57 Fun Facts About Martin (TV Show)

On which network did Martin air from 1992 to 1997?

Fox aired all five seasons, yet a rival's studio made the show: HBO Independent Productions, the cable channel's sitcom arm, which went on to produce Everybody Loves Raymond.

What is the first name of Mama Payne, Martin's mother, whom Lawrence also plays?

Edna 'Mama' Payne smothers Martin with affection and wages open war on Gina, whom she mocks as 'Applehead'; of everyone on the show, only her son can stand her.

What is the name of the talk show Martin ends up hosting in later seasons?

Word on the Street came after a humbling stretch: fired when WZUP changed hands, Martin buffed floors and flipped burgers before he landed in front of a TV camera.

Who plays Martin's girlfriend and later wife, Gina Waters?

Tisha Campbell had starred with Lawrence in House Party (1990); when that film's lead, Kid, guests on Martin, Sheneneh begs him for a kiss like the one he gave 'that light-skinned girl' in the film.

Who plays Pam James, Gina's sharp-tongued best friend?

Tichina Arnold got a showcase in the final season: 'Goin' for Mine' sends Pam, newly laid off, to a record label, a backdoor pilot for a spin-off that was never made.

Which actor plays Cole Brown on Martin?

Carl Anthony Payne II plays Cole, dim but loyal and devoted to his AMC Pacer; in the finale his girlfriend Shanise fails to notice that he is trying to propose.

Which actor plays Tommy Strawn on Martin?

Thomas Mikal Ford plays Tommy, the level-headed one of the group; in season three he and Pam become a couple, to Martin's loud disapproval.

On Martin, what is the running joke about Tommy?

His job is a mystery: Tommy swears he works, his friends answer 'You ain't got no job!', and when Martin and Gina tail him in 'Get a Job' the trail leads to a strip-club runway.

On Martin, where does Cole proudly work for most of the series?

At the airport, a job Cole holds until the episode 'Cole on Ice'; when he loses it, Martin finds him work at his TV station, where Cole promptly fouls things up.

On Martin, who is the owner of radio station WZUP and Martin's boss in the early seasons?

Stan Winters, a penny-pincher in dated 1970s suits, sells WZUP when the IRS catches up with him and skips town, leaving his staff to the new owner.

Which Saturday Night Live alumnus plays Martin's boss at radio station WZUP?

Garrett Morris, of SNL's original 1975 cast, was shot and badly wounded in a 1994 street holdup; the show wrote his character out while he recovered, and he came back for one guest spot.

On Martin, what business does Sheneneh Jenkins, played by Martin Lawrence in drag, run?

A hair salon: Sheneneh's Sho' Nuff Hair Salon is where she holds court with her girlfriends, and where Gina once had to work off a debt to her.

In the Martin episode 'Suspicious Minds', what does Martin accuse his friends of stealing?

His CD player vanishes, so Martin dresses everyone in black and interrogates them around a table in a spoof of New Jack City; even Gina is a suspect.

On Martin, Bruh-Man says he lives on which floor, while holding up four fingers?

Bruh-Man, played by Reginald Ballard, always says he is 'from the fifth flo'' while holding up four fingers, then lets himself in through Martin's window.

On Martin, which comedian plays Hustle Man, the street peddler who can get you anything?

Tracy Morgan plays Hustle Man, whose sidelines stretch to cut-price wedding planning for Martin; he went on to seven seasons on Saturday Night Live.

On Martin, why does Dragonfly Jones keep getting beaten up by his own student, Kenji?

He owes him money: the self-styled martial arts master never pays his assistant, so every request for wages ends with Dragonfly flat on his back.

On Martin, what is Jerome, the gold-toothed smooth talker forever chasing Pam?

Jerome is a faded Detroit pimp who speaks in rhyme and announces himself with 'Jerome's in the house!'; his send-off, 'Uptown Friday Night', is set at his own new club.

On Martin, what job does Ol' Otis hold?

Security guard: Ol' Otis is elderly and potbellied, yet he floors far younger men when provoked, and the police once assign him to protect Gina and Pam from bank robbers.

On Martin, what is the name of the bar where the gang regularly hangs out?

Nipsey's Lounge is named for its genial bartender-owner; in the final season Martin buys in as a silent partner, and trouble follows.

When Martin's radio station WZUP is sold at the end of season two, which format does its new owner adopt?

Country: in 'The Hoe Down in Motown' the station goes country-western, Martin tries gamely to adapt, and by the next episode he has been fired.

