'In Living Color' Cast: Then and Now

During its five-season run, 'In Living Color' was responsible for launching the careers of quite a few performers. Some made it big. Others not so much. Take a look at what the cast has been up to for the past 20 years.

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  Keenen Ivory Wayans (1990-92)

  Of course, you remember Keenen as the writer and creator of In Living Color [4], before he left the show due to disputes with the network over censorship. In Living Color won an Emmy Award in 1990 for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series. And Keenen got his funny on, too. Remember his Mike Tyson [5] and Arsenio Hall [6]? 

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  Keenen Ivory Wayans

  Keenen, 51, had a brief stint on late-night television as the host of The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show [7]. Scary Movie, which stars his youngest brothers, Shawn and Marlon, is the highest-grossing film with a black director. Up next for Keenen? Maybe White Chicks 2 [8]. 

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  Damon Wayans (1990-92)

  "Homey D. Clown ... don't mess around ... even though the man ... try to keep him down ... one day homie will break all the chains, then he'll fly away but until that day Homie don't play."

  "I said repeat after me!"

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  Damon Wayans

  Just after the Wayans left the show in 1992, Damon starred in three films, Mo' Money [9] (1992), Blankman [10] (1994) and Major Payne [11] (1996). He created two short-lived television series, 413 Hope St. [12] and Damon [13]. He struck gold in 2001 with My Wife and Kids [14]. In the late 2000s, he created/wrote/starred in another sketch comedy show, The Underground, which also starred his son, Damon Jr. [15] 

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  Kim Wayans (1990-93)

  You loved her as the gossiping next-door neighbor, Bonita Butrell, and as one-half of Cephus & Reesie. She also did some laugh-out-loud funny impersonations of Crystal Waters [16], Grace Jones [17], Tracy Chapman [18] and Oprah Winfrey [19]. 

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  Kim Wayans

  She's appeared in Juwanna Mann [20], In the House and the Wayans' production [21] Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood [22]. In 2008, Kim Wayans and her husband, Kevin Knotts, published a children's book series called Amy Hodgepodge [23]. 

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  Shawn Wayans (1990-93)

  Remember SW1, In Living Color's house DJ? Yeah. Shawn just isn't as funny as his brothers and sisters. Which is why, we believe, they let him be the DJ in his three-year run on the show. His only (comedic) saving grace was as J.J. Evans in a parody of LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out [24]."

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  Shawn Wayans

  Since the show, Shawn and the youngest Wayans, Marlon, have had much success on-screen. Let's see, there was Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, The Wayans Bros., the Scary Movie [25] franchise, White Chicks [26], Little Man [27] and last year's Dance Flick [28]. And then there was their TV show, The Wayans Brothers.

  Shawn is gearing up for White Chicks 2 in 2011.

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  Marlon Wayans

  Next up, Marlon's set to play Richard Pryor in a biopic [29]. 

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  Jamie Foxx (1991-94)

  "I'm gon' rock yo' world [30]." Enough said. 

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  Jamie Foxx

  He's an Oscar-winning, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-winning actor and musician. Jamie Foxx, 42, has had his fair share of fame. Really miss the '90s? Well, look forward to the return of Sheneneh and Wanda [31]. After their 2009 sketch at the BET Awards, Foxx and Martin Lawrence have inked a deal to star in a feature film with the most outlandish men-in-drag characters out there. "Oh my goooooooodness!"  

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  James Carrey (1990-94)

  He was the token white guy in the show's original cast. It's safe to say that his roles, like many of the other young comics and actors on In Living Color, helped launch him to stardom. From his impressions of Willie Nelson [32], Mr. Rogers [33] and Chuck Woolery [5] to his original characters of Fire Marshal Bill [34] and Vera de Milo [35], Carrey broke out andbecame a household name.

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  Jim Carrey

  After In Living Color, Carrey became Ace Ventura, pet detective; The Mask, the cable guy, the Grinch, and a man imbued with the powers of God Almighty himself. Currently, there's hopeful Internet chatter that Carrey, 48, one of Hollywood's top stars [36], will play the lead role in an upcoming Where's Waldo? movie [37].

