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Revision as of 22:56, 30 October 2009

Tyler Perry
Born
Emmitt R. Perry, Jr.
Occupation(s)Actor, Screenwriter, Theatre director, Film director, Television director, Playwright, Film producer, Television producer
Years active1999–present
Websitehttp://www.tylerperry.com/_Home/

Tyler Perry (born September 14, 1969) is an American actor, director, producer, and author.[1] As of July 2009, Tyler Perry's films have grossed just under $400 million worldwide, not including his plays.[2]

Personal life

Tyler Perry was born Emmitt R. Perry, Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana (he now lives in Atlanta, Georgia).[3] His father, Emmitt, Sr., was a carpenter and construction worker, and his mother, Maxine, was a pre-school teacher who worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center for most of her life.[4][5] The younger Perry changed his first name to Tyler because of his troubled relationship with his father. Tyler Perry has said that his father was physically and verbally abusive to him during his childhood, and that this contributed to his attempting suicide as a teenager.[6][7] A 2004 New York Times article referred to Perry's relationship with his father as "now mended".[6] However, in a 2009 interview, Perry expressed disdain for his father and spoke in the present tense of his father being abusive to his mother.[8]

Perry dropped out of school when he was 16, but later went back to obtain his GED. He is good friends with Oprah Winfrey, rapper/actor Will Smith and Bishop T.D. Jakes.[9] In 2008 Perry earned around $75 million, placing him just outside the top five highest paid men in Hollywood, which includes the likes of Dr. Phil and George Lucas.[10]

Plays

Perry has written and toured with eleven stage plays:

Some of Perry's plays have been adapted into films, usually with different actors. The stage plays feature more singing than the movies and are sometimes classed as musicals. Except for "I Know I've Been Changed," they are all available on DVDs in their own right.

Television and movies

Perry has full ownership of his movies, and places his name in front of all titles in which he is involved; Lionsgate Entertainment serves as his distributor.[11]

His first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, produced on a budget of $5.5 million, became an unexpected commercial success prompting widespread discussion among industry watchers about whether middle-class African-Americans were simply not being addressed by mainstream Hollywood movies. Its final gross box office receipts were $50.6 million, although it was critically panned scoring only 16 percent approval rating on the website, Rotten Tomatoes.[12] On its opening weekend, February 24, 2006, Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at #1 with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million and, like Diary, almost all of it in the United States. The film was jump-started by an hour-long appearance by Perry and his co-stars on the influential Oprah Winfrey show.[13]

His next project for Lions Gate, Daddy's Little Girls, starring Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million.[14] Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next movie, Why Did I Get Married?, which was released on October 12, 2007. It opened #1, grossing $21.4 million at the box office that weekend. It is loosely based on his play of the same name. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia, Vancouver, then Atlanta, where Perry opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott and Tasha Smith appear in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, which was released on March 21, opened at #2 with a $20,082,809 weekend gross.[15] The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over $37.1 million.

Madea Goes to Jail opened #1 on February 20, 2009, grossing $41 million and becoming his largest opening to date. This was Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate Entertainment. At the request of director J. J. Abrams,[16] Perry had a cameo appearance in the movie Star Trek, which opened on May 8, 2009. This was his first movie appearance outside of his own projects. Perry next wrote, directed, and starred in I Can Do Bad All By Myself, a film structured around his Madea character.[17] Perry has also teamed with Oprah Winfrey to present Precious, a movie based on the novel Push by Sapphire.[18]

Tyler Perry Studios

Tyler Perry Studios had its grand opening on October 4, 2008. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the studio occupies two former airline-affiliated buildings and includes 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of sets and office space. The opening was attended by Sidney Poitier, Will Smith, Cicely Tyson, Oprah Winfrey and Hank Aaron among others.[19] Through 34th Street Films, a production arm of Tyler Perry Studios, Perry will guide the work of other filmmakers.[20]

Television

Perry produces a television show entitled Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which follows an African-American household with three generations of family in it. The show seeks to illustrate struggles with faith and love, as well as showing how to coexist with the generation gap. The show ran briefly in spring of 2006 as a 10-show pilot. After a successful pilot run, Perry signed a $200 million, 100-episode deal with TBS. On June 6, 2007, the first two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne ran on TBS. After receiving high ratings, House of Payne entered syndication. Reruns were played through December 2007 before the second season began. The third season began on March 5, 2008 and the fourth season on June 4, 2008. House of Payne now airs on The CW and has aired 100 episodes.

