Chris Rock (born February 7, 1965 in Andrews, South Carolina) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He grew up in Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, New York.

Career

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Rock slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in films such as New Jack City and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy recommended Rock for Saturday Night Live.

He was a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series from 1990–1993. His tenure on the show gave Rock national exposure, but was rarely used on the show save for his recurring Nat X character. Rock was fired from SNL in the spring of 1993, as part of a regular cast turnover. Chris took the firing to concentrate on a film career and to lend his talent to the then-fading sketch show In Living Color. Unfortunately, acting jobs were few, so Rock abandoned Hollywood to concentrate on stand-up comedy.

His 1996 stand-up special Bring the Pain reinvented Chris Rock as one of the hottest comedians in the industry. His routine, which featured commentaries on race in America stirred up a great deal of controversy. Adding to his popularity was his much-publicized role as a commentator for Comedy Central's coverage of the 1996 Presidential elections.

In addition to acting, Rock has had three HBO comedy specials: Bring the Pain in 1996, Bigger and Blacker in 1999, and most recently, Never Scared in 2004. HBO also aired his talk show, The Chris Rock Show, which gained critical acclaim for Rock's interviews with famous celebrities. His specials and talk show established Rock as the preeminent stand-up comedian and comic minds of his generation. His television work has won him 3 Emmy Awards and 15 Nominations for his performing and writing. In 2004, Rock was named the 5th Greatest Stand-Up Comedian of All-Time by Comedy Central. During this time, Rock also translated his comedy into print form (in the book Rock This!) and saw two routines (Bigger and Blacker and the 1980s routine Born Suspect) made into bestselling albums.

While Chris has acted in movies since 1986 (including a small role in Beverly Hills Cop III), it was only until the success of his stand-up act in the mid-'90s that Rock began receiving major parts in films. These include roles in Dogma, Lethal Weapon 4 and Nurse Betty. Starring roles were held in Down to Earth and Head of State.

His comedy typically involves race relations in the United States, although he devotes a large portion of his material to women too. Though not directly based on it, a lot 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 slow". In the fall of 2005, the UPN television network premiered a comedy series called Everybody Hates Chris that is based on Rock's school days.

On his 2004 HBO Special, Never Scared, he made comments regarding abortion stating, "When a woman gets pregnant it's a choice between a woman and her girlfriends. A woman gets pregnant, her and her girlfriends get together and they have a little abortion tribunal, and they vote on the baby like it's Survivor...and that's how life is decided in America." His comments drew fire from both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice groups.

In early 2005, Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards ceremony. The decision to have Rock host the awards was seen by some to bring an "edge" to the ceremony and to make it more relevant or appealing to younger audiences. Some were worried that Rock's outspoken and often crude humor would tarnish the staid image of the awards, but his comedy ruffled few feathers aside from those of Sean Penn. Rock jokingly asked "Who is this guy?" in reference to actor Jude Law seemingly appearing in every movie Rock had seen that year and implied Law was a low-rent Tom Cruise. Nearly two hours later, Penn took the stage to present and said "In answer to our host's question, Jude Law is one of our finest young actors".

On September 9, 2005, Chris Rock said "George Bush hates midgets" before saying his original script during a telethon similar to the Kanye West situation. The tone was one of parody and not actual opinion.

Personal life

Rock has been married to Malaak Compton-Rock since November 23, 1996. She is the founder and executive director of StyleWorks, a non-profit, full-service salon that provides free services for women leaving welfare and entering the workforce. The couple have two daughters together, Lola Simone (born June 28, 2002) and Zahra Savannah (born May 22, 2004).

Actor Tony Rock is Chris' younger brother. Their father, Julius Rock, died in 1989.

Filmography

• Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
• Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (1988)
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
• "Who Is Chris Rock?" (1989) (short subject)
• New Jack City (1991)
• Boomerang (1992)
• CB4 (1993) (also co-producer)
• The Immortals (1995)
• Sgt. Bilko (1996)
• Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
• Dr. Dolittle (1998) (voice)
• Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
• King of the Hill (1998) (voice of Roger Sack)
• "Torrance Rises" (1999) (short subject)
• Dogma (1999)
• Bamboozled (2000)
• Nurse Betty (2000)
• Down to Earth (2001)
• AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001) (voice)
• Pootie Tang (2001) (also producer)
• Osmosis Jones (2001) (voice)
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
• Bad Company (2002)
• Comedian (2002) (documentary)
• Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
• Head of State (2003) (also director and producer)
• Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party (2004) (documentary)
• The N-Word (2004) (documentary)
• Paparazzi (2004) (cameo appearance)
• The Aristocrats (2005) (documentary)
• Madagascar (2005) (voice)
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• Everybody Hates Chris (2005) (voice)
• Sick Day (2006) (currently announced start of production)
• The Gilmores of Beverly Hills (2006) (pre-production)
• The Black Dragons of Hunchland (2006) (pre-production)
• I Think I Love My Wife (pre-production)

Discography

• Born Suspect (1991) Atlantic
• Bring the Pain (1996) Dreamworks
• Roll With the New (1997) DreamWorks
• Bigger & Blacker (1999) DreamWorks
• Never Scared (2005) Geffen

See also

• Chris Tucker, another entertainer with a similar comedic sense
• Bad Boys of SNL
• Tony Rock, brother of Chris
• Niggas vs. Black People, one of Rock's most famous (and controversial) sketches
• Everybody Hates Chris, a TV show created by Rock based on his childhood.

External links

• Official website
• Chris Rock at the Internet Movie Database