Comedian Eddie Griffin isn’t afraid to tackle it all

He got started in comedy on a dare to get up on stage.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Comedian Eddie Griffin is up on current events.

Fans of the comedian/actor attending his upcoming Northeast Ohio shows Friday and Saturday at the Cleveland Improv are recommended to be on their CNN game too concerning George Bush, Michael Vick and Barry Bonds.

“I call the media and the White House one in the same,” said Griffin, calling from Los Angeles. “If the media was doing what they really should be doing, the people would be informed, but since the media is so caught up with the next celebrity story, they’re not doing in-depth reporting.

“They’ll just tell you the surface story: ‘Yeah, there was a law passed today … that’s enough, now Michael Vick, boy is he in trouble and Barry Bonds, is the world record tainted?’”

Griffin is particularly opinionated about Major League Baseball’s new home run king.

“You ain’t got no proof the man took steroids, now move on,” Griffin said. “If you’re playing any sport, someone is taking steroids. And the beef is so polluted with steroids, it doesn’t really matter. If they eat a steak, they’re going to have a positive [urine] test.”

Sought after

Proof positive of Griffin’s skills is the fact he’s become a highly sought after comedian and actor. His silver screen resume includes 1993’s “Meteor Man,” 1998’s “Armageddon,” 1999’s “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” and most recently “Norbit.” He’s currently finishing the filming of a sequel to 2002’s “Undercover Brother,” which he wrote and co-stars in with Mos Def.

While he dabbles in acting, Griffin said his comedy career remains his focus. He’s on tour nearly every weekend, with audiences enjoying both his political humor and his hilarious impressions, including fan favorites Michael Jackson and Sammy Davis Jr. Over the years there have been so many, with Griffin noting one particular public figure who provided the biggest challenge to impersonate.

“The hardest one to nail I’d say was Martin Luther King.” Griffin said. “The way he speaks is singsongy. Martin Luther King talks like most people sing. Just put a band behind it, and you have a song.”

Where he started

For the best insight into Griffin’s comedic mind, be sure to check out his 2003 concert DVD/documentary “DysFunktional Family,” which includes live performances interspersed with video footage from his family reunion. After seeing this special, it’s not a stretch to see how Griffin became a comedian.

“I started August of 1989 and have been doing it ever since,” Griffin said. “That’s when somebody dared me to go on stage. I’d always been funny but then after doing it, I realized I’d been doing this [expletive] for free.”

While a dare-to-get-on-stage story is a common first stand-up experience for comedians, what makes Griffin unique is his lack of a learning curve.

“For me, when I first went up there, I got a standing ovation after doing 40-some minutes,” Griffin said. “To this day I haven’t written a joke. I don’t write jokes. They come to me. The neurons are firing beyond the speed of light.”