Keenen Ivory Wayans was born on June 8, 1958 in New York City. He is a part of the Wayans family of entertainers, fulfilling the role of comedic actor, writer, and filmmaker. In 2001, Wayans married Daphne Polk. During their marriage, they had five children, then got a separation in 2004. Through the use of an engineering scholarship, Wayans attended Tuskegee University. It was one semester before his graduation that he decided to drop out of college and pursue a career in comedy. Soon thereafter, he met Robert Townsend, who aided him in learning what he needed about the comedy business. After moving to LA in 1980, Wayans found acting work on the television series For Love and Honor. Later, Wayans worked as the co-star and co-writer on the film Hollywood Shuffle, which Townsend had written, directed, and starred in. It was through the success of this film that Wayans was able to earn the money to make his film I’m Gonna Git You Sucka in 1987.
Arguably Wayans’ highest regarded project was the sketch comedy show In Living Color, which he created, wrote, and starred in with the help of his brother Damon. Airing on the Fox Network, the show ran from 1990 to 1994 and acted as a jumping off point for many of today’s well known stars such as Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, and Jennifer Lopez. The show also became a showcase for the Wayans family as Keenen’s siblings Damon, Shawn, Marlon, and Kim all had prominent roles. Although the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1990, Keenen ended up leaving the show in 1992 due to creative issues and contractual arguments with the network. The remainder of the Wayans who were involved with the show ended up leaving as well by the end of the next season. The show which had begun as a popular display of great African American comedy ended up in its final season with a regular cast with nearly half of its members being white performers.
Keenen attempted to bounce back in 1997 with his talk show The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. However, the show was not received well and was cancelled before the years end. During this time he was also involved with movies such as A Low Down Dirty Shame, The Glimmer Man, and Most Wanted. Unfortunately, none of these films were well received either, and Wayans quickly faded into obscurity. But with the help of his brothers Shawn and Marlon, Keenen made a comeback in 2000 with his horror spoof comedy film, Scary Movie. This film was very popular among the general public, and its success propelled Wayans to become the highest grossing African American director up to that point in time. The film’s success also spawned a slew of sequels, among which Keenen only directed the immediate sequel, Scary Movie 2. He continued to make work incorporating his family, directing his brothers Shawn and Marlon in his 2004 feature White Chicks, and again in 2006 with Littleman.
Keenen has recently settled down from filmmaking, his last two involvements being small appearances on the shows Happily Divorced and Real Husbands of Hollywood, both in 2013. Meanwhile it is his brother Marlon who continues to make African American centered spoof films, writing and starring in the critically panned, but commercially successful A Haunted House and A Haunted House 2. Marlon also recently released the similar Fifty Shades of Black, which is currently performing less successfully that his previous two films. But his career can still be regarded as successful, and it’s all thanks to his brother Keenen who provided him that launching off point. Keenen Ivory Wayans succeeded in many things over his career; from popularizing African American led comedies, to providing a kick start for many comedic actors along the way.
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