David Alan Grier may be best known as a dexterous TV comedy star, but he is also a multi-talented veteran of musicals, plays, and numerous films. Born in Detroit, Grier graduated with a B.A. in radio, TV, and film from the University of Michigan. Shortly after earning his master's degree at the Yale School of Drama, Grier made his Tony award-nominated Broadway debut in 1981, starring in the musical The First. Along with a stint in the hit musical Dreamgirls, Grier also did Shakespeare and acted in the off-Broadway drama A Soldier's Play. Moving to film, Grier earned the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor prize for his first feature, Robert Altman's Streamers (1983). Grier was subsequently one of several cast members to make the transition from stage to screen when A Soldier's Play was adapted into the critically lauded, Best Picture nominee A Soldier's Story (1984). Grier moved to lighter cinematic fare with a starring role in the advertising parody Beer (1985) and appeared in a series of undistinguished films, including From the Hip (1986) and Almost an Angel (1990).
Grier's brief role in Keenen Ivory Wayans' dead-on blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988), however, turned into an even more fruitful collaboration when Wayans cast Grier in his comedy sketch show In Living Color. Throughout In Living Color's 1990-1994 run, Grier created some of the show's most memorable characters, including flamboyant, circle-snapping critic Antoine Merriweather of "Men On. . ." Grier maintained his film career by appearing as himself in Altman's Hollywood satire The Player (1992) and co-starring in the Eddie Murphy vehicle Boomerang (1992), as well as Damon Wayans' superhero spoof Blankman (1994). After the show ended, Grier continued to alternate between TV and films, executive producing and starring in the short-lived series The Preston Chronicles (1995), as well as appearing in the Robin Williams hit Jumanji (1995). Grier re-teamed with his "Men On" cohort Damon Wayans for the latter's 1998 sitcom Damon, but it failed to match In Living Color's popularity. Grier notched a ratings hit, and got to display his dramatic chops with his performance as a Black Panther in the miniseries The 60s (1999). After appearing in the lackluster Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) and Return to Me (2000), Grier took another shot at sitcom success as the title Secret Serviceman in DAG (2000). He subsequently tried starring in a number of sitcoms that failed to take off, but always found consistent supporting work, with recurring roles on Life with Bonnie, Crank Yankers, and in several feature films.
Grier also returned to the stage in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and in 2008, he was given his own show, a no-holds-barred mock-news program in the style of the Daily Show called Chocolate News, which presented both real and fictional news stories from an African American perspective.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
We the Peeples
Actor |
2013 | NOT YET RELEASED | ||
| 2011 | ||||
|
Astro Boy
Voice |
2009 | |||
|
Dance Flick
Actor |
2009 | |||
|
Dancing With the Stars: Season 08
Participant |
2009 | |||
| 2009 | ||||
|
An American Carol
Actor |
2008 | |||
|
Chocolate News [TV Series]
Actor, Executive Producer |
2008 | |||
|
Gym Teacher: The Movie
Actor |
2008 | |||
| 2008 | ||||
|
Kissing Cousins
Actor |
2008 | |||
|
The Hustle
Actor |
2008 | |||
|
The Poker House
Actor, Co-producer, Screenwriter |
2008 | |||
|
Thank God You're Here [TV Series]
Actor, Producer |
2007 | |||
|
Little Man
Actor |
2006 | |||
|
Art: 21: Power
Participant |
2005 | |||
|
Bewitched
Actor |
2005 | |||
|
Instant Karma
Actor |
2005 | |||
| 2005 | ||||
|
The Woodsman
Actor |
2004 | |||
|
BAADASSSSS!
Actor |
2003 | |||
| 2003 | ||||
| 2003 | ||||
|
Art City, Vol. 3: A Ruling Passion
Participant |
2002 | |||
| 2002 | ||||
|
15 Minutes
Actor |
2001 | |||
|
3 Strikes
Actor |
2000 | |||
|
Angels in the Infield
Actor |
2000 | |||
|
Dag
Actor |
2000 | |||
|
East of A
Actor |
2000 | |||
| 2000 | ||||
|
Return to Me
Actor |
2000 | |||
| 2000 | ||||
|
A Saintly Switch
Actor |
1999 | |||
| 1999 | ||||
|
Stuart Little
Voice |
1999 | |||
|
The '60s
Actor |
1999 | |||
| 1998 | ||||
|
McHale's Navy
Actor |
1997 | |||
|
Saturday Night Live: David Alan Grier [2]
TV Guest Appearance |
1997 | |||
|
Jumanji
Actor |
1995 | |||
|
Saturday Night Live: David Alan Grier [1]
TV Guest Appearance |
1995 | |||
|
Tales From the Hood
Actor |
1995 | |||
|
Blankman
Actor |
1994 | |||
|
In the Army Now
Actor |
1994 | |||
| 1993 | ||||
|
Boomerang
Actor |
1992 | |||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
|
The Player
Actor |
1992 | |||
| 1991 | ||||
|
Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime, Vol. 2
Performance |
1991 | |||
|
Almost an Angel
Actor |
1990 | |||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
|
Loose Cannons
Actor |
1990 | |||
| 1989 | ||||
|
Me and Him
Actor |
1989 | |||
|
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!
Actor |
1988 | |||
| 1987 | ||||
|
Amazon Women on the Moon
Actor |
1987 | |||
|
Off Limits
Actor |
1987 | |||
|
From the Hip
Actor |
1986 | |||
|
Beer
Actor |
1985 | |||
|
A Soldier's Story
Actor |
1984 | |||
|
Streamers
Actor |
1983 | |||
| NOT YET RELEASED | ||||
|
In the Mix: Teen Solutions to Racism
Participant |
NOT YET RELEASED |



