Martin's first episode, where Gina hears his radio talk about women, shares its title with which fairy tale?

'Beauty and the Beast' has Gina threaten to leave over what she hears; Martin gives in, and she agrees to play along in front of his friends as if he had won the argument.

Which real-life champion gets trash-talked by Martin, then surprises him in the ring, in 'Guard Your Grill'?

Thomas Hearns, Detroit's own 'Hitman', is one of the real local names the Detroit-set show liked to use; a charity bout and Martin's big mouth end with the two of them in the ring.

In 'Blow, Baby, Blow', which rapper asks Martin to help find a new background vocalist?

The Notorious B.I.G. plays himself, an old friend who crashes on Martin's couch while Gina and Pam compete to prove they can sing for him.

On Martin, Gina spends a whole episode trapped in which household object?

A brass bed headboard: Gina's head gets wedged in the couple's new bed in 'Headin' for Trouble', and she has to attend an important meeting with what is left of it hidden under a wig and a shawl.

Which real-life event explains Gina's absence for much of Martin's final season?

A lawsuit against Lawrence: the actress playing Gina left in late 1996 and sued him and the producers; she settled and came back for the finale on condition that the two share no scenes.

In Martin's series finale, Martin and Gina leave Detroit for which city, where his talk show is going national?

Los Angeles: a national deal for Martin's talk show arrives just as Gina is promoted to run her firm's office there, so both careers send them west in the two-part finale.

On Martin, which comedian plays Varnell Hill, Martin's flashier talk-show rival?

Tommy Davidson played Varnell Hill in only two episodes, yet three decades later the character was handed a spin-off series of his own, with Davidson back in the role.

On which streaming service did the 2022 reunion special Martin: The Reunion premiere?

BET+ released the special on June 16, 2022; the four surviving leads reunited and paid tribute to the co-star they had lost in 2016.

At which 2024 awards ceremony did Martin's surviving cast reunite on a rebuilt set from the show?

The Primetime Emmy Awards, pushed to January 2024 by the Hollywood strikes, marked their 75th year by rebuilding classic sets; Martin's four surviving leads presented from theirs.

In which country was Martin Lawrence born while his father was serving in the US military?

West Germany: Lawrence was born in Frankfurt in 1965, and the family came home while he was still a child, settling in Maryland, where he later started out in stand-up.

Which HBO stand-up series did Martin Lawrence host in the early 1990s?

Def Comedy Jam, created by Russell Simmons, had Lawrence as host in 1992 and 1993; its stage gave early national exposure to Bernie Mac, Dave Chappelle and Mike Epps.

Which Spike Lee film gave Martin Lawrence his big-screen debut, as Cee?

Do the Right Thing was Lawrence's first film; a year later came House Party, where he first shared the screen with the actress who would play Gina on Martin.

Why was Martin Lawrence banned from NBC for a time in 1994?

Crude remarks in an SNL monologue, on feminine hygiene, were cut from every rerun; a voice-over now explains what was removed and says the jokes nearly cost the show's staff their jobs.

On which Starz comedy, produced by LeBron James, did Tichina Arnold play a young basketball star's mother?

Survivor's Remorse ran for four seasons from 2014; Arnold's Cassie Calloway is the outspoken mother of a player whose first big contract moves the whole family to Atlanta.

Which martial-arts film star makes a guest appearance in Martin's Christmas episode 'Scrooge'?

Jackie Chan drops into 'Scrooge', the show's take on A Christmas Carol, in which spirits who look like Martin's friends walk him through Christmases past, present and yet to come.

On Martin, what is the name of Martin's scatterbrained white co-worker at WZUP in the first two seasons?

Shawn McDermott is the sweet-natured butt of the office: his own boss tricks him again and again, yet he stays loyal to both the boss and Martin.

On Martin, which pet does Mama Payne leave with Martin and Gina for a weekend, with fatal results?

A parrot named Ruby, which spends the weekend insulting Gina just as its owner does; when the bird dies in her care, Martin is convinced she killed it on purpose.

Which 1986 film musical cast Martin's two future leading ladies as chorus girls?

Little Shop of Horrors cast the future Gina and Pam as Chiffon and Crystal, two of a trio of street urchins named after 1960s girl groups: the Chiffons, the Crystals and the Ronettes.

In which sport did the teenage Martin Lawrence excel before he turned to stand-up comedy?

Boxing: Lawrence excelled in the ring as a Maryland teenager, and he later wrote the Martin episode 'Guard Your Grill' himself, sending his character into a charity bout.