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  Rosie Perez (1990-92)

  Rosie's pump-it, pump-it, pump-it-harder intro to Do the Right Thing was her first major film role--and perhaps it landed her the gig as the choreographer of In Living Color's Fly Girls in 1990.

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  Rosie Perez

  After In Living Color Perez became known more for her nasal voice than her dance moves. As an actress she starred opposite Woody Harrelson in White Man Can't Jump (1992), and carried the lead role in The 24 Hour Woman (1999). Last year, Perez guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: SVU, and she is now working on two upcoming projects, Pete Smalls is Dead [38] and The Hero of Color City [39]. She's also an advocate for Puerto Rican rights. 

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  Carrie Ann Inaba (1990-92)

  She was one of the original Fly Girls. She's in the top middle.

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  Carrie Ann Inaba

  Now, Inaba can be seen as a judge on ABC's Dancing with the Stars [40]. 

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  Jennifer Lopez (1991-93)

  From the time that Jennifer Lopez joined The Fly Girls [41], she stood out from the pack [42]. Check out her cropped 'do, to Keenen's left.

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  Jennifer Lopez

  As famous for her love life as her performing career, Lopez metamorphosized from Fly Girl to J-Lo, to Puffy's Girl, to Jenny from the Block, to one-half of Bennifer, to Mrs. Marc Anthony. After a breakout film role in the 1997 biopic Selena, carved her own corner in the romantic-comedy genre. She was a maid in Manhattan, a wedding planner, and on April 23, she will star in The Back-Up Plan [43] opposite Alex O'Loughlin. And that music career? Well, see for yourself [44]. 

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  Laurie Ann Gibson (1993-94)

  Since ILC, Gibson has choreographed dance routines for Danity Kane, Day 26 and the 2003 film Honey, starring Jessica Alba. A la Diddy's Making the Band, "Boom-kack! Ah, boom-kack!"

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  T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh (1990-94)

  T'Keyah was one of the original cast members of In Living Color. She often played one of Homey D. Clown's sock-battered victims. And she wrote her signature sketch, "In Black World [45]." "In black world, all the black people have the money. ... And Jesse Jackson is the KING." Hey, it was the '90s. 

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  T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh

  Since In Living Color, Keymáh, 47, has co-starred in Cosby as well as Disney's That's So Raven. She sells books, T-shirts, art, jewelry and spa treatment products on her Web site, The Crystal Shop: Where Crystal's Visions Come To Life [46]. 
   

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  David Alan Grier (1990-94)

  As one-half of the "Men on Film" duo, Antoine Merriweather gets "two ... snaps ... up!" 

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  David Alan Grier

  Post-In Living Color, you might remember Grier as the overbearing, always pushing up on somebody preacher on Martin, as Rev. Leon Lonnie Love [47]. In 2009, he starred in his own sketch comedy series on Comedy Central, Chocolate News [48], but it was canceled after one season. He also starred opposite Kerry Washington in David Mamet's Broadway play, Race [49]. 

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  Tommy Davidson (1990-94)

  From playing Sammy Davis to Michael Jackson to Spike Lee, Davidson hit his impersonations spot on. But he was often the victim of Wanda's sexual advances and of Homey D. Clown's heavy sock. Brave man. 

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  Tommy Davidson

  Davidson's longest stint on television since In Living Color was as the voice of Oscar Proud on Disney's The Proud Family from 2001-2005. In 2009, he appeared in Black Dynamite as "Cream Corn." Apparently, Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles is forever in debt to him [50]. 

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  Kelly Coffield (1990-93)

  She was the only white woman in the original cast. Her impressions of Barbara Bush, Cyndi Lauper and Roseanne Barr were pitch-perfect for the '90s. 

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  Kelly Coffield Park

  She's appeared in a few films and TV shows in the past 20 years, including Jerry Maguire (1996), Scary Movie (2000), My Wife and Kids, and Bride Wars (2009) among others. But perhaps the greatest gift that In Living Color gave her was the opportunity to meet and work with her future husband, Steve Park [51]. 

