- published: 29 Feb 2016
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Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American actor and comedian who is best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live as well as the role of Tracy Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock.
Morgan was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the second of five children of Alicia (née Warden), a homemaker, and James Morgan, Jr., a musician. Morgan says his father returned after multiple tours of duty in Vietnam addicted to heroin, causing him to leave the family when Morgan was six. He was the target of bullies as a child. His older brother had cerebral palsy and could not protect him so he used comedy to make bullies laugh rather than being beat up. Before Morgan began his career, he worked in New York City as a painter, for L&L Painting and Rose Company.
Morgan began his career on Martin, where he played Hustle Man. The character sold various items he had from the "hood," always greeting people with his trademark "What's happ'n, chief?" and had a pet dog that he dressed as a rapper. In the 2003 Chris Rock film Head of State, Morgan appeared as a man watching television, often questioning why they are not watching Martin.
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey for NBC. The series, which is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live, takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC. The series' name refers to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, the address of the GE Building, in which the NBC Studios are located. This series is produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger, Inc., in association with NBCUniversal.
30 Rock is produced in a single camera setup, and is primarily filmed at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York, with some scenes filmed on location at Rockefeller Center. The pilot episode premiered on October 11, 2006 and six full seasons have aired since. The series has an ensemble cast that currently consists of 13 regular cast members: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden, Keith Powell, John Lutz, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman and Maulik Pancholy.
30 Rock, a situation comedy television series, premiered on October 11, 2006, in the United States on NBC. Created by Tina Fey, the series follows the lives of the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan (TGS), Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), the other staff members of TGS and their network executive, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin). The series began its first season on October 11, 2006, and concluded on April 26, 2007. The second season debuted on October 4, 2007, with a hiatus occurring after the tenth episode due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The season resumed on April 10, 2008, and the fifth post-strike episode aired as the season finale on May 8, 2008. The third season premiered on October 30, 2008, and it ended on May 14, 2009. The fourth season premiered on October 15, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010. The fifth season premiered on September 23, 2010, and ended on May 5, 2011. On November 15, 2010, it was renewed for a sixth season, which premiered on January 12, 2012.
As of May 17, 2012 (2012 -05-17)[update], 125 original episodes (123 singular due to hour-long episodes) of 30 Rock have aired, concluding the sixth season.