# Damon Wayans
**Damon Kyle Wayans Sr.** (born 1960 in Harlem, New York City) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer, and a member of the [Wayans family](https://www.edgepedia.org/wayans-family) of entertainers.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans) His breakthrough came as a writer and performer on the Fox sketch comedy series *In Living Color* from 1990 to 1992, and he later starred in the sitcom *My Wife and Kids* and as Roger Murtaugh in the Fox television series *[Lethal Weapon](https://www.edgepedia.org/lethal-weapon-tv-series)* from 2016 to 2019.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960, Harlem, New York City; third of ten children of Elvira Alethia (Green), a social worker and singer, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001834/) |
| Early career | Began performing stand-up in 1982 touring the comedy club circuit; joined NBC's *Saturday Night Live* as a featured player[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) |
| Breakthrough | Writer and performer on Fox's *In Living Color* (1990–1992), creating characters including Homey the Clown, Handiman, and Blaine of "Men on Film"[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans) • [3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) |
| Emmy nominations | Four for *In Living Color*: writing in a variety or music program (1990, 1991, 1992) and individual performance in a variety or music program (1991)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans) |
| Sitcom success | Co-created, executive produced, and starred in ABC's *My Wife and Kids*, which wrapped five seasons in 2005 and won 2002 People's Choice Awards for Favorite New Television Comedy Series and Favorite Male Performer[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) |
| Later television | Starred as Roger Murtaugh in the Fox series *Lethal Weapon* (2016–2019) and in the CBS sitcom *Poppa's House* with his son Damon Wayans Jr.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/b8de6b168f1fdcbb9e383c7ed2e2985a) |
## Early life and stand-up beginnings
Wayans grew up in the Fulton Housing Projects in New York City and began developing comedic characters as a child.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001834/) His introduction to the entertainment business came through suggesting jokes for the stand-up routines of his older brother [Keenen Ivory Wayans](https://www.edgepedia.org/keenen-ivory-wayans).[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/wayans-damon-1960) He started performing stand-up himself in 1982, touring comedy clubs including [The Improv](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-improv) in New York and Los Angeles.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about)
In 1985 he joined the cast of NBC's *Saturday Night Live* as a featured player.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) His tenure there ended during his first season; Time magazine later described him as one of several comedians, along with [Jenny Slate](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-slate), whose stints on the show ended before their debut seasons concluded, before launching careers elsewhere.[6](https://time.com/6760234/shane-gillis-saturday-night-live-host/)
## In Living Color
Keenen Ivory Wayans created *In Living Color*, which premiered in 1990, and built the performer-driven show around his brother Damon.[7](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/in-living-color-televisions-boldest-bet/686500/) The show's cast was made up almost entirely of people of color, with Keenen supported by four of his brothers; the ensemble also included [Jim Carrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-carrey), Tommy Davidson, David Alan Grier, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, and [Kim Coles](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-coles), with [Jennifer Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-lopez) dancing as one of the Fly Girls.[7](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/in-living-color-televisions-boldest-bet/686500/)
Wayans created and performed a gallery of sketch characters that became closely associated with the series: Homey the Clown, a militant clown who beat unsuspecting children with a weighted sock; Anton, a disheveled street person; Blaine Edwards, a flamboyant gay film critic on the "Men on Film" segment; and Oswald Bates, a verbose convict.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-09-ol-40439-story.html) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-25-ca-8004-story.html) His work on the show earned him four Emmy nominations across the 1990, 1991, and 1992 seasons, two of them personal nominations for writing and one for individual performance.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans)
The show won the Emmy Award for outstanding variety, music, or comedy program in 1990, its first season.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/wayans-keenen-ivory) Wayans left after the 1992 season to pursue a film career.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-09-ol-40439-story.html)
## Film career
Wayans's film work spans comedy and drama. His credits include a role in *Beverly Hills Cop* (1984) before his television career took off, and starring roles in *[The Last Boy Scout](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-last-boy-scout)* (1991), *Mo' Money* (1992), which he also wrote and executive produced, *Blankman* (1994), *[Major Payne](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-payne)* (1995), *Celtic Pride* (1996), *The Great White Hype* (1996), and *[Bulletproof](https://www.edgepedia.org/bulletproof-1996-film)* (1996).[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) His film appearances in the early 1990s, including *The Last Boy Scout*, *Mo' Money*, and *Blankman*, were described by the Los Angeles Times as having fared poorly at the box office.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-09-ol-40439-story.html)
