 Chris Rock is a stand-up comedian who first rose to national stardom when he appeared on Saturday Night Live in the late '80s and early '90s. The early '90s were Rock's popular heyday, when he frequently appeared in films; he released his first comedy record, Born Suspect, in 1991. When he left SNL, his popularity dipped, and for much of the mid-'90s, he had difficulty landing movie roles; when he did, no one went to the movies. Rock began concentrating on his stand-up work again, and by the release of his second album, Roll With the New, in 1997, he had become one of the most popular and best-reviewed comedians in America. Rock served as the sole presidential campaign correspondent for Comedy Central's acclaimed Politically Incorrect, logging humorous and sometimes sardonic reports from the primary campaign trail to both the Democratic and Republican Conventions and election night. This provided a forum for Rock to convey his observations and insights in what shaped up to be a memorable election year indeed. If that voice you hear in Nike's "Li'l Penny Hardaway" commercials sounds familiar, it's because it's Rock's. Besides lending his voice to the hugely popular commercials featuring the Orlando Magic star, Rock also wrote "Little Penny's" portion of them. Because of the phenomenal response, more commercials are in production. In addition, Rock continues to serve as a spokesman for 1-800-COLLECT. Rock's feature debut was in BEVERLY HILLS COP II with Eddie Murphy. He went on to write, create, star and produce the rap comedy CB4 for Universal Pictures in 1993. The satire, which spoofed the world of hardcore rap, opened number one at the box office. Other film credits include BOOMERANG, with Eddie Murphy; PANTHER, directed by Mario Van Peebles, about the lives of the '60s activist group the Black Panthers; NEW JACK CITY with Wesley Snipes, marking Rock's dramatic debut (he portrayed a desperate crack addict); and I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA! with Keenan Ivory Wayans. Another of Rock's dreams came true when he was made a cast member of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE in 1989. During his three-year tenure, Rock created several memorable characters, such as Nat X of "The Nat X Show" and Onski from "I'm Chillin'." Chris is now the star of the highly successful HBO show "The Chris Rock Show".
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