The Untold Truth Of Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence is no stranger to aficionados of comedy. A fixture on film and television screens since the early 1990s, Lawrence's lengthy roster of screen credits includes his '90s-era Fox sitcom, "Martin," as well as a string of big-screen blockbusters. These include co-starring with Will Smith in the "Bad Boys" franchise, "Big Momma's House" and its various sequels, starring alongside Eddie Murphy in the dramedy "Life," voicing a bear named Boog in the animated hit "Open Season," serving as a member of the ensemble cast in the outrageous farce "Death at a Funeral," and many more. As his legions of fans well know, Lawrence got his start as a standup comic, and he's returned to the stage on numerous occasions. Since his first standup special in 1991, he's also delivered "Martin Lawrence: You So Crazy" in 1994, "Martin Lawrence: Runteldat" in 2002, and "Martin Lawrence: Doin' Time" in 2016.
He has also made headlines for this often-tumultuous personal life, which hit a zenith in the late 1990s with a series of scandals so lengthy that the tabloids could barely keep up with them. Lawrence, however, is nothing if not a survivor, weathering those considerable storms and emerging in the 2020s as a weathered showbiz veteran who's stood the test of time, well on his way to becoming an elder statesman of comedy.
His story is long and winding, and his accomplishments are many. To find out more, read on to discover the untold truth of Martin Lawrence.
Martin Lawrence was a 'military brat'
Martin Lawrence was born in 1965, in Frankfurt, Germany, where his father was stationed while serving in the U.S. military. One of six children, Lawrence was just eight years old when his parents divorced, with his father leaving the family. His mother took Lawrence and his siblings stateside when she returned to the U.S. to make a fresh start, taking on two jobs to support her children.
"My family didn't have any money, and I'm the fourth of six kids. It was all on my mom," Lawrence recalled in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We lived in government Section 8 housing. The miracle was my mom never gave up. She always found a way to put food on the table." Speaking about their shared childhood for a Biography episode, Lawrence's brother, Robert Lawrence, also looked back on how much their mother struggled to make ends meet. "We had our rough times," he confirmed. "We just didn't have material things, but we had love, so I guess that helped a lot," their mother, Chlora Lawrence added.
After Lawrence's comedy career took off, Lawrence thanked his mom for all her sacrifices by purchasing a home for her in California, where he was now living. "Buying her that house was a better feeling than buying my house," he told the Review-Journal. "It was the best feeling ever."
He displayed big talent as a boxer
As a teenager growing up in a tough neighborhood, Martin Lawrence realized he'd need to learn how to defend himself. As Biography noted, he gravitated toward boxing, training at Maryland's Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing Center. He quickly displayed aptitude, and by age 15 had become an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion.
Lawrence has referenced his short-lived boxing career in his standup comedy routines. During one performance, he joked about how his strategy of constantly moving, making himself a difficult target for an opponent; this, he joked, led his coach to come up with a saying about him: "One thing about Martin, he ain't gonna get hit — and he ain't gonna hit nobody."
Lawrence's luck ran out when he took a powerful punch to the face during a match. When his mother got her first look at her bruised and swollen son, she made him give up boxing then and there. Her decision may have closed one door, but it wound up opening another when the teenager began channelling his energy into comedy instead. In fact, Lawrence told Variety, the skills he learned from boxing became useful as he pursued a career in comedy. "Boxing gave me the training, the consistency and, most importantly, the focus," he said. "To study your craft, to want to be good at your craft and to be excellent at it — you can reach them at heights and just be the best that you could be."
He once worked alongside Salt-N-Pepa as a telemarketer
Martin Lawrence's journey from seedy comedy clubs to international stardom didn't happen overnight. While developing his standup chops onstage, he had to take other jobs to support himself. One of these was a stint as a telemarketer.
During a 2017 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Lawrence reminisced about his days as a T.S.R., a.k.a. telephone sales representative, selling maintenance agreements to customers who had just purchased appliances from Sears. He never made a single sale, but did wind up forging a friendship with co-workers in nearby cubicles who were also destined for stardom: Cheryl James and Sandra Denton, who would go on to become rap duo Salt-N-Pepa. "And that was cool because I used to mess with them every day," Lawrence recalled. "Wouldn't let them get their work done, I was always flirting and everything."