Martin Lawrence fell into a three-day coma in 1999 after collapsing from heat exhaustion during what activity?

A jog near his home ended with Lawrence slumped on his lawn; he reached hospital with a temperature of about 107 °F and woke three days later, still on a ventilator.

Which Star Wars actor, playing himself, talks Martin into winning Gina back in the three-part 'The Break Up'?

Billy Dee Williams guests on Martin's radio show and persuades him he would be a fool to lose Gina, so Martin bursts in on her date to win her back.

Which star of The Jeffersons plays Miss Minnie, the housekeeper Martin and Gina soon regret hiring?

Marla Gibbs, the Jeffersons' maid Florence, plays Miss Minnie in 'Housekeeper from Hell'; during her job interview Martin mentions apartment 227, a nod to the sitcom Gibbs led next.

Which 1980s sitcom gave Martin Lawrence his first acting role, soon after he competed on Star Search?

What's Happening Now!! cast Lawrence as Maurice Warfield after television executives saw him on Star Search, a contest he did not even win.

Who directed the 2022 reunion special Martin: The Reunion?

Stan Lathan had also directed Martin's very first episode back in 1992, so the reunion special brought him full circle thirty years later.

Which actress plays Gina's mother, Nadine Waters?

Judyann Elder plays Nadine Waters as a polished, doting mother; she later stepped in as Harriette Winslow for the last episodes of Family Matters after Jo Marie Payton left.

Which future Napoleon Dynamite actor played Martin's scatterbrained white co-worker at WZUP?

Jon Gries left Martin when WZUP changed hands at the end of season two; a decade later he was Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite.

Which rapper crashes Martin and Gina's engagement party in 'No Love Lost', alongside quarterback Randall Cunningham?

Snoop Dogg, then billed as Snoop Doggy Dogg and sporting a blown-out afro, turns up uninvited at the party Pam throws for the couple, who have just had a fight.

Which rapper appears on Martin as the recurring character Keylolo?

Yo-Yo plays Keylolo, Sheneneh's loyal sidekick; the rapper broke through with Ice Cube, guesting on his debut album before he returned the favour on 'You Can't Play with My Yo-Yo'.

In the Martin episode 'Control', what does Gina accidentally throw away while cleaning Martin's apartment?

His basketball tickets: Gina begs Sheneneh for her pair and has to work off the debt, only to discover that Sheneneh's tickets came from Martin in the first place.

On Martin, what is the full name of David Alan Grier's crooked preacher?

Reverend Leon Lonnie Love cons thousands from his congregation, Mama Payne included, until Martin and Gina set a trap to capture his confession on videotape.

Which actor did Tisha Campbell marry in August 1996, hyphenating her screen name for two decades?

Duane Martin stayed her husband for more than twenty years; it was Campbell who ended the marriage, filing for divorce in February 2018 and announcing it herself in a statement.

Which sitcom star plays Nicole, Martin's rebound girlfriend during his season-one break-up with Gina?

Lark Voorhies, Lisa Turtle on Saved by the Bell, plays Nicole; life then imitated art, as she and Lawrence became engaged in 1993, though it was called off the following year.

Which Atlanta hip-hop duo guest-stars in the Martin episode 'All the Players Came'?

Outkast play themselves at the fund-raiser Martin throws with stars of the 1970s to save a local movie theater; the episode's title is the opening words of the chorus of their debut single, 'Player's Ball'.

Martin's final-season two-parter 'Goin' Overboard' features several cast members of which classic series?

The Love Boat's Ted Lange, Lauren Tewes, Bernie Kopell and Jill Whelan turn up when the gang takes a cruise; the script explains Gina's absence by having her miss the boat.

Which Good Times actor plays Tommy's military father in 'Daddy Dearest'?

John Amos plays the visiting father who cannot stop competing with his son; on Good Times his character, James Evans, was killed off after Amos clashed with the writers.

Which supermodel plays Ms. Trinidad, Martin's old third-grade teacher, on Career Day?

Beverly Johnson plays Ms. Trinidad, who turns their catch-up dinner into a seduction of her former pupil; in 1974 Johnson had been the first Black model on the cover of American Vogue.

In the Martin episode 'C.R.E.A.M.', which rapper turns up pitching the same daft restaurant idea as Cole, Rent-'Em-Spoons?

MC Hammer walks in at the end with the very scheme that has been driving Martin to fury all episode: a soup restaurant where the soup is free but the spoons are rented.