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| Birth Name(s) : Chris Rock |
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Full Chris Rock Biography
Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Sam Kinison, George Carlin, Mort Sahl Influenced
Christopher Julius Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted by Comedy Central as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
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 moved to the working-class area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn where they settled. His mother, Rosalie (née Tingman), was a teacher and social worker with the mentally handicapped, and his father, Julius Rock, was a former truck driver and newspaper deliveryman. Julius died in 1988 after ulcer surgery. Rock has five younger siblings, Andre, Tony, Brian (a minister), Kenny, Andi, and a half-sibling, Jordan. Rock has said that he was influenced by the performing style of his paternal grandfather, Allen Rock, a preacher. His brothers Tony and Kenny are also in the entertainment business.
Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1985 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star. Rock 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.
He 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. His routine, which featured commentaries on race in America, stirred up a great deal of controversy. Rock won two Emmy Awards for that special. 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, respectively. 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.
His comedy typically involves race relations in the United States, politics, music, romance, and class relationships. Though not directly based on it, many of his comedic views are rooted in his teen years; his very strict parents, concerned about the neighborhood schools, had him bused to an almost all-white high school in Bensonhurst (an Italian-ethnic neighborhood of Brooklyn that was known at the time for poor race relations). Rock claims to have been arrested four times: once for vehicular assault on a youth who had robbed him, and three times for traffic violations, including driving without a license and driving too slowly.
In the promotion's early days Chris Rock made an appearance for TNA wrestling in which he was introduced by B. G. James and was hit with a chair and beaten up by wrestlers including Jeff Jarrett. This event was covered in TNA's "50 greatest moments".
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".
He also appeared in Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down", one of the many celebrities seen lip-synching the song.
Chris made his first appearance on stage in the UK at the Live Earth event 07/07/2007 which was broadcast live on the BBC. Before introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers Chris called the crowd "motherfuckers". Due to the broadcast being at 5.45pm Chris was immediately cut off and the BBC made several apologies for his use of the word "motherfucker". He also went on in a later interview with Jonathan Ross to use the word "niggers" but was unrepentant in later NME interviews.
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."
Most recently, freelance journalist and former actress Kali Bowyer has filed a paternity suit against Chris Rock, claiming he is the father of her son in need of hospitalization. Preliminary DNA testing has appeared to clear Rock of this claim. |
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