Black Americans of Achievement Anne M. Todd Chris Rock, Comedian and Actor (2006)

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.Rockhad hosted the Music Video Awards two years earlier as well.Martin.The celebrities reacted with good humor toward Rock.The show became the highest-rated entertainment programin cable history.Rock also made a return appearance to Saturday NightLive to perform the opening monologue for its twenty-fifthanniversary show on September 26, 1999.Although Rockhad made a few appearances on Saturday Night Live since hisdeparture in 1993, he was happy to return to the show andbring closure to his time there, because he had not left on thebest of terms.The show paid tribute to Chris Farley, Rock s46CHRIS ROCKco-star and friend, as well as to other Saturday Night Live castmembers who had died over the years.In Rock s piece for the twenty-fifth anniversary, he madefun of everybody the show, himself, and the cast:Welcome to the show.I m out here because somebodyhad to do it.And I guess they thought I would be thebest guy for it.& I look around this room, look at thestar power.Look at the comedic genius.I m lookingat some of the most overrated people in the historyof comedy! Some of the worst movies ever made weremade by people in this room! Thank God we re gonnado what we all do best television!66Chris Rock at WorkEven when Rock s career was going strong, he always maintainedlevel-headedness and remained true to his father s work ethic.Rock knew that his success would not guarantee that he wouldbe the funniest man in America forever.At any time, he felt,the industry could decide he was no longer hot. To ensurethat there were no gaps between paychecks, Rock put in hisshare of work hours.Occasionally that meant doing a projectbecause it was offered, but Rock was lucky enough to haveplenty of control over the parts he selected and to be able towrite nearly all of his own material.When Rock is on the clock, he prefers to work alone.Heoften puts on his iPod and listens to music while contemplatingwhat to write.Rock frequently visits the Coffee Shop, located inNew York City s Union Square.Here, he knows the employeesand patrons will leave him alone.He sometimes feels both-ered by the constant attention he receives he misses the days4748CHRIS ROCKwhen he could dine alone.Rock maintains a very small circleof friends.He sometimes hangs out with his fellow SaturdayNight Live alum Adam Sandler.Like Rock, Sandler can relate tothe problems that come with being famous and trying to live arelatively normal life.Rock, however, does not lead a normal life.One day, Rockwas returning home by plane from Los Angeles.When he steppedinto the limo he had hired, he saw that the driver was a formerclassmate from James Madison High School.This guy had spiton Rock at school, but now he was very chatty and acted as if heand Rock were good friends.Rock made sure to give the driveran extra big tip upon leaving, hoping to make him wonder whatRock really thought of him.It stunned Rock to think that peoplecould be so cruel to someone, then turn around and pretend tolike them when they were rich and famous.He realized that whenthey were kids, the two were just playing roles: The driver was thewhite boy; Rock was the black boy in an all-white school.It wasthe white boy s job to beat up and insult the black boy.Rock triesto learn from moments like these; he tries to understand peoplebetter and to avoid holding grudges.Rock doesn t have time for bitterness.He takes his rou-tine seriously and, like his father before him, takes his workIn HIS own wordS&Chris Rock has a strong work ethic, but he also places great importanceon the quality of his work.In an interview with the Guardian newspaper ofLondon, Rock said about his comedy:I never wanted to churn it out.Comedians tend to work all the time.Theynever put it down like musicians who might make an album, then take threeor four years off to recharge their batteries.Comedians tend to work straightthrough, and they get stale because of that.Even when I didn t have a lot ofmoney I never ever did it unless I had something new to say.49Chris Rock at Workseriously.And he believes in being a good person while heis working hard.At one show in Georgia, the crew was hav-ing trouble with the lights glaring off his shirt.The lightingpeople spent hours trying to correct the problem.After therehearsal, Rock personally thanked each crew member for hisor her time.Rock is constantly on the lookout for new material.Someof it stems from everyday life observations he makes whilegoing about his daily activities.He also reads newspapers andmagazines daily.When Rock thinks of an idea for his com-edy routine, he calls home and records it on his answeringmachine or writes it down in his Palm Pilot.Later, he sifts outthe material he wants to incorporate into his routine.NEW PROJECTSIn September 2000, Nurse Betty, a film directed by Neil LaBute,premiered; Rock played a lead role opposite Morgan Freemanand Ren�e Zellweger.Working with Freeman, a veteran actor,allowed Rock to improve his acting skills.If Rock started tooveract, Freeman would overact.This humorous, nonverbalcue helped Rock realize what he was doing and promptedhim to tone down his performance.Nurse Betty received ravereviews and spent five weeks on the top-ten list.In 2001, Rock appeared in Pootie Tang, directed by LouisC.K.and starring Lance Crouther [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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