Comedian Tracy Morgan has a lot to smile about. Not only does the funny man just turned 50 years old, has numerous writing and sitcom gigs, the “30 Rock” star also just got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year. This is all after suffering a horrific car accident in 2014 where he was in a coma and had to learn how to walk again.
Morgan’s ceremony was all about gratitude. Morgan thanked Martin Lawrence for being his first inspiration and being his O.G., and he went on to thank Get Out writer and director Jordan Peele and his surprising role in Morgan’s recovery.
“When I came out of that hospital, I was in my wheelchair and my son turned me on to ‘Key and Peele,’” Morgan explained. “And the laughter you gave to me helped me speed up my healing process.”
A new side of Morgan is now being unveiled in his TBS sitcom “The Last O.G.” He proves surprisingly effective and even poignant in the show’s more dramatic moments, playing Tray, newly released from prison after serving 15 years for dealing drugs, and desperate to reconnect with his ex-wife (Tiffany Haddish), who’s now married a white man with two kids he suspects may be his own.
“It’s my world, it’s my life. It’s an ode to the people who I sold crack to,” says Morgan, who developed the show with Peele.
He’s eager to dig deeper into rich emotional territory, hoping to stand proudly alongside his heroes Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason and Charlie Chaplin. “The great ones make you laugh and cry,” he tells Variety.
Morgan fought with suicidal thoughts for over a year and a half before the car accident took place. The accident he feared, would take away his ability to be funny. He said losing his prized talent would mean losing his life. As Morgan underwent rehabilitation suicidal thoughts came back even stronger.
“I said, ‘If my funny ever went away, I’d die’…And I thought I was going to die for a long time. My thoughts – I was in a very dark place. I was sitting right here, contemplating suicide. I couldn’t walk.”
The “30 Rock” star was able to pull through the scare by taking some much needed advice from his deceased father, Jimmy Morgan. The near-death experience that left Morgan in a coma for eight days gave the funny man a…
… much needed time for reflection.
“He was the one who said, ‘Go home, son. I ain’t ready for you yet.’ I don’t think I cheated death. I think this was the plan. My room wasn’t ready.”
“I ain’t never gonna stop growing,” he says. “I listen to people, I learn, and I grow. Listen, I had to get hit by that truck. If I didn’t get hit by that truck, then I wouldn’t be making that positive impact that I’m making on the world today, so everything happens for a reason.”
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