He was Tony-nominated for his roles as Jackie Robinson in The First (1983), Henry Brown in Race (2009) and Sporting Life in Porgy and Bess (2012).

Visiting lecturer Rachel Roberts took notice of his performance one evening in a piece entitled The Place of the Spirit Dance.

[4] After graduating from Yale, Grier landed the role of Jackie Robinson in the short-lived Broadway musical The First, directed by Martin Charnin and written by Joel Siegel.

[citation needed] Although primarily known for his dramatic work, Grier began to shift towards comedy, making appearances in the cult films Amazon Women on the Moon and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, whose director Keenen Ivory Wayans cast Grier in his new variety show In Living Color.

[citation needed] Grier became a popular cast member through his characters, which ranged from hyperactive children to crotchety old men.

[citation needed] Some of his more well-known characters were flamboyant and effeminate Antoine Merriweather in the "Men on..." sketch series, blues musician Calhoun Tubbs (based on Shakey Jake, a busker who often performed near the Michigan campus) megaphone-blaring shop teacher Al MacAfee, the elderly Mr. Brooks, and Tiny, a prison inmate obsessed with female "breastesses".

[citation needed] After his success on In Living Color, Grier began appearing in film comedies such as Boomerang, as Eddie Murphy's shy friend Gerard in 1992; Blankman, with Damon Wayans, in 1994; In the Army Now, as Fred Ostroff with Pauly Shore and Andy Dick, also in 1994; and as Carl Bentley, a factory employee turned police officer whose car is crushed and eaten by a giant pod in Jumanji in 1995.

[citation needed] In 1999, he made a guest appearance as himself in the "Aw, Here it Goes to Hollywood" episode of Nickelodeon's sitcom Kenan & Kel.

[citation needed] He made an appearance on the Dave, Shelley, and Chainsaw (DSC) Show (San Diego Jack 100.7 FM) on October 5, 2012, before doing performances at The Madhouse Comedy Club.

[6] He took a leading role in DAG and had a cameo in the Robert De Niro and Edward Burns film 15 Minutes (2001) as a Central Park mugger.

[citation needed] In a departure from the comedic roles he played on In Living Color, he portrayed an abusive father in Rusty Cundieff's anthology film Tales from the Hood.

He starred in his own Comedy Central stand-up special The Book of David: The Cult Figure's Manifesto.

[citation needed] He played Professor Bunsen Jude, the Science Dude, the host of a children's television program.

[9] He returned to Broadway for the premiere of Race, written and directed by David Mamet, opposite James Spader, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas, which opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 6, 2009.

Grier appeared on Broadway as Sportin' Life in the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on January 12, 2012, alongside Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald.

Grier invited the show to help his brother due to his severe problems with clutter, and the family received a home makeover.

In July 2007, he married Christine Y. Kim, an associate curator of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

She gave birth to their daughter, Luisa Danbi Grier-Kim on January 10, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles.

[34] On the August 10, 2009, episode of The Adam Carolla Show, Grier agreed to auction it to aid Bryan Bishop's Tumor Fund, but subsequently walked out of the studio.