Allen Payne

Allen Payne is an American actor born in Harlem and schooled in Pennsauken, New Jersey. He began on television with a 1990 episode of The Cosby Show, then played Lance Rodman, Charmaine's boyfriend, for two seasons. He went on to guest spots on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Malcolm & Eddie. Payne is best known for playing Jason Alexander in the 1994 drama Jason's Lyric and for his part as C.J. Payne in Tyler Perry's family sitcom House of Payne, which he joined in 2006, stayed through 2012, and returned to in 2020. He also appeared in New Jack City (1991) as Gee Money, CB4 (1993) as Dead Mike, Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) as Detective Justice, and The Perfect Storm (2000). In 2018 he reprised his House of Payne character on the spinoff The Paynes, and in 2022 he played Gee Money again in the stage version New Jack City: Live on Stage.