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  Alexandra Wentworth (1992-94)

  She appeared in the show's second and third seasons, but joined the cast in 1993. Her impersonations included Cher, Sally Field and Sally Struthers.

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  Alexandra Wentworth

  Wentworth, 45, now stars in the Starz television series, Head Case. She has made movie appearances in Jerry Maguire and Office Space. Don't remember? Yeah, us neither.  

  But if Bravo is still searching for D.C. housewives, maybe Wentworth could fit the bill. She's married to George Stephanopoulos, host of Good Morning America and former Clinton political adviser. Aa-a-nd, her mother was Nancy Reagan's social secretary, and her father was a reporter for the Washington Post. 

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  Kim Coles (1990)

  She was one of the original cast members and only stayed on through the first season. But perhaps you remember her as Robin Givens on a spoof of Love Connection [5]. 

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  Kim Coles

  Where would '90s Fox TV have been without Living Single and Synclaire, the troll-loving, woo-woo-woo-ing receptionist at Flavor magazine? Since Synclaire's "90s kinda world," Coles, 48, has had roles on sitcoms (One on One, Frasier), dramas (Six Feet Under), and reality television shows (Celebrity Mole and Celebrity Fit Club). Most recently, she has hosted BET's Pay It Off and has appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race.   

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  Larry Wilmore (1991-93)

  Larry Wilmore was a writer for In Living Color. And his involvement with the show was a family affair. His brother, Marc [52], was a cast member for just one year.

  Larry went on to co-create The PJs with Eddie Murphy and The Bernie Mac Show with the late Bernie Mac, for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Now he's in front of the camera as a fake-news "senior black correspondent" on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. And in 2009, he released his book, I'd Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts [53].

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  Anne-Marie Johnson (1993-94)

  She's most well-known for playing Althea Tibbs on In The Heat of the Night. But she also was a cast member of In Living Color in its final season. She played the black version of Mary Tyler Moore [54].

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  Anne-Marie Johnson

  She's had a few guest-starring roles since ILC was canceled in 1994, including Living Single, That's So Raven and Girlfriends. In 2005, she was elected the vice president of the Screen Actors Guild, and ran an unsuccessful campaign for the SAG presidency in 2009. 

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  Jay Leggett (1993-94)

  Jay often starred opposite Reggie McFadden and Jamie Foxx in the last season of In Living Color in the Dirty Dozens sketch [55]. 

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  Jay Leggett

  By the time In Living Color had reached its final season, a lot of its brilliance had died down. Leggett didn't get to ride the wave of the show's success like those before him, having a few one-offs in some shows including The Drew Carey Show, Even Stevens, Ally McBeal and NYPD Blue. 

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  Reggie McFadden (1993-94)

  He got dirty with Jamie Foxx in a couple rounds of the dozens. And played a dead-armed substitute teacher [56].

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  Reggie McFadden

  Reggie got his big break before he was on the final season of In Living Color. Remember him as Martin Lawrence's credit-card-stealing friend [57]? After ILC wrapped, he appeared on Def Comedy Jam. He's on MySpace now [58].

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  Steve Park (1991-92)

  His impersonations included Connie Chung and Yoko Ono. If you don't remember him from ILC, then maybe this clip will refresh [59] your memory on his acting chops. Since ILC, he's played minor characters on Friends and Adult Swim's The Venture Bros. He's currently working on two projects: The Best and the Brightest and Wedding Palace.

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  Deidre Lang (1990-94)

  Lang (bottom left) was on ILC from the very start. She's now pursuing a gospel musical career via Myspace [60]. And she has started her own travel agency, Bennett Lang Travel [61].

  (The former photo here was of another fly girl, Lisa Marie Todd (1990-92).)

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  Carol Rosenthal (1993-94)

  It's hard YouTubing the fifth season of the show. Perhaps because the fire had died down? Well, here's a rare clip of Carol Rosenthal as pregnant Wanda's nurse [62].

  Since ILC, Rosenthal has also had several one-off roles on sitcom television including Mad About You, Seinfeld and As Told by Ginger. But now she works in Hollywood as a casting director [63] for commercials, print and film.

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