Where Are They Now: In Living Color

Where Are They Now: In Living Color
When the brainchild of Keenen Ivory Wayans, 'In Living Color,' debuted on television in 1990, no one could've anticipated that the sketch comedy series would serve as the career starting point for so many of its cast members.. Though the series focused on mostly black subject matters, the Emmy-winning show's incorporation of music and dance was equally groundbreaking. Some of the biggest names in early 90's hip-hop performed on 'In Living Color' and the series' signature dance troupe, The Fly Girls, also launched the careers of several successful dancers and choreographers including 'Dancing with the Stars' judge Carrie Ann Inaba. 'In Living Color' aired for five seasons on Fox, from 1990 until 1994. BlackVoices.com takes a look back at some of the familiar faces of 'In Living Color' and how their careers turned out after the show.


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Jamie Foxx
The Texas-born actor/singer/comedian that is Jamie Foxx made a name for himself playing a not-so-pretty woman named Wanda on 'In Living Color.' During the three years he appeared on the series, Foxx, whose real name is Eric Bishop, also satirized Ray Charles' 1992 Diet Pepsi advertisements.


Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx is the only 'In Living Color' alum to win an Academy Award. Ironically, he won it for his portrayal of Ray Charles, in 'Ray,' who he also imitated on 'In Living Color.' That same year (2005) he was also nominated for an Oscar in the Supporting Actor category for 'Collateral.' Since 'In Living Color,' Foxx has gone on to star in films such as 'Dreamgirls,' 'Any Given Sunday,' 'Booty Call,' 'The Players Club,' and 'Ali.' He also fronted his own television sitcom, which is in syndication. Ever the Renaissance Man, Foxx has dabbled in music, releasing a platinum album from J Records called 'Unpredictable.' He has another album dropping in December 2008 and two upcoming movies: 'The Soloist' and 'Law Abiding Citizen.' Earlier this year, he also produced an MTV competition series called 'From G's to Gents.'


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Carrie Ann Inaba
Carrie Ann Inaba studied choreography at University of California-Irvine but the Honolulu-born beauty was a popular Japanese singer in the late 1980s before returning to America from Tokyo to appear as a Fly Girl, on 'In Living Color.' Inaba strutted her stuff on the hit series from 1990 until 1992.


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Carrie Ann Inaba
Carrie Ann left 'In Living Color' to tour with Madonna as a background dancer in 1993 and later reportedly shaved her head bald and performed topless as part of Madge's tour 'The Girlie Show.' She did minor stints in movies such as 'Austin Powers in Goldmember,' 'Showgirls,' and 'American Virgin' before choreographing several television shows including 'American Idol' and the 'Miss America Pageant.' These days though, Inaba is a judge on the popular ABC dance competition 'Dancing with the Stars.'


Kennen Ivory Wayans
Much of the success of 'In Living Color' should be credited to the eldest of the Wayans family clan. Kennen Ivory Wayans has been praised as the creative genius to come up with the show. After helping to write some of Eddie Murphy's 'Raw' stand-up show, the New Yorker hooked up with Robert Townsend to write two comedic feature films, 'Hollywood Shuffle' (1987) and 'I'm Gonna Git You Sucka' (1998) and one drama 'The Five Heartbeats.' Two years later, he enlisted the help from several of his siblings, Damon, Kim, Marlon and Shawn, for 'In Living Color,' for which he served as the host and executive producer. He left the show in 1992 with his family in tow over creative issues and contract disputes with the network.


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Kennen Ivory Wayans
Post-'In Living Color,' Keenen took a stab at his own short-lived, late night talk show, 'The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show.' He tried playing an action movie hero opposite Jada Pinkett Smith in 'A Low Down Dirty Shame,' which he also wrote and directed. He also wrote the classic movie 'The Five Heartbeats.' Many people do not know Keenen has directed both 'Scary Movie' and 'Scary Movie 2', in which his brothers Shawn and Marlon starred, as well as directing their comedy 'White Chicks.' Wayans was most recently featured in the acclaimed HBO documentary, 'The Black List, Vol. 1,' alongside other African-American luminaries such as Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Suzan Lori-Parks, Slash, Zane, Bill T. Jones, Chris Rock and Toni Morrison.


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Damon Wayans
Kennen Ivory Wayans cast his younger brother Damon Wayans in the films 'Hollywood Shuffle,' and 'I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.' Before that, he appeared on the long-running sketch comedy series 'Saturday Night Live' for one season in 1985. A popular stand-up comedian, Damon appeared in 'Earth Girls Are Easy' alongside actor Jim Carrey, who he suggested for a role on 'In Living Color.' On 'In Living Color,' he was clearly one of the series' break-out stars. His 'Homey the Clown' skit, in which he played an angry clown and crafted the popular "Homey don't play that" phrase, earned him the role of show favorite, as did 'Men on Film' segment in which he played an overly flamboyant film critic.


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Damon Wayans
After leaving 'In Living Color,' Damon wrote, executive produced, and starred in the film 'Mo' Money.' He had other notable acting roles in the films 'Major Payne,' 'Bulletproof,' and Spike Lee's 'Bamboozled.' The father of four also starred in and executive produced the ABC sitcom 'My Wife and Kids' from 2001 until 2005, when the series ended. He's currently attached to a new sitcom project, titled 'Never Better.'


Tommy Davidson
Tommy Davidson dropped out of his Washington, D.C. high school to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. His impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. on 'In Living Color' earned him a strong fan following. He appeared on the show from 1990 until its end in 1994.