Mark Curry (actor)

Mark Curry
Born	Mark Gaping Curry June 1, 1961 (1961-06-01) (age 50) Oakland, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, host
Years active	1990–present

Mark G. Curry (born June 1, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the star of the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and as one of the various hosts of the syndicated series It's Showtime at the Apollo.^[1]

Biography

Early life and education

Curry was born in Oakland, California. He attended St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California and California State University, East Bay^[2] in Hayward, CA.

Career

Curry's first role was in the film Talkin' Dirty After Dark, alongside Martin Lawrence.

Curry's first major role was on television series Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, where he played the lead role of Mark Cooper, an NBA player-turned-substitute teacher/gym coach.

Curry appeared two episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show as an eccentric driving instructor. In addition, he also had guest starring roles on television series Living Single (1994) and Martin (1997), and minor roles in the films Switchback and Armageddon.

In 2000, Curry also had a recurring role on The Drew Carey Show as Drew's boss at Winfred-Louder. He appeared in six episodes. In an April Fools' episode of The Drew Carey Show, Drew refers to Mr. Soulard as Mr. Cooper, the joke being that Curry played both roles

He was the host of Comedy Central's Don't Forget Your Toothbrush in 2000 and had minor roles in For Your Love, (which starred Hangin' with Mr. Cooper co-star, Holly Robinson Peete). A Man Is Mostly Water (also 2000). In 2001 had a minor role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Motocrossed. Later in the year, Curry played one of the leads in another Disney Channel Original Movie, The Poof Point.

Curry had guest starring roles in Less Than Perfect and Fat Actress (2002) and was the host of the PAX-TV show "Animal Tails" (2003). In 2004, he appeared on "Celebrity Mole Yucatan". He came in second place to Dennis Rodman.

On November 30, 2008, Mark performed a stand-up comedy routine on The Comedy Festival Laffapalooza Special, hosted by Tracy Morgan.^[3]

Music

Curry was featured in Too Short's music video "I Ain't Trippin'", and is also featured in Bow Wow's "Take You Home" video as a father trying to get his daughter a doll of the rapper.

He appeared in the 2002 song Oakland Raiders by Oakland rap group Luniz. Delivering a humorous monologue as the song faded out, Curry asserted his status as a pimp and stated his fondness for big dank.

Played guitar for a band called Nougat Tuesday for 11 years before making a permanent transition to acting.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

On April 17, 2006, an aerosol can that had fallen behind Curry's water heater exploded and Curry, who was doing laundry at the time, was burned on over 20% of his body, including his arm, back and side. He spent many months recuperating at his home. According to an Associated Press interview posted on CNN.com on February 17, 2007,^[4] Curry considered suicide after waking from a three-day, medically-induced coma, reportedly hoarding pain medication. After talking with comedian friends who made him laugh, such as Sinbad and Bill Cosby, he decided against suicide. He went on The Montel Williams Show to discuss this issue.^[5]

References

1. ^ King, Susan (July 12, 1996). "Q & A with MARK CURRY". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-07-12/entertainment/ca-23268_1_black-people. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
2. ^ "Mark Curry Biography". http://www.pattersonandassociates.com/bios/Mark_Curry/index.html. 
3. ^ The Comedy Festival listing
4. ^ Article - National News
5. ^ Mark Curry on the Montel Williams Show

External links

• Mark Curry at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Curry, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 1, 1961
Place of birth	Oakland, California, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death