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Tyler Perry (born September 13, 1969)¹ is an American playwright, screenwriter, actor and director and producer of indie films and stage plays. His best-known character is "Madea", who is a physically imposing and overbearing, but well-intentioned, woman who serves both as comic relief and as the loud voice of conscience for the protagonists of Perry's works.

Personal life

Tyler was born Emmitt R. Perry, Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana (He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia),² one of four children. Perry changed his first name to Tyler because of his troubled relationship with his father. His father, Emmitt, Sr., was a carpenter and construction worker, and his mother, Maxine, was a pre-school teacher who worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center for most of her life.³⁴⁵⁶ His childhood in New Orleans was marked by poverty and physical abuse from his father.⁷ Perry dropped out of school when he was 16, but later went back to school to obtain his GED. Perry is a Christian.⁸

Career

Theatre

One day while he was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1992, Perry took the advice that it can be cathartic to put feelings down on paper, which inspired him to write letters of his painful childhood. These letters eventually became his plays. Perry's first foray into writing was in 1992, when he began writing a journal, in part to cope with the repercussions of abuse. He developed different characters to voice different ideas in the journal. This work eventually became the musical I Know I've Been Changed, about adult survivors of child abuse.

Perry moved to Atlanta in 1992 and worked in a restaurant and as a used car salesman. He managed to save up $12,000 to stage his first play. It was not a success and over the next six years, he struggled living in Atlanta but persevered until the play finally had a successful run in 1998, first at the House of Blues also known as the Tabernacle located by the CNN center and the Georgia Aquarium, and later at the Fox Theatre. His following play, a staging of Bishop T. D. Jakes' book Woman Thou Art Loosed, was an immediate hit, grossing over $5 million in five months.⁹ A film version was later created starring Kimberly Elise and Loretta Devine, and was released in theaters on February, 2005.

Perry, whose work is aimed at a primarily African-American audience, ultimately created a successful touring theater company. Recordings of some plays were subsequently sold on video and DVD. As of March 2005, Perry's plays had grossed over $75 million in ticket and DVD sales.

Cover of Madea's Class Reunion.

Perry stated in a January 2004 interview in Ebony magazine that his theater productions were designed to be a bridge between the traditional urban theater circuit--historically and pejoratively referred to as the "chitlin' circuit"--and a more traditional theater format.¹⁰

Perry's other highly successful plays include Diary of a Mad Black Woman, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Madea's Family Reunion,Madea's Class Reunion,and Madea Goes To Jail. He also wrote and created the hit plays/DVDs Why Did I Get Married? and Meet the Browns. Why Did I Get Married featured R&B singer Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley and Tony Grant. Meet the Browns features Terrell Phillips, Terrell Carter, and David and Tamela Mann (Perry did not appear in either production). In 2005, Perry returned to the stage with another successful hit, Madea Goes to Jail. Another play, What's Done in the Dark, which Perry wrote and directed but does not appear in, went on tour from September 2006 through May 2007, but returned for another run in September 2007. The video was filmed in Charlotte, NC and was released February 12, 2008. Perry's most recent stage production is The Marriage Counselor which premiered in January 2008. This production features Tony Grant, Palmer Williams and Tamar Davis.

Films

Tyler Perry owns 100 percent of his movies, with Lions Gate Films as his distributor.¹¹

His first movie, Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, produced on a budget of $5.5 million, became an unexpected commercial success prompting widespread discussion among industry watchers about whether middle-class African Americans were simply not being addressed by mainstream Hollywood movies. Its final gross box office receipts were $50.6 million, although it was critically panned scoring only 16% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.¹² On its opening weekend, February 24, 2006, Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at #1 with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million, and like Diary, almost all of it in the United States. The film was jump-started by an hour-long appearance by Perry and his co-stars on the influential Oprah Winfrey show.¹³

His next project for Lions Gate Entertainment, Daddy's Little Girls, starring Gabrielle Union, was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million.¹⁴ Perry wrote, directed, produced, and starred in his next movie, Why Did I Get Married, which was released on October 12, 2007. It opened as the #1 grossing $21.4 million dollars at the box office that weekend. It is loosely based on the play. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia; Vancouver, then Atlanta, where Perry opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott and Tasha Smith appear in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, which was released on March 21st, opened at number 2 with $20,082,809 weekend gross.¹⁵ The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008 and has grossed over $35.1 million as of October.

Madea Goes to Jail will open on February 20, 2009. This will be Perry's seventh film with Lions Gate Entertainment. At the request of director J.J. Abrams,¹⁶ Perry will also have a cameo appearance in the movie Star Trek, which will open on May 8, 2009. This will be his first movie outside that is not his own project.