Interviewed by the Riverfront Times, Denton confirmed that she did indeed work alongside the future comedy star, recalling how they were all dreaming of stardom. "Yeah, it was us," she said, adding that other co-workers in the office included Kid 'n Play (a.k.a. Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin). "It's so crazy, because we all sat next to each other and Martin would say, 'Whoever gets their break first has to put the other one on.' We got our break first, so he used to open up for us with his comedy."
He got his big break on Star Search
While co-workers Salt-N-Pepa landed their big break first, Martin Lawrence's came in the latter half of the 1980s, when his relentless performing in New York City comedy clubs paid off with a chance to appear on TV series "Star Search." The show, something of a precursor to "American Idol" and the competition series that came in its wake, introduced performers in various categories that ranged from singers to comedians to "spokesmodels." The performers were evaluated by a panel of judges, with acts eliminated until only one remained to win that season's competition.
Lawrence clearly made an impression with viewers with his hilarious routines, including a relatable riff about relationships. After making it to the final round, he was ultimately defeated, narrowly missing out on being named that season's comedy champ. His loss, however, disguised a silver lining; television executives had been watching his progress on the show, and thought he'd be ideal for a new TV series in development.
As a result, Lawrence was cast as Maurice Warfield in the 1987 sitcom "What's Happening Now!" When that show was cancelled after its first season, Lawrence was able to parlay his first-ever screen credit into further acting work, including roles in the hit films "Do the Right Thing," and "House Party." In 1992, he was tapped to star in his own eponymous Fox sitcom, "Martin," the role that paved the way for the successful big-screen comedy career that would follow.
He hosted Def Comedy Jam
The same year that Martin Lawrence debuted his sitcom "Martin," he was also tapped to host "Def Comedy Jam." Created by rap mogul Russell Simmons, the HBO series proved to be a hugely influential platform for up-and-coming Black comics, launching the careers of a staggering array of future stars, a list that includes the likes of Dave Chappelle, Tiffany Haddish, Sheryl Underwood, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones and many others.
The series also shone the spotlight on Lawrence, who dazzled viewers with his standup comedy skills in the opening of every episode. "When I look back, I was a young kid and I was fearless, so I just wanted to seize the moment every chance I got to get onstage," Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly of being the first host of "Def Comedy Jam." "I tried to have fun and make it as big as possible."
In a somewhat stodgy review, New York Times television critic John J. O'Connor praised Lawrence's "Def Comedy Jam" hosting skills. "Mr. Lawrence, now the star of the Fox sitcom 'Martin,' presides over these enormously energized, ribald sessions with unflagging aplomb, even as he tweaks parts of the Black entertainment scene," O'Connor wrote. Lawrence only hosted for that seminal first season, but set the tone for the hosts that would succeed him.
His debut SNL monologue received hundreds of complaints
By 1994, Martin Lawrence's star was on the rise when he was asked to host "Saturday Night Live." In his monologue, Lawrence shocked producers, the audience and presumably NBC sensors when he went rogue in an unapproved routine about women with poor below-the-belt hygiene. While the monologue was heavily censored for the West Coast rebroadcast, the Los Angeles Times reported that NBC received more than 200 telephone complaints from offended viewers who'd watched it live. As a result, the Times reported he'd been "barred" from appearing on NBC.
Despite the controversy, Lawrence felt the furor would only be beneficial for his own personal brand. "I feel good. I'm getting all this publicity, and I didn't even hurt anybody," he told the Times. "I haven't done anything wrong, so I don't need to apologize to anybody. I'm a comedian, and I make people laugh. My fans know me, and they're not surprised by anything I say. And right now, a lot more people are asking 'Who is Martin Lawrence?'"
While Lawrence was never invited back to "SNL," he refuted the characterization that he'd been permanently banned by the show. "I'm not banned from 'SNL'," he told radio show The Breakfast Club in 2020. "They banned me from NBC at the time for a minute. But then they realized the way it went down wasn't what they thought and then [network president Warren Littlefield] sent me an apology letter."
His mental health crisis in the '90s played out publicly
From a career perspective, Martin Lawrence was at the absolute top of his game in the mid-1990s. However, he'd also begun to exhibit some odd behavior in public, such as the time in May 1996 when he was spotted in the middle of a busy Los Angeles intersection, a loaded handgun in his pocket while acting erratically toward motorists. As the New York Daily News reported, he was picked up by police officers. "I always told everybody they'd be coming for me some day," Lawrence was quoted as saying when police arrived on the scene. "He was like a madman," an eyewitness said. Lawrence's rep blamed his behavior on dehydration and exhaustion, and claimed he'd neglected to take prescribed medication and suffered a seizure.
