Tracy Morgan joined the cast of the legendary television sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1996 and spent the next seven years there. In 2003, Morgan left SNL to headline his own show, The Tracy Morgan Show, but it didn't gain a following and ran for only one season. Morgan then found his niche in television in 2006 on the hit show "30 Rock," a sitcom created by fellow SNL co-star Tina Fey.
Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan grew up in a dysfunctional family. Morgan's older brother, Jimmy Morgan, Jr., was born with cerebral palsy, and his father, Jimmy Morgan, Sr., was a musician and soldier who served multiple tours in Vietnam. Jimmy, Sr. began using heroin while in the military, returning home from the war in 1974 with both a serious drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. After living with his mother for most of his childhood, he moved in with his dad, who had overcome his addiction but had contracted AIDS as a result of using dirty hypodermic needles in his earlier life as an addict. Jimmy died of AIDS in November 1987.
Morgan soon found success as a stand-up comedian, making his breakthrough at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater. He soon was cast to play a supporting character named Hustle Man in Martin Lawrence's sitcom "Martin." Morgan was a regular on the show from 1994-96.
In 1996, Morgan made a major leap forward in his career, joining the cast of the legendary television sketch-comedy show, Saturday Night Live. He spent the next seven years on the show. Instead of leaning toward writing for the show, Morgan shifted all his energies to performance. He found, though, that the writers didn't know how to write good parts for an African-American man. He therefore found his time on SNL to be a challenging experiment in bridging the gaps between his own experiences and those of his coworkers and the audience.
In 2003, Morgan left SNL to headline his own show on NBC, a sitcom called The Tracy Morgan Show. During and after his Saturday Night Live years, though, Morgan landed significant roles in a handful of feature films. In 2010, Morgan appeared in both "Death at a Funeral" and the Bruce Willis police flick, "Cop Out."
Morgan found his niche in television in 2006 on the hit show "30 Rock." His character was written specifically for Morgan named Tracy Jordan, the star of a fictional sketch comedy show. The character is loosely based on Morgan himself; many of Morgan's own eccentricities and tribulations, including the ankle bracelet he was ordered to wear after a DUI arrest, appear on screen. Morgan was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2009 for his work.
Morgan was diagnosed with diabetes in the 1990s. Despite an attempt at living a healthier lifestyle, Morgan had to undergo a kidney transplant in 2010.
Morgan published a memoir, "I Am the New Black." In it, he describes his rough childhood and how he developed his sense of humor.
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Tracy Morgan Biography
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