(2002), Orpheus in Scary Movie 3 (2003), Pope Sweet Jesus in Norbit (2007), and voiced Richard Pryor on Black Dynamite (2012–2015).

[1] Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator.

After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses.

At a comedy club open-mic night in 1989, Griffin hopped onstage on a bet and earned a standing ovation with family stories.

He talked his way into stand-up gigs around town and in L.A. One popular bit was his gay version of tough-guy comic Andrew Dice Clay, who later hired Griffin to open for him.

[4] Once he achieved a fair amount of success in standup, Griffin became legendary at The Comedy Store for stopping in to do guest sets on open mic nights and staying up on stage long enough to tire the audience out for the hapless budding comic who had to follow him.

[9] In March 2007,[10] Griffin participated in a charity race at Irwindale Speedway to promote the film Redline, using a Ferrari Enzo owned by Daniel Sadek.

During a practice run, Griffin accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and lost control of the Enzo, crashing hard into a concrete barrier.