Share

Tracy Morgan biography

1 photo

Quick Facts

Best Known For

Comedic actor Tracy Morgan, known for his unpredictable antics, got his big break on Saturday Night Live. His 30 Rock character is loosely based on his over-the-top personality.

Quiz

Think you know about Biography?

Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.

Play Now

Synopsis

In 1996, Tracy Morgan joined the cast of the legendary TV sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live and spent the next seven years there. In 2003, Morgan left SNL to headline his own show, The Tracy Morgan Show, but it didn't gain a following and ran for only one season. Morgan has since found his niche in television in 2006 on the hit show 30 Rock, a sitcom created by fellow SNL alumna Tina Fey.

Contents

Quotes

"As a child, I was able to know that I wanted a better life."
– Tracy Morgan

"If you can survive Saturday Night Live, then you're good as far as show business is concerned."
– Tracy Morgan

"When I was angry, when I was younger, I was in a cocoon. Now I'm a beautiful, black butterfly."
– Tracy Morgan

Profile

Actor, comedian. Born Tracy Morgan on November 10, 1968, in the Bronx borough of New York City. The second of five children, Morgan grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a low-income neighborhood in Brooklyn plagued by the dangers of the drug trade. Morgan's older brother, Jimmy Morgan, Jr., was born with cerebral palsy. His father, Jimmy Morgan, Sr., was a musician and soldier who served multiple tours in Vietnam. Jimmy, Sr. began using heroin while in the military, returning home from the war in 1974 with both a serious drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. At that time, Tracy Morgan was 6 years old.

For most of his childhood, Morgan lived with his mother; she insisted that his father leave the family household because of his drug problem. By the time Tracy was a student at De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx, however, his relationship with his mother had seriously deteriorated. Morgan moved in with his father and, a year later, his brother and a sister joined him. Meanwhile, Jimmy Morgan, Sr. had overcome his addiction, but he had contracted AIDS as a result of using dirty hypodermic needles in his earlier life as an addict. Tracy, already married to his high school sweetheart, Sabina, dropped out of high school to take care of his father. Jimmy died of AIDS in November 1987.

In need of money, Morgan turned to selling drugs. He has said he still feels remorse for the disservice he did to his community by participating in the sale of drugs. As he describes it, he wasn't a very good drug dealer, and he didn't enjoy it, either: "As a child, I was able to know that I wanted a better life," he explained later.

A childhood full of turmoil and tragedy might seem an unlikely source for the development of comedic genius, but it was yet another tragic event that spurred Tracy Morgan to pursue a life as a comic. A good friend suggested that Morgan develop his natural talent for humor by pursuing comedy as a living; soon after, the friend was killed in one of the many acts of random violence that marred Morgan's community. His friend's death spurred Morgan to begin doing stand-up, building a popular act from the humor he had always used to deal with the difficult situations in his life.

By his early 20s, Tracy Morgan and his wife had three sons—Gitrid, Malcolm and Tracy, Jr.—and the family was living on welfare. Fortunately, Morgan soon found success as a stand-up comedian, making his breakthrough at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater. Morgan spent time in the Uptown Comedy Club, also in Harlem, before being picked up to play a supporting character named Hustle Man in Martin Lawrence's sitcom Martin.

ADVERTISEMENT
17134074 17134074
profile id: 17134074
profile name: Tracy Morgan
profile occupation:
related profile id: 17134074
related profile name: Tracy Morgan
related profile occupation:
related profile img: /imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/M/Tracy-Morgan-17134074-1-402.jpg
related profile URL: /people/tracy-morgan-17134074
profile
pop
Your Connections

Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

specific profile connection
See More Bio Connections
Your Friends' Connections
specific friend connection
Profile Connections
    Show More Connections
    Included In These Groups

    See all related groups

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Celebrity Connections

    Show More Connections
    Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!