Phil LaMarr Biography

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Phillip "Phil" LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and voice actor as well as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv.

Biography

Phil LaMarr was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a graduate of Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood and Yale University, where he helped found the improv comedy group Purple Crayon. After graduating in 1990, LaMarr became a member of the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group The Groundlings. He also studied improv at Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. Phil has also improvised with Cold Tofu and Off the Wall.

His early film jobs arose from connections from his improv and college years. For example, LaMarr appeared in the film It's Pat (1994), written by friends from the Groundlings, and he appeared in Bio-Dome because the director was a friend from college. However, his big break came in a small but memorable role in Pulp Fiction as Marvin (the man who Vincent Vega accidentally shoots in the face). (He would later reprise the role in a MADtv skit parodying the film.)

Career

MADtv

LaMarr, unlike most of the other original nine cast members of MADtv, had extensive television and film jobs under his belt. His experience served him well throughout his tenure and was crucial to the show's success.

The versatile LaMarr specialized in outrageous characters, including Jaq the UBS Guy, the "sexy player" Rick, Funky Walker Dirty Talker Desparation Lee, the talentless R&B singer Savante or Rocket Revengers star Lt. Abraham Jefferson (a.k.a Lincoln Willis).

LaMarr also proved a gifted celebrity impressionist, lampooning political figures like Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan and Louis Farrakhan, and impersonating Sidney Poitier, Michael Jackson, Spike Lee, Prince, Sammy Davis Jr., Tommy Davidson and Martin Lawrence. LaMarr's most celebrated impersonation was that of Chris Rock for the MADtv spoof video "Ain't No Blacks on the TV Screen," where he and Aries Spears humorously criticize major network television for not having enough positive African-Americans role models on prime time shows. LaMarr has since received numerous requests to impersonate Rock's voice for various comedy projects.

LaMarr decided not to renew his contract in 2000, and left at the end of the fifth season.

MADtv Characters

• Bill (Al Casdy)
  
• Chance Cumulus (News at Six)
  
• Crazy-Fingered Freddy (Shaunda)
  
• Desperation Lee (Funky Walker, Dirty Talker)
  
• Jaq (UBS Guy)
  
• Justin Thomas (Susan Whitfield)
  
• Lincoln Willis/Lt. Abraham Jefferson (Rocket Revengers)
  
• Rick
  
• Robert (That's My White Mama)
  
• Savante
  
• Steve (The Eracists)
  

MADtv Celebrity Impersonations

LaMarr impersonated these celebrities for MADtv:

• Barry White
  
• Ben Vereen
  
• Bernard Shaw
  
• Bill Maher
  
• Billy Crystal
  
• Bobby Brown
  
• Brian Burke
  
• Charlton Heston
  
• Chris Rock
  
• Chris Tucker
  
• Colin Powell
  
• Howard McNear
  
• Ice-T
  
• Jason Alexander
  
• Jim Brown
  
• Johnny Cochran
  
• Lee Cornwall
  
• Lenny Kravitz
  
• LeVar Burton
  
• Louis Farrakhan
  
• Martin Lawrence
  
• Michael Jackson
  
• Michael Winslow
  
• Moe Howard
  
• Montell Jordan
  
• Morgan Freeman
  
• Nat King Cole
  
• Nelson Mandela
  
• Nestor Carbonell
  
• Prince
  
• Ray Charles
  
• Rick James
  
• Sammy Davis Jr.
  
• Sammy Sosa
  
• Sherman Hemsley
  
• Sidney Poitier
  
• Spike Lee
  
• Ted Lange
  
• Tommy Davidson
  
• Tupac Shakur
  
• Vernon Jordan
  

Other television projects

Aside from MADtv, LaMarr has had many television, theatrical and movie roles. His television credits include guest starring on Cold Case, Futurama, Eve, Reno 911!, the English version of Whose Line is it Anyway?, Without A Trace, The Bernie Mac Show, NYPD Blue, Living Single, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Murphy Brown, and Family Guy.

Film and theatre projects

Phil LaMarr is an accomplished thespian, whose many stage credits include The Tempest, As You Like It, Guys and Dolls, Asylum, South Coast Repertory's Make the Break and Sacred Fools Theatre's inaugural production of The Fatty Arbuckle Spookhouse Revue.