A few months later, the Los Angeles Times reported he was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor when a gun was found in his carry-on luggage at an airport. Prior to those occasions, recalled the Washington Post, Lawrence became so violent while taping an episode of Martin in July 1995 that he was admitted to a hospital when he couldn't be restrained, and was later found wandering in the street while wearing his pajamas.
Further problems, noted People, included his then-wife alleging violent and unhinged behavior toward her, and the time he punched out a guy on the dance floor of a nightclub who, he claimed, had bumped into him while dancing.
His first wife took out a restraining order against him
In 1996, Martin Lawrence filed for divorce to end his marriage to wife Patricia. As the Washington Post reported, she'd won a restraining order against him due to her allegations that he threatened her with murder. In her divorce filing, she claimed he called her on the telephone and told her, "You'll pay for what you've done to my family." The following day, she alleged, his threats escalated. "I'm going to have to kill you," he told her, she claimed. "I'm going to have to kill your family."
She subsequently received a note, which hadn't been signed, slipped under her door. "I will do anything to have you back," the note read, before taking a chilling turn, reading, "If I can't have you then I will make sure that no one has you. So come home now!! If you don't, then I will have to do what I have to do." The note concluded, "I love you to the death."
Patricia's divorce lawyer, Suzanne Harris, placed at least some of the blame for the situation with members of Lawrence's team who saw him as a meal ticket and not a troubled man in the midst of a mental health crisis. "We think he's not getting the help he needs," Harris told People. "There are people making money in his coterie who are more interested in seeing the cash flow continue than in seeing him get better."
His sitcom co-star sued him for sexual harassment
Around the same time that Martin Lawrence's marriage to wife Patricia was imploding, a similar situation was unfolding with his make-believe TV wife on the set of "Martin." In January 1997, the Los Angeles Times reported that Tisha Campbell, Lawrence's "Martin" co-star, announced she was quitting the show due to "intolerable" conditions, after walking off the set the previous November and refusing to return. HBO, which produced the series for Fox, filed for a temporary restraining order that would force her back to work; she countersued, alleging sexual battery and sexual harassment. That suit was settled out of court, and Campbell and Lawrence were able to bury the hatchet long enough to film the final episodes before the series ended that May. At the time, reported Variety, Lawrence insisted the show concluded because he wanted it to.
In a 2020 interview with GQ, Lawrence dismissed the narrative that his behavior had anything to do with the show's cancellation as "bulls**t," telling the magazine, "I just decided to end it. People said that I got cancelled, but that wasn't the case. I decided to just leave the show," he explained.
Campbell subsequently appeared on daytime show "The Talk," where she was asked about Lawrence's remarks. Campbell noted that she couldn't comment because of a confidentiality agreement, but implied Lawrence's spin was inaccurate. "But what I can say is... I was actually kind of shocked," Campbell said, via Essence.
An attempt to lose weight landed him in a coma
Following the demise of "Martin," Martin Lawrence's movie career was hotter than ever when he experienced a serious health crisis. As CNN reported, in August 1999 Lawrence was attempting to shed some weight for an upcoming movie role, and unwisely decided to go jogging while wearing numerous layers of clothing beneath a nylon jogging suit.
It didn't end well; Lawrence collapsed from heat stroke, and was rushed to hospital. According to the report, his body temperature had soared to 107 degrees when paramedics delivered him to the hospital, and he was placed on a respirator to aid his breathing. The Los Angeles Times subsequently reported that Lawrence had fallen into a coma. "He was in very critical and unstable condition when he arrived," a hospital spokesperson said. After three days, Lawrence emerged from his coma, and wound up making a full recovery.
Interviewed by ABC News in 2002, Lawrence admitted that the experience served as a life-changing wakeup call. "I felt like, in the coma, God laid me down and woke me up to be able to see a lot more clearer, and it's humbled me a great deal, you know?" Lawrence said. Years later, during an appearance on "Conan," Lawrence jokingly offered some advice to viewers. "So please, I recommend: do not run in a plastic suit," he said. "I picked the hottest day of the summer, and next thing I know I was sleeping on the ground."
