In Living Color - article about In Living Color

Sure, he did his time, paid his dues in twelve bit parts in films before 1990, but do you know where Jim Carrey got his first break—playing multiple characters in sketches he helped craft? You now probably have seen Jamie Foxx in Ray, and maybe even know that for his role as Ray Charles he won the Best Actor Oscar, a BAFTA, a Black Reel Award, a BSFC, a BFCA, a FFCC, a KCFCC, an Image Award, a Golden Globe, and numerous other awards…but do you know where Foxx also got his first (or biggest) break?

With the Fly Girls be-bopping and break dancing and modern dance combos opening, closing, and ushering in the different skits, with regular guests such as Flava Flav and Heavy D appearing, this show would break new comedic ground. The brainchild of eldest Wayans brother Keenan Ivory, the show premiered on April 15, 1990, and ran a healthy course to May of 1994. For four years, followers of the show (myself included) would anxiously await the appearance of the intro music and the Fly Girls (who were the best ensemble dancers on TV in those years)…and would gleefully enjoy the bumblings and self-destruction of the psychotic Fire Marshall Bill (Jim Carrey); the affectations of Ugly Wanda (Jamie Foxx), who chased equally talented Tommy Davidson (in his little undies) around trying to tongue him; and the campy (gay) acts of the Men on Film boys (Damon Wayans and David Allen Greer) giving classic snaps and making other unique gestures in response to films they “reviewed”.

“In Living Color” was a must-see then and is now a must-find-and-see…if you can. Absolutely hysterical.

Many other stars as we know them to be today also made their marks on the entertainment world via the show. Besides being featured in Eddie Murphy’s 1987 Raw, Keenan Ivory Wayans made his performing debut on In Living Color. After doing stints in a number of films and on numerous TV shows (including SNL), the now superstar funnyman Damon Wayans (along with siblings Kim, Shawn, and Marlon, too) got his best early exposure on “In Living Color” (where he acted the part of Homey the Clown, who is now the theme and central character in a movie by the same name). And David Alan Grier, the brilliant comic who had done various TV series, shows, and movies, was also made a household image and name with his prime-time antics on the show. So if you have never seen “In Living Color,” but have seen the stars in their current greatness, go back in time, open that time capsule (buy the show series on DVD or try to catch it on F/X), and laugh for hours and hours.

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