David Alan Grier
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Actor David Alan Grier turned from early dramatic roles to carve out a decades-long career in comedy. A Detroit native, he found acclaim early on the New York stage, earning a Tony nomination for playing baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the musical "The First." He moved onto film acting with a role in Robert Altman's Vietnam drama "Streamers" (1983). He later joined the cast of Norman Jewison's critically acclaimed "A Soldier's Story" (1984), playing a role that he had done on stage in Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize winning play. He began moving towards comedy with his next role opposite Rip Torn and Loretta Swit in "Beer" (1985). After appearing in the short-lived sitcom "All Is Forgiven" (NBC, 1986), Grier began a run of supporting roles in films like "From the Hip" (1987) and "Amazon Women on the Moon" (1987), and television shows such as "A Different World" (NBC, 1987-93), "ALF" (NBC,1986-90), and "Tour of Duty" (CBS, 1987-90). A small role in the action-spoof comedy "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" (1988) brought him into the circle of actor/director/producer Keenan Ivory Wayans. Grier's relationship with Wayans and his siblings would prove to be extremely fruitful. He joined the cast of Wayans' influential sketch comedy show "In Living Color" (Fox, 1990-94) at the show's inception, and was one of the few performers to stay for the show's entire run. With his profile raised, he filmed a cameo for Altman's black comedy "The Player" (1992) before embarking on a successful run of supporting parts in films like "Boomerang" (1992), alongside Eddie Murphy, "Blankman" (1994), with Damon Wayans, and "In the Army Now" (1994), opposite Pauly Shore. He also played a recurring character on Martin Lawrence's hit sitcom, "Martin" (Fox, 1992-97). After "In Living Color" ended, he appeared on film in the Robin Williams' blockbuster "Jumanji" (1995), as well as the film adaption of the 1960s sitcom "McHale's Navy" (1997). On TV, he starred in the short-lived sitcoms "The Preston Episodes" (Fox, 1995) and "Damon" (Fox, 1998), again with Damon Wayans. He found more sustained success with "Life With Bonnie" (ABC, 2002-04) and a recurring role on "My Wife and Kids" (ABC, 2001-05). He enjoyed something of a resurgence in the 2010s, starting with a starring role opposite Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson in "Peeples" (2013). He landed the role of the Cowardly Lion in the television musical "The Wiz Live!" (NBC, 2015), and joined the cast of Jerrod Carmichael's edgy sitcom "The Carmichael Show" (NBC, 2015-17), playing the main character's opinionated father. Similar to "The Wiz," Grier played Santa Claus in the TV musical "A Christmas Story Live!" (Fox, 2017). He subsequently joined the cast of "The Cool Kids" (Fox, 2018-) playing a retiree opposite fellow veteran performers Vicki Lawrence and Martin Mull.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Producer (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1981
Appeared opposite Denzel Washington in the off-Broadway production of "A Soldier's Play"
1981
Landed first stage role, portraying Jackie Robinson in the Broadway musical "The First"; earned a Tony nomination
1981
Starred as James 'Thunder' Early in the hit Broadway musical "Dreamgirls"
1983
Made feature film debut in Robert Altman's "Streamers"
1984
Reprised his stage role for the film "A Soldier's Story"
1985
Made TV debut with a guest spot on "Hometown" (CBS)
1986
Debuted as a series regular on the short-lived "All is Forgiven" (NBC)
1987
Appeared in the cult film "Amazon Women on the Moon"
1988
Cast in minor role in Keenan Ivory Wayans' "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka"
1990
Re-teamed with Keenan Ivory Wayans, when he joined cast of the sketch comedy series "In Living Color" (Fox)
1992
Cast as Eddie Murphy's shy friend Gerard in the comedy "Boomerang"
1994
Co-starred with Damon Wayans in Mike Binder's "Blankman"
1995
Returned to TV as star of the short-lived "The Preston Episodes" (Fox)
1997
Returned to Broadway in the musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"
1998
Joined "In Living Color" co-star Damon Wayans for the short-lived sitcom "Damon" (Fox)
2000
Co-starred with Delta Burke on the NBC series "DAG"
2001
Hosted Comedy Central's "Premium Blend"
2002
Co-starred on the improv-based ABC sitcom "Life With Bonnie"
2002
Appeared frequently on the Comedy Central show "Crank Yankers"
2003
Headlined his own Comedy Central stand-up special "The Book of David: The Cult Figure's Manifesto"
2003
Starred in Mario Van Peebles's half documentary/half homage to his father Melvin Van Peebles "Baadasssss!"
2004
Cast opposite Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick in "The Woodsman"
2005
Starred opposite Nicole Kidman in the big screen adaptation of "Bewitched"
2006
Cast in the revival production of "The Wiz" at the La Jolla Playhouse
2008
Hosted the short-lived Comedy Central show "Chocolate News"
2008
Feature writing debut, co-writing with Lori Petty in "The Poker House"
2009
Joined the eighth season of the ABC competition series "Dancing with the Stars"
2009
Returned to Broadway to co-star in David Mamet's "Race"; earned a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actor in a Play
2009
Starred in the TBS comedy special "David Alan Grier: Comedy You Can Believe In"
2010
Guest starred on "Bones" (Fox) as the host of a kids' TV show who wants Brennan (Emily Deschanel) to appear on his program
2012
Co-starred with Audra McDonald in the Broadway revival of "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess"
2018
Cast as one of the leads of the Fox sitcom "The Cool Kids"
Family
Companions
