David Alan Grier Biography
David Alan Grier is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living color, as Bernard on Damon (1998), as David Bellows on Life with Bonnie (2002-2004), as Joe Carmichael on The Carmichael show (2015-2017), as Hal on A series of Unfortunate Events (2018), and for his movie roles such as Roger in streamers (1983), Carl Bentley in Jumanji (1995), and Jim Fields in Bewitched (2005).
How old is David Alan Grier? – Age
The American actor is 64 years old as of 30th June 2020. He was born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
Who are David Alan Grier Parents? – Father and mother
The American actor was born as the son of mother Aretas Ruth, a school teacher, and father William Henry Grier, a psychiatrist and writer who co-wrote the book Black Page.
David Alan Grier Education
The actor graduated from Detroit’s magnet high school, Cass Tech, and received a B.A. in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Michigan, and an M.F.A. from the Yale school of Drama in 1981.
Is David Alan Grier in a Relationship? – Spouse
No, the American actor is currently single. He was once married to Maritza Rivera and divorced in 1997. In July 2007, he married Christine Y. Kim, an associate curator of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The pair were madly in love but things never ended well. On July 9, 2009, the actor filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
David Alan Grier Children
The American actor has a child with his second ex-wife, Christine Y. Kim. His ex-wife gave birth to their daughter, Luisa Danbi Grier-Kim on January 10, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles.
David Alan Grier Career
The American actor landed the role of Jackie Robinson in the short-lived Broadway musical The First, directed by Martin Charnin and written by Joel Siegel immediately after graduating from Yale. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award for The First.
He later starred as James “Thunder” Early in the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls. The actor made his film debut in 1983 in streamers. He won the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the film. He also appeared as a geology professor at Hillman College in the show A Different World where he was a crush of several of the girls on the show including lead character Denise Huxtable played by actress Lisa Bonet.
The actor began to shift towards comedy, making memorable appearances in the cult films Amazon Women on the Moon and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. Keenen Ivory Wayans, the director of Sucka, cast Grier in his new Variety show In Living color. It became a ratings hit and won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series. Grier became a popular cast member through his characters.
After his success on In Living Color, the actor began appearing in comedies such as Boomerang, Blackman, In the Army Now along with Pauly Shore and Andy Dick, and as a policeman whose car is memorably crushed and eaten by a giant pod in Jumanji . He also played Rev. Leon Lonnie Love on the TV series Martin.
The actor had a cameo in the Robert De Niro and Edward Burns movie 15 minutes (2001) as a Central Park mugger. In 2002, he joined the cast of the improv-based ABC sitcom and Bonnie Hunt vehicle Life with Bonnie which ran only two seasons. He starred in his own Comedy Central stand-up special The Book of David: The Cult Figure’s Manifesto. Grier was the host of the NBC show Thank God You’re Here.
In October 2008, the actor hosted Chocolate News, a Comedy Central spoof of a TV news magazine show. He appeared as Sugar Bear in the 2009 movie Dance Flick. He guest-starred in season 6 of FOX’s Bones. In May 2013, he also appeared in Tyler Perry presents peeples, playing the role of Virgil Peeples, alongside Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson.
The actor appeared on the CBS TV-adaptation of Bad Teacher, playing the role of principal Carl Gaines. He played the cowardly Lion in NBC’s live performance of The Wiz, which aired on December 3, 2015. In 1998, he co-starred with Jon Stewart in Elmopalooza, as the director of Jon’s production crew, who he often chastises at Elmo and Telly after realizing what happened to the rest of the cast.
In 2008, the actor starred in the comedy central series Chocolate News which had satirical sketches about current events and news stories. He appears as Jimmy Dale in the series Queen sugar appearing in Season 3.
The actor began doing stand-up comedy and began hosting the comedy central series premium Blend. He was ranked no. 94 on Comedy Central’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. He made an appearance on the Dave, Shelley, and Chainsaw (DSC) Show (San Diego Jack 100.7 FM) on October 5, 2012 before performances at The Madhouse Comedy Club. He mentioned the “other” David Alan Grier and the “Farrakhan – The Musical” stories.
He returned to Broadway to perform in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum. He received his second Tony Award nomination for his role. He also appeared in the revival production of The Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse directed by Des McAnuff.
The actor appeared on Broadway as Sportin’ Life in the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on January 12, 2012, alongside Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for this role.
In January 2020, the actor returned to the stage for the Broadway production of A Soldier’s play, this time playing Tech Sergeant Vernon C. Waters, the role originated by Adolph Caesar in the off-Broadway production.
David Alan Grier Net worth
The American actor has an estimated net worth of around $4 million as of 2021.