fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Gary Cameron Owen (born July 26, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. After being named "Funniest Serviceman in America", his big break came in 1997 on Black Entertainment Television's stand-up showcase Comic View. Owen followed this debut with featured roles in the films Daddy Day Care, Little Man, and College. He has cultivated a very large African-American following after headlining on cable channel BET and performing at targeted events, such as Shaquille O'Neal's All-Star Comedy Jam Tour.[1] In 2016, he was in a TV show on BET called The Gary Owen Show.[2]

Gary Owen
Owen in 2012
Born	(1974-07-26) July 26, 1974 (age 48) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Comedian actor
Years active	1997–present
Spouse	Kenya Duke ​ ​ (m. 2003; sep. 2021)​
Children	3
Website	garyowen.live

Career

Prior to his successful career in stand-up comedy, Gary Owen served in the U.S. Navy for six years as a Master-at-Arms and was in the Presidential Honor Guard.[3] After a year of doing stand-up, Owen was named "Funniest Serviceman in America".[4] He continued doing stand-up in San Diego and developed a large African-American fan base. He went on to win the "Funniest Black Comedian in San Diego" contest. That led to his first gig at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. In July 1997, he auditioned for BET's Comic View. Two appearances on the multicultural comedy showcase won him his own one-hour Grandstand show. At the end of the season, he was selected from the year's four "Grandstanders" to be the host. Owen was the only white man to have ever hosted Comic View.[5]

In April 2011, Ebony dubbed Owen "Black America's Favorite White Comic".[6] Owen has produced two stand-up DVDs: Breakin' Out The Park, which is now available nationwide, and Urban Legend. He was also one of the headliners on Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment Stand-Up on Starz.

Owen starred in the Screen Gems comedy Think Like a Man — based on Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man — with Kevin Hart and Gabrielle Union.[7]

Owen has also appeared in such films as Rebound, College, Daddy Day Care and Hillbilly Highway, and had a recurring role on Tyler Perry's TBS show House of Payne as Zack. He appeared in the comedy "Meet the Blacks" as Larry. He has a TV show on BET called The Gary Owen Show.[2]

He has released the comedy specials Gary Owen: True Story (2012) and Gary Owen: I Agree with Myself (2015), both directed by Leslie Small, as well as Gary Owen: #DoinWhatIDo (2019), directed by Brian Volk-Weiss.

Personal life

Owen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He grew up in a trailer park in Oxford along with his six siblings. Owen and his wife Kenya Duke were married in 2003. They have two children together, a son, Austin, and a daughter, Kennedy. Kenya has a son, Emilio, from a previous relationship. In late March 2021, Owen filed for divorce.[8]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Held Up	Clute
2003	Daddy Day Care	Mr. Carrott
	Love Chronicles	K-Dog
2005	Rebound	Vulture Mascot
2006	Little Man	Officer Jankowski
	Who Made the Potatoe Salad?	Police Officer
2008	College	Bearcat
2012	Think Like A Man	Bennett
	Hillbilly Highway	Paw Gatsfield
2014	Ride Along	Crazy Cody Tillman
	Funny Business	Gary	TV Movie
	Think Like a Man Too	Bennett
2015	Get Hard	Himself
	Bachelors	Stanley
2016	Definitely Divorcing	Brian
	Meet the Blacks	Larry Wilson
	Restored Me	Ken
2019	Undercover Brother 2	Military Brother
2020	Welcome to Sudden Death	Gus	Video
2021	The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2	Clive Goddard
2022	Back on the Strip	Xander	Completed

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Wayans Bros.	Charlie	Episode: "High Life"
2009	House of Payne	Zach	Recurring Cast: Season 5
2016	The Gary Owen Show	Himself	Main Cast
	Nubbin & Friends	Chet the Chick	Episode: "The Letter "A""

References

External links

• Official website
• Gary Owen at IMDb

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