Damon Wayans
Stand-up comedian

Damon Wayans

Also known as Damon Wayans Sr.

Who Damon Wayans is

Damon Wayans is a stand-up comedian, actor and writer from Harlem, New York City, known for In Living Color and My Wife and Kids. He started doing stand-up in 1982, was a featured player on Saturday Night Live in the 1985–86 season, and released the HBO stand-up specials The Last Stand? (1991) and Still Standing (1997). He announced his retirement from stand-up in 2015 and later starred in Lethal Weapon and Poppa's House, and he is billed for The Return of Damon Wayans at Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu in October 2026.

At a glance

Born
1960
Came up through
Saturday Night Live and In Living Color
Stand-up specials
Damon Wayans: Still Standing, Damon Wayans: The Last Stand? and One Night Stand: Damon Wayans
Podcasts
Red Hats: A Novel and Bootleg
On screen
Saturday Night Live, In Living Color, My Wife and Kids and 5 more

On stage

No dated show on D.O.C.'s Comedy Calendar right now.

Lineups belong to the rooms and the comedians, and can change; each listing has the last word. Their nights on the Comedy Calendar →

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

On screen

Podcasts

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through Saturday Night Live and In Living Color:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Damon Wayans

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1960Born
  2. 1985Saturday Night Live (featured player, 1985–1986; host, 1995) On screen
  3. 1989One Night Stand: Damon Wayans (1989, HBO) Special
  4. 1990In Living Color (main cast, seasons 1–3, 1990–1992) On screen
  5. 1991Damon Wayans: The Last Stand? (1991, HBO) Special
  6. 1996Waynehead (co-creator and executive producer, 1996–1997) On screen
  7. 1997Damon Wayans: Still Standing (1997, HBO) Special
  8. 1998Damon (Damon Thomas, 1998) On screen
  9. 1999Bootleg (book, 1999) Book
  10. 2001My Wife and Kids (Michael Kyle, 2001–2005) On screen
  11. 2010Red Hats: A Novel (book, 2010) Book
  12. 2016Lethal Weapon (Roger Murtaugh, 2016–2019) On screen
  13. 2024Poppa's House (Damon "Poppa" Fulton, 2024–2025) On screen

Questions about Damon Wayans

Where is Damon Wayans performing next?

No date is on D.O.C.'s Comedy Calendar right now.

What stand-up specials have they released?

Damon Wayans: Still Standing, Damon Wayans: The Last Stand? and One Night Stand: Damon Wayans.

What podcast do they host?

Red Hats: A Novel and Bootleg.

What TV shows and films are they in?

Saturday Night Live, In Living Color, My Wife and Kids, Lethal Weapon, Poppa's House and Damon, among 8 credits.

Where did they get their start?

Saturday Night Live (featured player) and In Living Color (cast).

When were they born?

In 1960.

Who are some comedians like them?

Jamie Foxx (also came through In Living Color), Jim Carrey (also came through In Living Color), Keenen Ivory Wayans (also came through In Living Color), Larry Wilmore (also came through In Living Color) and Marlon Wayans (also came through In Living Color).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to add them to your D.O.C., your twelve.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026