy routine on The Comedy Festival Laffapalooza Special which was hosted by Tracy Morgan.

From 2009 to 2011, Curry hosted Jamie Foxx's FoxxHole Live every Monday in the Conga Room in Los Angeles, which was heard on satellite radio stations Sirius 106/XM 149. In 2012, Curry joined Sommore, Earthquake, Bruce Bruce, and Tony Rock on the Royal Comedy Tour.

He later appeared on two episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Curry also starred in Nick at Nite's first-ever original live-action family sitcom, See Dad Run, which debuted in 2012, as Marcus, who's a friend of Scott Baio's character. See Dad Run eventually ran for three seasons on the network.

In 2014, Curry joined Sommore's Standing Ovation Comedy Tour along with Bill Bellamy, Tommy Davidson, and others. That same year, Bounce TV launched the sitcom One Love, starring Curry and Sheryl Lee Ralph. In 2018, Curry was a special guest on the Katt Williams 11:11 Tour. Since 2018, Curry has also regularly performed stand-up comedy at the Hollywood Improv.

Music Curry was featured in the music video for Too Short's "I Ain't Trippin'". He also appeared in the music video of Bow Wow's "Take Ya Home", where he played a father trying to get his daughter a doll of the rapper.

He appeared in the 2002 song "Oakland Raiders" by Oakland rap group Luniz. Delivering a humorous monologue as the song faded out, Curry asserted his status as a pimp and stated his fondness for big dank. Most recently he can be seen in the 2015 music video "Pulled Up" by Young Dolph featuring 2 Chainz and Juicy J; a tribute to the film Coming to America.

Personal life On May 17, 2007, an Aerosol spray dispenser that had fallen behind a water heater exploded, and Curry, who was doing laundry at the time, was burned on more than 20% of his body, including his arm, back, and side. He spent many months recuperating at his home. According to an Associated Press interview posted on CNN.com on February 17, 2008, Curry went on The Montel Williams Show to discuss his recovery, and mentioned he considered suicide after waking from a three-day, medically induced coma, but decided against it with the help of friends and fellow comedians, such as Sinbad and Bill Cosby.

2015 private settlement In August 2026, Mark Curry's name surfaced in media coverage surrounding a major civil lawsuit filed by his former The Poof Point co-star, Raquel Lee. Lee filed a negligence lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company alleging that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by an unnamed, middle-aged production employee during the film's 2001 production when she was 14 years old. The complaint details that the employee supplied her with alcohol, assaulted her in a hotel room in Salt Lake City where the cast and crew were staying, and assaulted her again on a flight back to California, while production allegedly separated her from her guardian and failed to intervene despite visible signs of intoxication and distress.

While Lee's civil suit focuses on Disney's corporate liability and failure to protect her, media reports highlighted that Lee had previously reached a private, confidential out-of-court settlement with Curry in 2015. Represented at the time by attorney Gloria Allred, Lee entered into the confidential agreement with Curry—who played her father in the Disney Channel movie and was 40 years old during the film's production—concerning separate matters related to the project. Specific details of the 2015 settlement remain private, and neither Lee nor Curry commented on the arrangement following the resurfacing of the case.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Talkin' Dirty After Dark Antonio 1995 Panther Lombard 1997 The Fanatics Fly Walker Switchback Robbie 1998 Armageddon Stu the Cabbie 2000 A Man Is Mostly Water Jeff 2001 Motorcrossed Bob Arness TV Movie The Poof Point Norton Ballard TV Movie 2009 Psychic Hollywood: The Search for Truth Himself TV Movie 2011 Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury Captain O'Malley 2021 Dreams from the Edge Bubba Short

Television

Year Title Role Notes It's Showtime at the Apollo Himself Recurring guest 1990 An Evening at the Improv Himself Episode: "Episode #5.14" & "#6.14" 1991 One Night Stand Himself Episode: "Mark Curry" Paramount City Himself Episode: "Episode #2.7" 1992–94 It's Showtime at the Apollo Himself/Host Recurring Host: season 5-7 1992–97 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper Mark Cooper Main cast 1994 Living Single Tony Ross Episode: "A Tale of Two Tattles" 1995 Soul Train Himself/Guest Host Episode: "CeCe Winans/Ini Kamoze/Mokenstef" Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child The Giant (voice) Episode: "The Valiant Little Tailor" 1997 Mad TV Himself/Host Episode: "Episode #2.18" Martin Ronnie Cochran Episode: "Power to the People's Court" 1997–98 The Jamie Foxx Show Sergeant Easy Episode: "Traffic School Daze" & "I'm Too Sexy for This Shot" 1998 Hollywood Squares Himself/Panelist Recurring Panelist 1999 Comedy Central Presents Himself Episode: "Mark Curry" 2000 Intimate Portrait Himself Episode: "Holly Robinson Peete" Don't Forget Your Toothbrush Himself/Host Main host The Drew Carey Show Robert Soulard Recurring cast: Season 5 For Your Love Dr. Collins Episode: "The Pregnant Pause" 2002–03 Pyramid Recurring guest 2003 Coming to the Stage Himself/Host Main host 2003–04 Animal Tails Himself/Host Main host 2004 Hollywood Squares Himself/Panelist Recurring panelist The Mole Himself Main cast: Season 4 2005 Less than Perfect Morpheus Episode: "Get Away" Fat Actress Max Cooper Episode: "Big Butts" & "Hold This" 2006 In the Mix Himself Episode: "The 'Grammy' Goes to Camp: You're a Star & Kids Are Helping Kids" Def Comedy Jam Himself Episode: "Episode #7.9" 2007 Back to the Grind Himself Episode: "Betty White and Mark Curry" 2008 Tyler Perry's House of Payne - Episode: "Reunited and... It Don't Feel Good" 2009 Black to the Future Himself Episode: "Hour 4: The 00s" 2010 Life After Himself Episode: "Mark Curry" 2011 Celebrity Ghost Stories Himself Episode: "Beverley Mitchell/Mark Curry/Donovan Leitch/Phyllis Diller" 2011–12 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Principal Nash Episode: "And Circumstance" & "Defiance" 2012–14 See Dad Run Marcus Barnes Main cast 2014 Unsung Himself Episode: "Too $hort" Gotham Comedy Live Himself/Host Episode: "Mark Curry" One Love Pastor William Winters Main cast 2015 Instant Mom Minister Episode: "Don't Worry, Be Maggie" Black Jesus Big Tray Episode: "Janky Cable" 2019–21 Family Reunion Principal Glass Guest: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 3 2020 In the Cut Wade Recurring cast: Season 6–7 2023 Blindspotting Himself Episode: "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"