Now, the two are reunited on "Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!" Grier plays Pops, Jamie's father. No, he was a tree that grew." The cast of "Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!" (from left): Jamie Fox, Jonathan Kite, Kyla-Drew, Porscha Coleman and David Alan Grier. So, that's what it was like watching Jamie. "And the greatest joy is to watch a tree grow. Even the smell was different, 'cause the catering – was that, like, smothered chicken?"Īs Foxx went on to create his own TV show, make a name for himself in dramatic films, and record a string of albums, Grier gave him high-fives all the way. "I went onto a set that was Black writers, Black directors, Black producers, Black cast. Its social commentary could be biting, its humor a little raunchy. Its skits sometimes pushed the boundaries of political correctness. What if we had our own show? What if we had a 'Saturday Night Live' that was all Black?" Grier told Miller, "For all of us, it was Xanadu.
"To be the funniest person everywhere I went, and to go on the show and be the eighth funniest person? I was the eighth funniest person! I would watch these dudes work and I said, 'Ooh-we, I can't do that yet!'"Īs he and veteran actor David Alan Grier recall, it was groundbreaking – a Black sketch comedy show, told from an African-American point of view. "Were you intimidated when you came on board?" asked Miller.
When Foxx joined "In Living Color," a ratings powerhouse in the '90s, he found it daunting. While studying music in San Diego, he began to hit the comedy clubs.
That was, like, you know, my shtick."Īnd it stuck. "She just taught me to get out there, and don't, like, don't limit yourself," he replied.Īnd it was in his hometown of Terrell, Texas, that Foxx took that advice and tried comedy: "I would watch Johnny Carson – 'It was so hot today.' 'How hot was…' – all those different jokes, I would take 'em and just tell 'em in school. Miller asked, "What would you say is the most important thing your grandmother taught you?" I ended up going to college on a classical piano scholarship, and ended up pursuing my dreams." So it was like, she's the one who made sure I got the piano, and she said, 'This is gonna take you all over the world.' And, you know, she was right. "All I knew was them as parents," he said, "and they were there 100%. They adopted him when he was seven months old. And Jamie got plenty of that from his grandparents, especially his grandmother, Estelle.
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