Movie star Jamie Foxx is coming back home. If you only know of Jamie Foxx since he became one of Hollywood’s leading men in the past two decades, then you missed out on the early part of his journey!
Before winning Oscar and Grammy Awards, Jamie Foxx was making crowds laugh on his self titled hilarious sitcom; WB’s The Jamie Foxx Show, and the groundbreaking sketch television series, In Living Color. But how did he get those roles? Well, Jamie was one of the hottest up and coming stand-up comics in California in the late 80s and early 90s. If you are of Generation Z, then chances are you don’t know Jamie Foxx is a comedian. And how could you with stellar non-comedic roles like Ray, Dreamgirls and Django.
But let’s back up a bit to the beginning. Jamie Foxx was born December 13th, 1967, as Eric Bishop in
Terrell, Texas. Though he was a stellar athlete in high school, his musical talent is what opened up doors for him. He won a scholarship for classical piano to United States International University in San Diego, California. In 1989, he switched gears and began doing stand-up comedy on a dare. He changed his name to “Jamie Foxx” as he realized women were always selected more at comedy open mic nights over men, so he came up with the unisex name to obtain more opportunities. He became a regular at the storied Comedy Act Theater deep in the hood on Crenshaw in Los Angles. Jamie did it all on stage including singing, impersonations, and of course, his comedy act.
After being noticed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, Foxx was cast as a featured actor on the 3rd season of Fox’s In Living Color in 1991. Soon HBO came calling and he released his first stand-up special, STRAIGHT FROM THE FOXXHOLE, while still on the sketch comedy show in 1993.
His 2nd HBO stand-up special came just as he was about to break lose in the industry in 2002. I MIGHT NEED SECURITY. UNLEASHED, was filmed in 1997 but wasn’t released until 2003.
Foxx also appeared on Showtime as the creator and host of the multi-volume stand-up series LAFFAPALOOZA, featuring many of his comedic friends from the stage.
After 18 years of being away from the stage, Foxx is returning to his roots. Yes, he’s hosted a few
award shows over the years telling jokes, as well as the game show Beat Shazam, but this is different.
Jamie Foxx had a serious health scare in 2023. So serious that it left him in a coma for 20 days after “taking a pill from a friend to cure a bad headache.” In this new special, titled WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS, Jamie will talk about it all. The medical emergency that left him hospitalized and fighting for his life, as well as the outpouring of well wishes and vicious internet rumors that was bestowed upon him. The
three-night event was filmed at Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, October 3rd through the 5th.
Details on when WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS will premier on Netflix have yet to be released.
