Showtime: Damon Wayans will appear at the Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St. in Center City, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
According to funnyman Damon Wayans, raised in New York with five sisters and four brothers, going into show business was almost inevitable.
“My father was very strict and we had a very early curfew. The rules were that everyone had to be in the house by 6 p.m., including weekends, but that never stopped us from having fun. We learned to amuse each other with little skits, comedy and so on,” said Wayans, set to appear at the Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St. in Center City, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, two shows each night.
And that forced interaction obviously paid off for each and every one of the Wayans siblings.
Today, for example, Damon Wayans is known throughout the world for his no-holds-barred comedy. Wrapping up hit TV series like My Wife and Kids, and many other projects, he’s probably best remembered as co-writer and co-star of the Emmy Award-winning series In Living Color.
That show made Wayans a huge star, along with then-unknowns like Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez.
“None of us ever thought the show would be such a hit,” said Wayans. “In fact, it was on the air from 1990 to 1994, although I left in ’92, but it’s still seen in reruns 25 years later. It’s great to think we’ve been affecting people for so long.”
Although Wayans obviously had the comic gene, his rise to success was not an easy one. Born with a club foot and ostracized by other children, it was humor that became a strong part of helping him overcome his painful childhood.
Eventually dropping out of high school, he worked a variety of menial jobs until deciding to follow his older brother Keenan to Hollywood to seek comedy fame and fortune. And it worked.
“I toured the national comedy club circuit, had a brief stint on Saturday Night Live and even got some bit parts in films that showcased Hollywood’s top comedians,” explained Wayans, now 54.
Aside from acting and stand-up, Wayans is an author His first book, Bootleg, is a humorous collection of his own observations about family, children, marriage and divorce, observations he continues to share during his standup routine.
In 2011, he wrote Red Hat, a novel that is the story of a 65-year-old woman who finds friendship and happiness when she joins the Red Hat Society.
“I wrote the book as a love letter to my mom, whose mission in life was always to have fun,” he said.
Wayans never stops looking for ways to challenge himself. The ever-evolving Wayans is now a smartphone app developer of new mobile phone apps, Flick DAT & Diddeo.
His other app, Vhedz, is an easy way for users to create up to 15 seconds video inside of a small TV screen attached to a poseable stick figure.
“I think standup will always be my favorite way of reaching people, but everything else I do runs a close second,” he concluded. ••
Tickets for Wayans’ performances are available online only. Go to heliumcomedy.com