He took on a rare dramatic role as the television producer Pierre Delacroix in [Spike Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-lee)'s *Bamboozled* (2000), a satire in which his character creates a prime-time minstrel show with tragic results; the film was critically acclaimed.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-25-ca-8004-story.html) He also starred in and executive produced the independent film *Harlem Aria*.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about)
## Television after In Living Color
Wayans returned to series television repeatedly after leaving *In Living Color*. He starred in and executive produced the half-hour Fox sitcom *Damon* (1998), which featured his *In Living Color* colleague [David Alan Grier](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-alan-grier); the show struggled to find an audience.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) • [5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/wayans-damon-1960) He served as an executive producer on *Waynehead*, a Saturday-morning animated cartoon on the WB that featured the voices of his siblings Kim, Marlon, and Shawn Wayans, and on the hour-long drama *413 Hope Street*, which received a People's Choice Award nomination.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about)
In 2000 he began starring as Michael Kyle in the ABC sitcom *My Wife and Kids*, which he co-created and executive produced; the series ran five seasons, ending in 2005, and won two [People's Choice Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/peoples-choice-awards) in 2002.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) In 2006 he created, executive produced, and starred in the sketch show *The Underground*, and in 2008 he announced WayOutTV, an internet venture he described as "In Living Color 2.0", where viewers could share, rate, and comment on sketches.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) From 2016 to 2019 he played Roger Murtaugh in the Fox television adaptation of the *Lethal Weapon* film franchise.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans) He next starred opposite his son [Damon Wayans Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/damon-wayans-jr) in the CBS sitcom *Poppa's House*, in which Wayans family members also contributed as writers.[4](https://apnews.com/article/b8de6b168f1fdcbb9e383c7ed2e2985a)
## Stand-up and writing
Wayans has headlined several HBO comedy specials, including *One Night Stand*, *The Last Stand*, and *Still Standing*.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) After leaving *In Living Color* in 1992 he had stepped back from stand-up for nearly four years, returning to club dates in the mid-1990s.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-09-ol-40439-story.html) In 1999 he published *Bootleg*, a humorous book of observations on family, children, marriage, and politics, which reached the New York Times bestseller list.[3](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about) He announced in 2015 that he would retire from stand-up, though he continued to make occasional appearances.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/damon-wayans/)
## The Wayans family
Wayans is part of a large family of entertainers that includes his siblings Keenen Ivory, Kim, Shawn, Marlon, and others, described by the Associated Press as a clan comparable to the Barrymores of comedy.[4](https://apnews.com/article/b8de6b168f1fdcbb9e383c7ed2e2985a) The family's collective credits include *In Living Color*, *White Chicks*, and *Bamboozled*, and the Wayans family was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.[12](https://apnews.com/article/7318affa7eed3f49467a3b6e8f50e08a)
## References
1. [Damon Wayans, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/damon-wayans)
2. [Damon Wayans, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001834/)
3. [About, Damon Wayans official site](https://www.damonkwayans.com/about)
4. [Father-and-son team Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. explore generations in 'Poppa's House', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b8de6b168f1fdcbb9e383c7ed2e2985a)
5. [Wayans, Damon 1960-, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/wayans-damon-1960)
6. [SNL's Shane Gillis Flip-Flop Comes as No Surprise, Time](https://time.com/6760234/shane-gillis-saturday-night-live-host/)
7. [The In Living Color Effect, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/in-living-color-televisions-boldest-bet/686500/)
8. [COMEDY: WAYANS AND MEANS, Los Angeles Times (1995)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-09-ol-40439-story.html)
9. [A Cosby for Our Time?, Los Angeles Times (2001)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-25-ca-8004-story.html)
10. [Wayans, Keenen Ivory, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/wayans-keenen-ivory)
11. [Damon Wayans, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/damon-wayans/)
12. [The Wayans family to be inducted into the NAACP Awards' Hall of Fame, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/7318affa7eed3f49467a3b6e8f50e08a)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1960–1969*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license