The Writers Guild of America, West has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that House of Payne unlawfully fired four writers in October 2008 in retaliation for trying to get a union contract with Tyler Perry’s production company, House of Payne, LLC..[21]

Meet The Browns, another sitcom that is written, directed, and produced by Perry, premiered on TBS on January 7, 2009.

Perry has stated that he may produce another series titled "Floyd's Family."

In early 2009, Perry threatened legal action against Mo' Money Taxes, a tax preparation company based in Memphis, for running a TV spot that he felt offensively parodied his work, in particular Madea Goes to Jail. The ad features a large Caucasian male (John Cowan) in drag, named "Ma'Madea". The offending ad was dropped from circulation.

Books

Perry's first novel, Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, hit bookstores April 11, 2006. The book sold more than 25,000 copies.[22] The hardcover hit #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed on the list for 12 weeks. It was voted the "Book of the Year" and "Best Humor Book" at the 2006 Quill Awards. He is also working on a book about his troubled childhood.

Stylistic trademarks

Perry always uses possessory credit in his works' titles (e.g., Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?). Several recurring narrative themes surface in Perry's work and they feature a predominantly African-American cast.

The recurring character of Mabel "Madea" Simmons surfaces in many of Perry's work. Perry portrays Madea by cross-dressing[23] in his plays and films. Perry based Madea on an aunt who lives in Georgia, as well as his mother, according to Perry himself. In Madea's appearances, she dispenses wisdom in a "no-nonsense manner", and is usually involved in physical comedy and/or a sight gag. The nickname "Madea" comes from a Southern African-American contraction of the words "mother dear", which is commonly used as a term of affection. It is also used as a reference to a great-grandmother.

Tyler often references Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, which he notes as one of his favorite movies. Perry's plays also make references to 1970s R&B and soul music, and the differences between that and the current state of rap/hip-hop music and other music popular among the black community.

Other references include singers Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, R. Kelly, Ike & Tina Turner, the movie Forrest Gump, the television sitcom Good Times, rapper Missy Elliott, and the singer Tweet.

Philanthropy

On July 20, 2009, Perry sponsored 65 children from a Philadelphia day camp to go to Walt Disney World after reading about a suburban swim club (Valley Swim Club, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania), had shunned them because of reported racism.[24] On his website, Perry wrote, "I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them."[25]

Filmography

Film roles

Year Film Credited as
Director Writer Producer Actor Role
2005 Diary of a Mad Black Woman Yes Yes Yes Madea, Joe Baker, and Brian Baker
2006 Madea's Family Reunion Yes Yes Yes Yes Madea, Brian, Joe
2007 Daddy's Little Girls Yes Yes Yes
Why Did I Get Married? Yes Yes Yes Yes Terry
2008 The Family That Preys Yes Yes Yes Yes Ben
Meet the Browns Yes Yes Yes Yes Madea, Uncle Joe
2009 Madea Goes to Jail Yes Yes Yes Yes Madea, Joe, Brian
Star Trek Yes Admiral Barnett
I Can Do Bad All by Myself Yes Yes Yes Yes Madea, Joe
2010 Why Did I Get Married Too? Yes Yes Yes Yes Terry
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf Yes Yes Yes

Television work

Year Film Credited as
Director Writer Producer Actor Role
2006 Tyler Perry's House of Payne Yes Yes Yes Yes Madea
2009 Meet the Browns (TV series) Yes Yes

