Eddie Griffin Interview on "The Walking Dead" (February 23, 1995)
The Walking Dead is a 1995 war film written and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II and starring Allen Payne, Joe Morton and Eddie Griffin. The film depicts the lives of five Marines who are all assigned to rescue a group of POW during the Vietnam War in 1972. It opened to poor reviews and low box office receipts. Previews billed it as "the black experience in Vietnam".
The box-office gross was over $6,000,000.00.[1]
In 1972 North Vietnam, short-timer Marines are dispatched by helicopter to conduct their last mission: to evacuate the survivors from a POW camp abandoned by the Viet Cong. The landing zone - which they expect to be cold - is actually hot (under fire[2]) and after a short fight, only four members of the rescue mission survive. SSgt. Barkley and Hoover have a brief fight after Hoover wants to radio for an evacuation and Barkley insists they finish the mission. During their fight a mortar lands nearby, knocking them both into a swamp. Barkley saves Branche from drowning.
Cast
Allen Payne as Cole Evans
Eddie Griffin as Pvt. Hoover Brache
Joe Morton as SSgt. Barkley
Vonte Sweet as PFC. Joe Brooks
Roger Floyd as Cpl. Pippins
Bernie Mac as Ray
Ion Overman as Shirley Evans
Kyley Jackman as Sandra Evans
Jean-Claude La Marre as Pvt. Earl Anderson (as Jean LaMarre)
Lena Sang as Barbra Jean
Wendy Raquel Robinson as Celeste
Dana Point as Edna
Doil Williams as Harold
Damon Jones as 2nd Lt. Duffy
Kevin Jackson as Deuce
Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released March 7, 1995
Singles from The Walking Dead soundtrack
"Among the Walking Dead"
Released: April 25, 1995
The soundtrack album for the film was released on March 7, 1995, by Motown Records. It consists mostly of Motown hits from the 1960s and 1980s but also includes three newly recorded hip-hop songs exclusive to the soundtrack. The soundtrack failed to make it to the Billboard charts but Scarface's "Among the Walking Dead" was a minor hit on the R&B and rap charts.
Edward Rubin Griffin (born July 15, 1968) is an American stand up comedian and actor.
Early life
Griffin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised by his single mother, Doris Thomas, a phone company operator.[2] His family were Jehovah's Witnesses.[3] In 1984, at 16 years old, he moved to Compton, California, to live with his cousins. He later became a father and enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was discharged within months for using marijuana. After six months in jail on an assault conviction following a fight, he made ends meet dancing and painting houses.
Career
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.
Griffin has appeared in films such as The Meteor Man (1993), The Walking Dead (1995) “David E. Talbert: A Fool & His Money” (1997), Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Double Take (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), John Q (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), Norbit (2007), and Urban Justice (2007).
Griffin has appeared on television shows such as Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000) and Chappelle's Show in the skit "World Series of Dice" as Grits n' Gravy. Griffin performed on two tracks from Dr. Dre's 1999 album, 2001, and the intro track from The D.O.C.'s 1996 album Helter Skelter. He has also appeared on commercials for Miller Beer's Man Laws.
In 2011, Comedy Central released Griffin's stand-up comedy special You Can Tell 'Em I Said It on DVD. In December 2019, his stand-up comedy special, E-Niggma, was released on Showtime.
Personal life
Griffin and his mother got into an argument at his 20th birthday party when she accused him of stealing jewelry from her, which Griffin denied doing. Afterward, Griffin did not see his mother for four years until he moved back to Los Angeles, California, in March 1992, to be closer with his family when his mother was injured in a car accident.[5]
Griffin has been married four times. He married his first wife, Carla in 1984 when he was 16 years old. They divorced in 1997.[6] He married his second wife, Rochelle, in 2002 and divorced in 2009.[6] On September 8, 2011, he married his third wife, Nia Rivers. However, they filed for divorce after one month of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. They were officially divorced six months later in 2012.[7][8] He married his fourth wife, Ko Lee Griffin, on July 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[9]
