With a sitcom named after him, a recurring role on Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers," and seven seasons of the legendary Saturday Night Live under his belt, Tracy Morgan has a life most comedians would kill for.
On top of that, he continues to tour the country performing stand-up. His act comes to the Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. Thursday.
In a phone interview, Morgan talked about life in the spotlight, comedy and how difficult it was to decide to leave SNL.
"It's always hard to leave mommy and daddy's house," Morgan said about leaving the late-night mainstay. "But you know you're always welcome back."
With such good friends as executive producer Lorne Michaels, co-head writer Tina Fey and Weekend Update anchor Jimmy Fallon, Morgan was in impressive company.
Born and raised in New York City, Morgan performed as a stand-up comedian before appearing on "Def Comedy Jam." He then landed a recurring role on "Martin" as Hustleman. Eventually, he became a member of SNL. There, he played hilarious characters such as Woodrow, a hobo who serenades such stars as Britney Spears with an incoherent song about "doo doo pies," "Safari Planet" host Brian Fellow (a character Morgan's wife created), Dominican Lou and countless others. His zany and unique impressions include Mike Tyson, Star Jones and Maya Angelou.
"Comedy's always been a natural thing for me," said Morgan.
Although he has always had an inherent love for comedy, show business is another story. Morgan has had his ups and downs with the politics and bureaucracy of the business over the years.
"Show business is a rough business to ever be in," says Morgan. "Sometimes, you have those days where you go, 'I'm ready to quit.' Then, you have those days where you say, 'This is the greatest business in the world. There's no business like show business.'"
Since leaving SNL, Morgan has starred in his own self-titled NBC sitcom, playing a wise cracking father and husband. While Morgan has relished in the chance to do his comedy, the status of the show is unsure.
On whether his show will return for another season or not, Morgan said only time will tell.
"That's out of my control," he said. "My thing is just being funny and doing what I do, which is making comedy."
The support of his wife and three children, he said, is invaluable to Morgan in the stressful entertainment world.
"At home, I don't have the pressure of being funny. They love and appreciate me for who I am," he says. "My kids and my wife are my biggest fans."
His familial support must have been particularly handy when he was victim of a televised pranking - ala Ashton Kutcher.
"I felt like a punk," says Morgan. "MTV won't let me forget that I was 'Punk'd.'"
For Morgan's performance at UB, students can expect an entertaining and energized show. Since stand-up has been Morgan's foundation, he is eager to get back to that which comes "naturally."
"No matter what I talk about, no matter what the content is, I want to make it a funny experience. I think that's an awesome concept, to make everything and anything funny," he says.
About his comedic style and what UB students can expect on Thursday night, he says: "We're gonna talk about life, see the funny in it. We're gonna talk about sex ... I'm just that uncle that's coming over. We're gonna talk about stuff that your parents don't want you to know about, but I'm gonna tell you."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
