BWW Profile: Emmy, Grammy Winner Chris Rock Hosts the 88th Academy Awards

The level of my fandom for Chris Rock is worthy of the term fanatic to say the least and I SWEAR it's not because of our mutual obsession with the New York Mets. It runs deep, is what I'm saying. I fall asleep to his standup specials and annoy my friends by sending memes of his timeless quotes. I will not apologize as his voice is one of the greats of our generation.

Although born in South Carolina, Rock was raised in Brooklyn from the time he was three years old. He did not graduate high school, but later attained a GED, a fact he often points out and discourages in his standup. After taking on the comedy scene in New York in the 1980's, Eddie Murphy happened to catch his act one night and decided to take the young comedian on as a mentee. He gave him his first film role in the 1987 film, BEVERLY HILLS COP II.

In 1990, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. He along with David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley quickly gained notoriety as the "Bad Boys of SNL" reinvigorating the show once more for a new decade. Rock's tenure didn't last all that long on the show as he wasn't thrilled about the lack of exposure he was given. He headed over to the Wayans brothers popular sketch show "In Living Colour," but the show would be cancelled at the end of the season.

Rock was praised for his dramatic turn in the 1991 film, NEW JACK CITY as crack addict, Pookie. He followed it up with a string of comedies such as BOOMERANG, CB4, LETHAL WEAPON 4 and made an appearance in two Kevin Smith films DOGMA and JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK. Despite some hits, Chris never became a legit film star in the eyes of Hollywood. He decided to head back to the world he knew best: Stand Up.

He relaunched his career with critically acclaimed and Emmy winning stand up specials BRING THE PAIN, BIGGER AND BLACKER, NEVER SCARED and KILL THE MESSENGER. With new found success, Rock headed back to film and television delving into the roles of producer, director and writer. He developed the television show EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS based on his tormented childhood in Brooklyn and served as the show's narrator. He made the documentary GOOD HAIR about the extremes African Americans go through for, well, good hair. He also directed and wrote the films I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE and TOP FIVE and gained commercial success as the voice of Marty in the MADAGASCAR film series. He re-teamed with his Bad Boys of SNL team for the Adam Sandler movies GROWN UPS and GROWN UPS 2.

In 2011, he made his Broadway debut in the Stephen Adly Guirgis play, THE MOTHERF*CKER WITH THE HAT in the role of Ralph D. He shared the stage with Broadway vets Bobby Cannavale and Annabella Sciorra. 2015 saw Rock guest star in the hit show EMPIRE and direct acclaimed comedienne Amy Schumer's HBO special, Live at the Apollo.

Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards back in 2005. He joins an esteemed list of people who have hosted the ceremony multiple times.

Choosing a limited number of Chris Rock clips is like my own, personal Sophie's Choice. Nonetheless, here are a few:

Rock as Pookie, a crack addict in 1991's NEW JACK CITY:

From his widely acclaimed stand up special, BIGGER AND BLACKER, a clip of an oddly relevant sentiment even nearly 20 years later.

From the 1998 Kevin Smith movie, DOGMA, Rock plays a fallen angel named Rufus.

Another stand up smash hit, KILL THE MESSENGER, Rock speaks about his neighborhood in New Jersey.

From his critically acclaimed film, TOP FIVE which he also directed and wrote, Rock stars as comedian and film star who confronts his past while participating in an interview about his life.

Given the controversy over the whitewashing of the Oscars in general and knowing Mr. Rock's outspoken style, I am greatly looking forward to his commentary on the situation. Sadly, Oscar host seems to be a no win position, as of late, and without a doubt, he will be crucified in the Press the next day no matter what he does. Regardless, I shall remain one of his top fans. If I am the only person at my Oscar party laughing hysterically as he makes people in expensive clothes uncomfortable, so be it.

Oh, like you really thought I wouldn't include a Mets photo. Here he and Jerry Seinfeld celebrate a homerun by Yoenis Cespedes in the 2016 National League Championship Series where the Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs, thus ending everyone's dream of Back to the Future Part II being an actual prophecy. #LGM

Photo Credits: BET, CBS Sports and ABC

The 88th Academy Awards telecast will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, February 22, 2015 (8:30 p.m.ET/5:30 p.m.PT) on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. And be sure to visit BWW for live coverage of the 2016 Oscar telecast.

Follow me on Twitter @eponineq and follow @BWWTVWorld for all the latest updates, scoops and recaps. And SUBSCRIBE to our new podcast, "Some Like It Pop" where we chat everything from TV to Movies to Broadway and everything in between.

To post a comment, you must register and login.