Marc Edward Wilmore (May 4, 1963 – January 30, 2021) was an American television writer, producer, actor, and comedian. He wrote and performed for shows such as ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...

'', ''

The PJs ''The PJs'' is an American adult animated stop-motion black sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins. It portrayed life in an urban public housing project, modeled after the Cabrini–Green housing projects in Chicago. ...

'', ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', and ''

F Is for Family ''F Is for Family'' is an American adult animated comedy drama streaming television series created by Bill Burr and Michael Price for Netflix. It is produced by Vince Vaughn's Wild West Television, King of France Productions, Loner Production ...

''. Wilmore was a 10-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee. He was the younger brother of comedian

Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Corresp ...

Life and career

Marc Edward Wilmore was born on May 4, 1963, to parents Betty and Larry in Fontana, California. He had five siblings, one of whom, older brother

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

, is a television comic. He was a graduate of

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''California State Polytechnic University, Pomo ...

. In the early 1990s, Wilmore got a job as a writer on the sketch comedy series ''

''. He was promoted to cast member during the show's final season. Wilmore's impersonations included

Isabel Sanford Isabel Sanford (born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford; August 29, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American stage, film, and television actress and comedian best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Mills Jefferson on the CBS sitcoms ''All in the Fami ...

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later crossed over to television. She was best known for her role as Ne ...

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...

, Robert Guillaume, Maya Angelou and

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

, and various sketches which re-imagined various television series such as ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...

'' if they starred African-Americans. He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work on the show. After ''In Living Color'', Wilmore wrote for '' The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno'' and ''

'', a stop-motion adult sitcom co-created by his older brother Larry, where he also provided the voice of crooked police officer Walter Burkett. While working on ''The PJs'', Wilmore participated in a prank organized by staff members of ''The Simpsons'', where he pretended he was the mayor of

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...

and angrily accosted writer

Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...

over a joke that denigrated the city in the episode "

They Saved Lisa's Brain "They Saved Lisa's Brain" is the twenty-second and penultimate episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 1999. In the episode, after w ...

". As compensation for his involvement with the joke, Wilmore was given a role in the season 11 episode "

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 14, 2000. After a faile ...

", in which he played a psychologist.Scully, Mike (2008). Commentary for "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox.Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "They Saved Lisa's Brain", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Wilmore joined ''The Simpsons''s writing staff in the show's thirteenth season, and received his first credit for the segment "Send in the Clones" in "

Treehouse of Horror XIII "Treehouse of Horror XIII" is the first episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the thirteenth Treehouse of Horror episode. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on Novemb ...

". He won a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series. In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which ...

as a producer for the episode "

Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" is the ninth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 16, 2007. The episode averaged 1 ...

" at the

60th Primetime Emmy Awards The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the newly opened Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California to honor the best in U.S. prime time television. The ceremony was hosted by Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Ma ...

in 2008. In the 2010s, Wilmore worked as a writer and executive producer on ''

'', an animated sitcom co-created by Michael Price, who had worked with him on ''The PJs'' and ''The Simpsons''. Wilmore also provided several voices in the series.

Death

Wilmore died at a hospital in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

, on January 30, 2021, at the age of 57. According to his brother Larry, he died "while battling COVID and other conditions that have had him in pain for many years" amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Larry Wilmore related that his younger brother had long suffered health issues relating to a

kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantati ...

he had undergone in the 1990s. The penultimate episode of ''F Is for Family'', "A Very Merry F***ing Christmas", is dedicated to him.

Credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilmore, Marc 1963 births 2021 deaths African-American screenwriters American television writers American male television writers African-American male actors American impressionists (entertainers) African-American male comedians American male comedians People from Fontana, California Emmy Award winners 21st-century American male actors American male voice actors American male television actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California 21st-century American male writers 21st-century African-American people