Keenen Ivory Wayans
Biography
Keenen Ivory Wayans is a comedian, actor, writer and director who comes from the Wayans family of entertainers and was born in Harlem, New York City, growing up mostly in Manhattan's Fulton housing projects. He met Robert Townsend at The Improv, moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and took early television roles before cowriting and costarring in Hollywood Shuffle (1987). The success of that film helped him raise money for I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988). He created, wrote and starred in the Fox sketch series In Living Color, which ran from 1990 to 1994, and he hosted The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show from 1997 to 1998. He directed Scary Movie (2000), which at the time was the highest-grossing film by an African American director, a mark later beaten by Tim Story's Fantastic Four in 2005. In 2014, he was a judge on Last Comic Standing.
68years old
Turns 69 on June 8in 237 days
- Born New York City
- Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
- Also credited as Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans Sr. and Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans
Movie Career
- Films
- 9
- Career span
- 33 years1983 to 2016
First and latest
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A first
Keenen Ivory Wayans directed Scary Movie in 2000, and it stood as the highest-grossing film directed by an African American until Tim Story's Fantastic Four passed it in 2005.
Big break
Wayans met Robert Townsend during his first set at The Improv in New York, and Townsend helped him learn the comedy business before they drove to Los Angeles together in 1980.
Early training
Wayans attended Tuskegee University on an engineering scholarship and entertained friends there with made-up stories about New York, then dropped out one semester before graduating to focus on comedy.
Big break
Wayans was costar and cowriter of the 1987 movie Hollywood Shuffle, which Townsend wrote, directed, and starred in. Its success let Wayans raise the money to make I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.
Keenen Ivory Wayans movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood1996as Mailman
IMDb rating 6.668K votes
Most often with
Kim Wayans appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Kim Wayans's page
Eric Roberts's page
Chris Rock's page
David Alan Grier's page
Marlon Wayans's page
Faizon Love's page
Also two films together7 more actors
- Steve JamesI'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
- Damon WayansI'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
- Anne-Marie JohnsonI'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
- Helen MartinDon't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) and Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
- Chris SpencerDon't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) and A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994)
- Shawn WayansDance Flick (2009) and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
- Marc FigueroaI'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Keenen Ivory Wayans's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$139 million
8 of the 9 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 9 films: 8 worldwide figure; 1 figure not found.
- 8Worldwide figure
- 1Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$31M22.7% of the total
- 2$29M21.2% of the total
- 3$21M15.1% of the total
- 4$20M14.7% of the total
- 5$13M9.4% of the total
- 6$12M8.5% of the total
- 7$6.5M4.7% of the total
- 8$5.2M3.8% of the total
Awards
One award and honor, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 1990 | Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.