Studio

Tyler Perry Studios is the first African-American owned studio in the country and had its grand opening on October 4, 2008. Located in southwest Atlanta, the studio occupies two former airline affiliated buildings and includes 200,000 square feet of sets and office space. The opening was attended by Sidney Portier, Will Smith, Cicely Tyson, Oprah Winfrey and Hank Aaron among others.¹⁷ Through 34th Street Films, a production arm of Tyler Perry Studios, Perry will guide the work of other filmmakers. ¹⁸

Television

Perry produces a television show titled Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which follows an African-American household with three generations of family within it. The show seeks to illustrate struggles with faith and love, as well as showing how to coexist with the generation gap. The show ran briefly in Spring of 2006 as a 10 show pilot. After a successful pilot run, Perry signed a $200 million dollar 100 episode deal with TBS. On June 6, 2007, the first two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne ran on TBS. Due to high ratings, House of Payne is now in syndication. Re-runs were played through December 2007 before the 2nd season began. The 3rd season began March 5, 2008. The 4th season began June 4, 2008. House of Payne now airs on The CW. House of Payne has aired 100 episodes.

In early October, 2008, four writers of the House of Payne were fired after trying to get a union contract with Tyler Perry’s production company, House of Payne, LLC. The Writers Guild of America, West has "filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that House of Payne unlawfully fired four writers in retaliation for their union activity." ¹⁹

Meet The Browns is Perry's next sitcom starring David Mann and Tamela Mann.^{citation needed}

Books

Perry's first novel, Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, hit bookstores April 11, 2006. The book sold more than 25,000 copies.²⁰ The hardcover hit Number One on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed on the list for twelve weeks. It was voted the Book of the Year and Best Humor Book at the 2006 Quill Awards.

Trademarks

Perry always uses possessory credit in his works' titles (e.g., Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?). Several recurring narrative themes surface in Perry's work. They feature a predominantly African American cast.

His films often tackle issues of physical and sexual abuse, and are often set in Atlanta.

The recurring character of Mabel "Madea" Simmons surfaces in many of Perry's work. Perry portrays Madea in drag²¹ in his plays and films. Perry based Madea on an aunt who lives in Georgia, as well as his mother, according to Perry himself. In Madea's appearances, she dispenses wisdom in a "no-nonsense manner", and is usually involved in physical comedy and/or a sight gag. The nickname "Madea" comes from a Southern African American contraction of the words "mother dear", which is commonly used as a term of affection. It is also used as a reference to a great-grandmother.

Tyler often references Alice Walker's The Color Purple, which he notes as one of his favorite movies. Perry's plays also make references to 1970s R&B and soul music, and the differences between that and the current state of rap/hip-hop music, and other music popular amongst the black community.

Other references include singers Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, R. Kelly, Ike & Tina Turner, the movie Forrest Gump, the television sitcom Good Times, rapper Missy Elliott, and the singer Tweet.

Filmography

• A Jazz Man's Blues (2009) - Director, Actor, Writer, Producer
• Star Trek (2009) - Actor
• Madea Goes to Jail (2009) - Director,Actor, Writer, Producer
• The Family That Preys (2008) - Director, Actor, Writer, Producer
• Meet The Browns (TV) (2008) - Writer, Executive Producer
• Meet The Browns (2008) - Director, Actor, Writer, Producer
• Why Did I Get Married? (2007) - Director,Actor, Writer, Producer
• Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007; TV) - Writer, Executive Producer
• Daddy's Little Girls (2007) - Director, Writer, Producer
• Madea's Family Reunion (2006) - Director, Actor, Writer, Executive Producer
• Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) - Actor, Writer, Executive Producer

Awards/nominations

• BET Comedy Awards
  • 2005: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Film (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Winner
  • 2005: Outstanding Writing for a Film (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Winner

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006: Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
  • 2006: Outstanding Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
  • 2005: Outstanding Motion Picture (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated
  • 2005: Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Winner

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2007: Outstanding Screenplay Adapted or Original (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
  • 2006: Outstanding Screenplay Adapted or Original (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated
  • 2006: Best Breakthrough Performance (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated

• Image Awards
  • 2008: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Why Did I Get Married?), Nominated
  • 2007: Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
  • 2007: Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated

• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2006: Best Comedic Performance (Madea's Family Reunion), Nominated
  • 2005: Best Comedic Performance (Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Nominated

References

External links

• Tyler Perry at the Internet Movie Database
• Tyler Perry Official website
• Tyler Perry Fan Club and Social Network
• Tyler Perry's "House of Payne" on TBS
• Interview with Tyler Perry on beliefnet.com