Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, the title character in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother, and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in ' (1999) and ' (2005). He also portrayed Lester Matthews in John Q. (2002), Orpheus in Scary Movie 3 (2003), Pope Sweet Jesus in Norbit (2007), and voiced Richard Pryor on Black Dynamite (2012âÂÂ2015). Griffin was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.
Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California, to live with his cousins. He later became a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was discharged within months for using marijuana. After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses.
At a comedy club open-mic night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned a standing ovation with family stories. He talked his way into stand-up gigs around town and in L.A. One popular bit was his gay version of tough-guy comic Andrew Dice Clay, who later hired Griffin to open for him.
Once he achieved a fair amount of success in standup, Griffin became known at The Comedy Store for stopping by to do guest sets on open mic nights and staying up on stage long enough to tire the audience out for the next comedian.
Griffin has appeared in films such as The Meteor Man (1993), The Walking Dead (1995), David E. Talbert: A Fool & His Money (1997), ' (1999), Double Take (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), John Q (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), ' (2005), Norbit (2007), and Urban Justice (2007).
Griffin has appeared on television shows such as Malcolm & Eddie (1996âÂÂ2000) and Chappelle's Show in the skit "World Series of Dice" as Grits n' Gravy. Griffin performed on two tracks from Dr. Dre's 1999 album, 2001, and the intro track from The D.O.C.'s 1996 album Helter Skelter. He has also appeared on commercials for Miller Beer's Man Laws.
In 2011, Comedy Central released Griffin's stand-up comedy special You Can Tell 'Em I Said It on DVD. In December 2019, his stand-up comedy special, E-Niggma, was released on Showtime.
Griffin and his mother got into an argument at his 20th birthday party when she accused him of stealing jewelry from her, which Griffin denied doing. Afterward, Griffin did not see his mother for four years until he moved back to Los Angeles, California, in March 1992, to be closer with his family when his mother was injured in a car accident.
Griffin has been married four times. He married his first wife, Carla in 1984 when he was 16 years old. They divorced in 1997. He married his second wife, Rochelle, in 2002 and divorced in 2009. On September 8, 2011, he married his third wife, Nia Rivers. However, they filed for divorce after one month of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. They were officially divorced six months later in 2012. He married his fourth wife, Ko Lee Griffin, on July 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In March 2007, Griffin participated in a charity race at Irwindale Speedway to promote the film Redline, using a Ferrari Enzo owned by Daniel Sadek. During a practice run, Griffin accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and lost control of the Enzo, crashing hard into a concrete barrier. He walked away unscratched, but the $1.5 million supercar was badly damaged. Griffin later criticized reporters who suggested the crash was a publicity stunt.
During the sexual assault allegations on Bill Cosby, Griffin suggested that Cosby was the victim of a conspiracy to destroy his image and claimed, without specification, that several other prominent African-American men had been victims of similar conspiracies. Griffin has also been called out by the Sikh community for referring to an elderly Sikh man as "Osama Bin Laden" in the aftermath of 9/11, despite Osama bin Laden being Muslim and not Sikh. Such comments were believed to have helped fuel the rising hate crime rates against both groups.
In October 2024, Griffin stated that he would likely vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election. He said, referring to Kamala Harris, "Everybody I talk to don't like you. Ain't nobody gonna vote for you."