Tyler Perry (born September 13, 1969) is an American playwright, actor and film director. His best-known character is Mabel Simmons, more commonly known as "Madea," an overbearing if well-intentioned woman who serves both as comic relief and as the loud voice of conscience to the principal protagonists of Perry's morality plays.
Perry was born in New Orleans, one of four children. His father, Emmitt, was a carpenter and construction worker, and his mother, Maxine, was a pre-school teacher and worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center for most of her life. His childhood in New Orleans was marked by poverty and physical abuse. He was once homeless and lived in his car for three months. Perry is a Christian.
His first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, produced on a budget of $5.5 million, became an unexpected hit, 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. On opening weekend, February 24, 2006 Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at number one with $22 million and a $14,770 per screen average. 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.
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. 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 recently opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal and Jill Scott appear in the film.
His upcoming films include an adaptation of his play Meet the Browns, scheduled for March 2008 featuring Angela Bassett and Tyler will reprise himself as Madea and Uncle Joe, Madea's naughty trash talking brother. Madea Goes to Jail the movie is scheduled for a fall 2008 release followed by A Jazzman's Blues, which is slated for 2009 and will be Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate. Perry will star as the jazz singer in the movie.
Also, in his first film outside of his own projects, Perry will play the superintendant of Starfleet Academy in JJ Abrams' new Star Trek film. [13]
Television
Perry produced a television show titled Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which follows a working-class, 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 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, Tyler Perry's first two episodes of House of Payne ran on TBS. Due to high ratings, House of Payne is now in syndication. Re-runs will play through December 2007 before the second season begins. House of Payne will air on FOX network beginning September 2008. Meet The Browns is Perry's next sitcom starring David Mann and Tamela Mann.
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 last April 11, 2006. The book is written from Madea's point of view, and offers commentary about love, relationships, and family. In its first five days in stores, the book sold more than 25,000 copies.[14] 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.
Perry always places a possessive reference to himself in all of his work's 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 based in Atlanta.
The recurring character of Mabel "Madea" Simmons surfaces in many of Perry's work. Perry portrays Madea 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 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.