Date of Birth: July 15, 1968

When Richard Pryor is your idol, it's bound to get you wondering about living a comedian's life. Griffin grew up in Kansas City, where he took a cousin's dare and performed a comedy routine at a local club. His quick-fire impersonations and improvisations made him a hit.

Catching the stand-up comedy bug, Griffin soon left for Los Angeles where his in-your-face humor quickly earned him the reputation as heir to such comedians as Redd Foxx and Lenny Bruce.

Griffin's notorious performances at the famed Comedy Store led to featured appearances on the HBO special Voodoo Child, One Night Stand, and Def Comedy Jam.

He made his big screen debut (although uncredited) in the film The Five Heartbeats (1991) and played several more small parts in films before landing a regular role on the TV sitcom Malcolm & Eddie in 1996. Hollywood began to take notice, and Griffin started landing larger roles in features such as The Mod Squad (1999), The New Guy (2002) and Undercover Brother (2002). Having released one comedy album, Griffin formed his own independent record label, Bluelight Records. An accomplished musician, Griffin is also a member of the R&B funk band, Eclectic Divinity. He is married to second wife, Rochelle and has a son, Eddie Griffen Jr., with his first wife, Carla.

FILMOGRAPHY

Redline (2007)
Norbit (2007)
Date Movie (2006)
Irish Jam (2006)
Who Made the Potato Salad? (2006)
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
Blast! (2004)
My Baby's Daddy (2004)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
Undercover Brother (2002)
The New Guy (2002)
John Q (2002)
Double Take (2001)
All Jokes Aside (2000)
Picking Up the Pieces (2000)
Franky Goes to Hollywood (1999)
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
Foolish (1999)
The Mod Squad (1999)
Picking up the Pieces (1999)
Armageddon (1998)
The Walking Dead (1995)
Jason's Lyric (1994)
The Legend of Dolemite (1994)
Coneheads (1993)
The Meteor Man (1993)
Brain Donors (1992)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
The Five Heartbeats (1991) (uncredited)