Awards and nominations

  • BET Comedy Awards
    • 2005: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Film (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Winner
    • 2005: Outstanding Writing for a Film (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Winner
  • Black Movie Awards
    • 2006: Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
    • 2006: Outstanding Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
    • 2005: Outstanding Motion Picture (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated
    • 2005: Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Winner
  • Black Reel Awards
    • 2008: Outstanding Screenplay Adapted or Original (The Family That Preys), Nominated
    • 2008: Outstanding Screenplay Adapted or Original (Meet the Browns), Nominated
    • 2007: Outstanding Screenplay Adapted or Original (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
    • 2006: Outstanding Screenplay Adapted or Original (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated
    • 2006: Best Breakthrough Performance (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated
  • Image Awards
    • 2009: Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (The Family That Preys), Nominated
    • 2008: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Why Did I Get Married?), Nominated
    • 2007: Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
    • 2007: Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
  • MTV Movie Awards
    • 2006: Best Comedic Performance (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
    • 2005: Best Male Breakthrough Performance (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated

References

  1. ^ Christian, Margena A. (October 2008). "Becoming Tyler: bill collector turned billion-dollar media mogul was molded from pain, promise and persistence". Ebony. p. 4.
  2. ^ Segal, Andy (July 23, 2009). "Perry's greatest accomplishment has nothing to do with business". CNN. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  3. ^ Tyler Perry Biography - Inspired by Oprah, Perseverance Paid Off, Concentrated on Madea Character
  4. ^ Tyler Perry Discusses Tyler Perry's Daddy Little Girls Movie
  5. ^ Kloer, Phil (February 22, 2006). "Frankly, Madea, Tyler Perry's appeal is universal". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  6. ^ a b Williams, Lena (July 8, 2004). "AT HOME WITH: Tyler Perry; God Must Love Gilt". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  7. ^ Ewald, Dan. (2008, September 10). "From Misery to Mastery", Christianity Today
    "'He used his hands to pour concrete and hammer nails,' Perry told O Magazine last year. 'He also used those hands to beat me. My father — a man with a third-grade education who was orphaned at 2 and sent to work in the fields at 5 — understood only the physical. He thought he could beat the softness out of me and make me hard like him.' Instead, the abuse almost led Perry to kill himself as a teenager. He still has the scar on his left wrist as evidence of his suicide attempt."
  8. ^ (2009, September 9). "Perry to Chris Brown: Let’s talk ‘man to man’", CNN
    "'Because of my father... His mother was in an abusive relationship and my mother is too. She’s still married to the — I almost said something really awful but he is my father so I respect him.'"
  9. ^ Paper: Entertainers named in steroid report - CNN.com
  10. ^ http://www.singersroom.com/news/4143/Tyler-Perry-and-Simon-Cowell-Have-Forbes-In-Common
  11. ^ Christian, Margena A., Becoming Tyler.Ebony. Oct. 2008: 78.
  12. ^ "Diary of Mad Black Woman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  13. ^ Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
  14. ^ Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (2007)
  15. ^ Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results
  16. ^ Christian, Margena A., Becoming Tyler.Ebony. Oct. 2008: 83.
  17. ^ "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. August 21, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  18. ^ "'Precious' trailer: Mo'Nique... potential Oscar nominee?". PopWatch. Entertainment Weekly. May 13, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  19. ^ Tyler Perry Unveils Studio
  20. ^ Ty-Light Zone
  21. ^ Mitchell, Gregg (2008), Writers at Tyler Perry Studio to Take Strike Action – Will Picket Grand Opening and Ask Invited Guests Not To Attend
  22. ^ Exclusive: Tyler Perry's Madea Has Scored Again, This Time in Bookstores
  23. ^ Littleton, Darryl (2006), Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh, Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 300, ISBN 1557836809
  24. ^ Tyler Perry sending day-care children to Disney World
  25. ^ Tyler Perry website - "I am so mad" - 07/19/09
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