On the big screen, LaMarr has appeared in the comedies Kill the Man, Free Enterprise, Cherish and Manna from Heaven. He also had featured roles in Speaking of Sex with Bill Murray and Catherine O'Hara and Back by Midnight with Randy Quaid, Kirstie Alley and Rodney Dangerfield. LaMarr had a brief cameo in Spider Man 2.

LaMarr most recent film appearances include Fronterz (2004) and Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman (2005). As of April 2006, LaMarr is filming Cook-Off!, in which he will appear as Rev. Thaddeus Briggs, Esq.

Voice acting projects

LaMarr is also a prominent voice actor in animated shows such as:

• Green Lantern / John Stewart (Justice League and Justice League Unlimited)
  
• Steel (John Henry Irons) (Justice League Unlimited)
  
• Static / Virgil Hawkins (Static Shock)
  
• Ozzy (Ozzy & Drix)
  
• Maxie Zeus (The Batman)
  
• Marcus Conner (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee)
  
• Hermes Conrad on Futurama
  
• Title character of Samurai Jack
  
• Carver (The Weekenders)
  
• Black Vulcan (Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law)
  
• Poop Dogg, The Letter M, Shnooky (Invader Zim)
  
• Various voices on Family Guy
  
• Hector Con Carne (Evil Con Carne)
  
• Wilt, Jackie Khones, additional voices (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
  
• Virgil "Bull" Sharkwowski (My Gym Partner's a Monkey)
  
• Dracula, Judge Roy Spleen, Irwin's Dad, Irwin's Grandmama, additional voices (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy)
  
• Various voices on Robot Chicken
  
• Philly Phil (Class of 3000)
  
• The Earth King (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
  

He has also voiced for the following video games:

• Sig, Count Veger, and G.T Blitz (Jak and Daxter series: Jak II, Jak 3, Jak X)
  
• Vamp (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
  
• Gadon Thek (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
  
• Chris Jacobs (Mercenaries)
  
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
  
• Uatu the Watcher and The Black Panther (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)
  
• Reddas (Final Fantasy XII)
  
• Marine (Quake 4)
  

Trivia

• LaMarr was an extra in Spider-Man 2. This is unusual as extras often have little to no acting experience, and this isn't the case for LaMarr. He is one of the people who catches Spider-Man as he starts to fall from the train. He can be seen all throughout the scene. He was not credited for his role.
  
• Static Shock and Justice League have had a few crossovers where the characters Green Lantern and Static appear. As the voice of both superheroes, LaMarr literally talks to himself in some scenes.
  
• He was also a contestant on the British Whose Line Is It Anyway? season that was filmed in Hollywood.
  
• In the video game Samurai Western, he voiced Donald, the well-to-do but slow-to-catch-on sheriff of Cactus Gulch who was inspired to become a samurai. LaMarr also voiced a few other characters in the game.
  
• LaMarr appeared in a sexual harrassment video for Perkins Restaurant and Bakery.
  
• According to an audio interview with GameFAQs user Chris Ho, John Travolta was the one that came up with the idea of Marvin being shot in the face since the character was originally supposed to be accidentally shot in the throat and suffer in agony while John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson's characters were asking each other what they should do about him, with the eventual conclusion about putting LaMarr's character out of his misery. Knowing that the intentional kill would make his character unlikeable, in rehearsal Travolta came up with this particular idea instead, and Tarantino agreed to it.
  
• According to the audio interview with GameFAQs user Chris Ho, LaMarr auditioned for Commander Scott Dolph and Peter Stillman before he got chosen to voice Vamp; in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
  
• In Static Shock, LaMarr voiced the title character, an African American superhero with dreadlocks, and his best friend was a caucasian male with blonde hair voiced by Jason Marsden. Coincidentally LaMarr played an African American dreadlocked character named Carver in Disney's The Weekenders, and Marsden voiced his blonde friend Tino.
  
• He has written sketches for MadTV.
  

Filmography

Television

Voice acting and video game appearances

External links

• Official web pages
  
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• Official MADtv site
  

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