A TV comeback with Kelsey Grammar fell flat
The big-screen success that Martin Lawrence experienced in the 1990s and 2000s began to fizzle out in the 2010s. In search of a project that would land him back on top, he latched onto a television project that would partner him with "Frasier" alum Kelsey Grammer. Grammer and Lawrence were set to play lawyers of very different temperaments who butt heads when they wind up working together. According to a 2013 report in The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate TV Group president described the multi-camera comedy as having a vibe similar to "The Odd Couple," or Richard Pryor teaming with Gene Wilder in the film "Silver Streak."
The series was ultimately picked up by FX, under an unusual deal in which 10 episodes would be produced and aired. If the episodes surpassed an agreed-upon ratings threshold, that would trigger the production of 90 more episodes — bringing the total to 100, which would provide enough episodes to sell the show into syndication, where the real money would be made.
That series, called "Partners," made its debut in 2014. Ratings for the premiere, noted Variety were solid but not spectacular. Subsequent episodes fared far worse, with Deadline reporting that viewership numbers dropped precipitously, becoming lower by the week. At the end of those 10 episodes, the threshold wasn't met, and "Partners" bit the dust.
His daughter began dating Eddie Murphy's son
Back in 1992, Martin Lawrence was cast in a supporting role in Eddie Murphy's comedy "Boomerang." When they re-teamed in 1999, Lawrence shared top billing with Murphy for the 1999 film "Life." More than two decades later, Lawrence's association with Murphy wound up extending beyond being co-stars when, in June 2021, Murphy's son, Eric, shared a photo on Instagram in which he's seen posing with Lawrence's daughter, Jasmin. "Head over heels in LOVE with YOU," he wrote in the caption. The two continued to appear together on social media, and in early 2022 she told InTouch Weekly that they met through her uncle, not their famous fathers.
During a 2022 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," Lawrence confirmed the two were still dating, but insisted he and Murphy hadn't discussed the matter. "We haven't talked about it," Lawrence said. "We kind of just stay out of their business and let them do their own thing, and respect their thing." Lawrence was also hopeful that Murphy would foot the bill. "I'm gonna try to get Eddie to pay for it," he joked.
Murphy, however, was not down with that. Speaking with Canada's Etalk, he insisted that if their kids ever did walk down the aisle, Lawrence had better get out his checkbook. "If it goes down, Martin is paying — and the wedding better be wonderful," he said with his trademark laugh.
He still hasn't conquered his stage fright
When Martin Lawrence first began performing standup, his comedy debut didn't exactly bode well for a successful future. "The first time I ever got on, I bombed bad! And I thought I would never get on stage again," he recalled in an interview with Variety. While crashing and burning onstage could easily have crushed his dreams, Lawrence demonstrated the tenacity that would propel him to stardom. "But I knew I was better than that," he explained. Rather than set aside his dream, Lawrence instead became a student of comedy, immersing himself in the routines of his standup idols; when he built up the courage to return onstage, this time he was ready.
Despite the hours and hours he's spent in front of audiences over the years since then, stage fright has been a constant companion. In a 2016, while speaking with Esquire about returning to standup for his first special in 14 years, he admitted he still gets anxious prior to stepping onstage. "Before every show I'm nervous," Lawrence said, but explained that anxiety now serves to sharpen him. "But that's alright because they're good nerves," he added. "They keep me focused and they keep me in line to do what I gotta do." Added Lawrence: "I take my nerves and I bottle it up and I channel that energy and I go up there and do what I'm supposed to do."
He cemented his status with a star on the Walk of Fame
In 2023, more than 30 years since he burst on the comedy scene, Martin Lawrence received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
On hand at the ceremony were former co-stars Tichina Arnold, who was a series regular on "Martin," and Lynn Whitfield, Lawrence's co-star in the 1996 film "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate." Also attending to pay tribute were two of his contemporaries from the world of comedy, Steve Harvey and Tracy Morgan. The latter honored Lawrence in a speech, praising his influence on the generations of comedians who followed the trail he'd blazed. "In my generation, when you say Martin, you don't have to say his last name," Morgan said, as reported by ABC 7 Eyewitness News. "Everybody knows who you talking about. My parents had Red Foxx and 'Sanford and Son,' we had Martin Lawrence and the 'Martin' show."
After the ceremony, Lawrence admitted the whole thing had been hugely emotional for him. "I've been crying all week so I figured if I had my glasses on today, maybe y'all won't see the tears," he joked, referring to the dark sunglasses he was wearing. "But they're most definitely tears of joy."