Eddie Griffin

About

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 (1999) 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.

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.

At a comedy club open-mic night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned…