Michael Blackson is a Ghanaian-Liberian actor, philanthropist, and comedian based in the United States.

Early life

Michael Blackson was born to a Ghanaian parents. He spent his young years in between

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

and Ghana before relocating to the United States in the mid-1980s. His father died in 2008. Michael lived in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

when he was 15. He began pursuing comedy after his coworker at

Domino's Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino ...

suggested he start open mic.

Career

In 2005, he released a comedy sketch CD entitled ''Modasucka: Welcome to America''. Also in 2005, he made an appearance on TV series

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

, ''P. Diddy Presents: The Bad Boys of Comedy'' on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, and starred in a commercial for ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...

'' on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

. In 2011, Blackson appeared on

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

's ''Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment Stand-up'' and

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ''Shaquille O'Neal Presents All Star Comedy Jam''. In 2019, Blackson appeared in the "Wakonda" official music video by

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

Personal life

On July 31, 2021, Blackson proposed to his girlfriend, Rada Darling, during a radio interview on

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film t ...

, they continue to be together as partners. On November 24, 2021, he became a U.S citizen. Blackson is the uncle of

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

cornerback

Eli Apple Eli Apple (né Woodard, born August 9, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State, where he was a part of the ...

. As part of his work in philanthropy he built a school in Ghana that was commissioned in early January 2023. The school which is eponymously named Michael Blackson Academy, is located at Agona Nsaba in the Agona East District of Ghana’s Central Region where he grew up.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackson, Michael 1972 births Living people Male actors from Philadelphia Comedians from Pennsylvania Liberian male film actors Liberian male comedians American male film actors American male comedians Ghanaian comedians 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians American male television actors Liberian emigrants to the United States Liberian people of Ghanaian descent American people of Liberian descent American people of Ghanaian descent