- Curtis Payne
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Curtis Payne First appearance "The Roof is on Fire" Information Nickname(s) "Uncle Curtis" Gender Male Occupation Firefighter Family Kelly Payne (father)
Clarence James Payne, Sr. (brother; deceased)
Clarence James "C.J." Payne, Jr. (nephew)
Rev. Fred Payne (cousin; mentioned in Til Payne Do We Part)Spouse(s) Ella Payne Children Calvin Payne (son, with Ella) Relatives Janine Payne (niece-in-law)
Miranda Payne (daughter-in-law)
Malik Payne (great-nephew)
Jazmine Payne (great-niece)
Hayden Payne (great-niece)
Jayden Payne (great-nephew)Curtis Payne is a fictional character and the protagonist of Tyler Perry's sitcom House of Payne. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Portrayed by actor LaVan Davis, (who is also notable for playing numerous other roles within various films directed by Tyler Perry) Payne is depicted in the show to be a selfish, arrogant, and often rude character who has entitled himself the "King of the Payne household." He is both the main protagonist and in the House of Payne universe Uncle to characters C.J Payne, Janine Payne, Jazmine Payne, and Malik Payne. He is father to character Calvin Payne and husband to Ella Payne. Curtis, despite his irresponsible and often immature behavior inside the Payne household, is the fire chief of the local station in the show and excels at his job. According to an episode where the FBI occupies the Payne household Curtis has a habit of shouting "What the hell?" and "Ya Heard Me" and shutting the front door of his house on unwanted visitor's faces.[1]
Contents
Fictional biography
Throughout the series Curtis has revealed small details of his past, however many descriptions of his life are given in a comical sense and may or may not be true about him. Payne reveals in a discussion where he criticizes his nephews and nieces for what he considered laziness that as a young child he built a river with his bare hands. Ella Payne (Curtis' wife) mentions when an expert is brought in to discover why Curtis and Ella are having problems engaging in intercourse that she first met Curtis in a park when he approached her with a six pack of beer. The series begins when his niece-in-law Janine smokes cocaine and burns down her and her husband C.J. (Curtis' nephew)'s house. The couple and their two children, Malik and Jazmine (his great-nephew and niece) are forced to live with Curtis and Ella, which changes Curtis's routine despite his reluctance to accept. Throughout the series, Curtis - despite his dislike of the situation his nephew is in — has shown an interest in (what he considers) properly raising the Payne children often going to great feats to discipline them, such as prosecuting his nephew Malik when he and a friend takes his uncle's new motorcycle out for a joyride.[2]
Appearances
Payne has appeared in almost every episode of the series excluding one where he and Ella go on vacation while C.J. deals with his son Malik's misbehavior. Curtis first appears in The Roof is on Fire. Payne is the most prominent and recognizable character of the series and since his popularity peaked he has been considered the shows' signature character.
Career
Payne used to work as the fire chief, which is a job he excelled at. He shows a great deal of seriousness when attempting to put out a fire and chastises Calvin for putting C.J.'s life at risk in one episode. He is believed to be responsible for C.J's job at the fire station and Calvin's former volunteer position. In the sixth season episode Where's the Payne?, Curtis was forced to retire from being fire chief by the fire department. Since then, C.J. has been his successor.
Personality
Curtis is portrayed as arrogant, ignorant, rude, selfish, and conservative towards his life style. However being the fire chief of the local fire station in the series he is able to maintain a great deal of responsibility when required, such as when C.J. gets stuck in a burning building. Curtis is reluctant to accept C.J and his family to the Payne home and as a result often makes remarks that are considered rude by C.J., Jazmine, and Malik that leave them and Janine as the butt of his jokes. Payne has declared himself the king of his house hold and often uses force to get what he wants and takes advantage of his wife's good nature, resulting in a dream where Tyler Perry's popular character Madea portrays his wife and eventually teaches him to respect Ella. He has claimed "Ella will do anything I tell her. If I tell her to go across the road and fetch the chicken not only will she do she catch him, but she'll take him home and cook him." Curtis is also often rude to his son Calvin, explaining that he is stressed by the fact he has paid Calvin's college tuition, but Calvin still rarely attends class. Acts such as that, the motorcycle incident with Malik, and C.J. borrowing Curtis and Ella's retirement money to pay for rehab Janine never attended have over time crafted Curtis' often angered personality. He has also been shown very little regard for other family members' feelings; Curtis bluntly revealed that C.J. was adopted and often slams the door on other people's (such as C.J.'s in laws) faces. He has also shown both ignorance and arrogance towards technology, often believing he can work every machine he encounters.
Relationships
Curtis' earliest relationship discussed on the show was with a friend of Ella's and occurred in high school; he, Ella, and the unknown woman all attended high school together and Curtis eventually took her to the prom. Curtis claimed he was going to "tear that ass up" (referencing sex) but Ella and what appeared to be his illegitimate son, in an episode, both revealed he fell asleep before they could do anything, resulting in ridicule by all of Ella's friends at the time. Ella and Curtis have been in a relationship for a very long time, although the exact amount of time is never specified in the show. They usually maintain a healthy relationship although in most episodes they often have disputes over a variety of subjects. The couple breaks up shortly when Malik is sentenced to two years in juvenile hall for assisting his friend in stealing Curtis' new motorcycle and Curtis eventually charges them to teach Malik a lesson, however they get back together when Curtis drops the charges and the boys are released. In one episode, Curtis dreams he is married to popular character Madea after mistreating Ella, the marriage teaches Curtis that he should treat Ella with more respect and he learns how she feels when bossed around only Curtis experiences a more violent relationship with Madea, however the marriage is non-canon to the series. In an episode, Curtis was accused of having an affair with another woman, but the woman's husband just had him confused with Calvin.
Health
Payne had a heart attack in the episode Meet The Lucases. As an African American middle-aged man Curtis is at higher risk for prostate cancer, however the test he took with great reluctance in one episode when it showed he had no signs of the cancer. In the one episode, he hurt his ears from listening to boomboxes too loud.
Family
Curtis is the son of Kelly Payne (also portrayed by LaVan Davis). Calvin is the son of Curtis and his wife Ella; he is also cousin to C.J. and a second cousin to his children, although Calvin is usually just referred to as their "cuz." Calvin's wife is Miranda, their future child. And Calvin and his ex-girlfriend Tracy have a child named Calvin Jr. C.J. is the adopted son of Curtis' brother, Clarence Sr. who died when C.J was fifteen. C.J's wife is Janine, and their children are Malik, Jazmine, and twins Jayden and Hayden.[1] His mother-in-law (Ella's mother) is named Eunice Williams, and shows strong dislike toward him.
Reception
LaVan Davis won an NAACP image award in 2008 for Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series for his portrayal of character Curtis Payne.[3][4]
See also
References
Categories:- Fictional characters from Georgia (U.S. state)
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