Arts & Entertainment
Tyler Perry: The ‘Good Deeds’ Interview
T
yler Perry’s inspira-
tional journey from
the hard streets of
New Orleans to the heights
of Hollywood’s A-list is the
stuff of American legend.
Born into poverty and
raised in a household
scarred by abuse, Tyler
fought from a young age to
find the strength, faith and
perseverance that would
later form the foundations
of his much-acclaimed
plays, films, books and TV
shows.
It was a simple piece of
advice from Oprah Winfrey
that set Tyler’s career in
motion. Encouraged to
keep a diary of his daily
thoughts and experiences,
he began writing a series
of soul-searching letters to
himself. The letters, full of
pain and, in time, forgive-
ness, became a healing
catharsis.
His writing inspired a
musical, “I Know I’ve
Been Changed,” and in
1992 Tyler gathered his
life’s savings and set off
for Atlanta in hopes of
staging it for sold out
crowds. He spent all the
money but the people never
came, and Tyler once again
came face to face with the
poverty that had plagued his
youth.
He spent months sleeping
in seedy motels and his car
but his faith - in God and, in
turn, himself - only got
stronger. He forged a pow-
brated collaboration with
the prominent Dallas pastor
T.D. Jakes. In the year 2000,
“I Can Do Bad All by
Myself” marked the first
appearance of the now-leg-
endary Madea, a God-
fearing,
gun-toting,
pot-smoking,
loud-
C ELEBRITY mouthed grandmother
I NTERVIEW played by Perry him-
self.
Madea was such a
by Kam
resounding success, she
Williams
soon spawned a series
of plays – “Madea’s
Family
Reunion”
(2002), “Madea’s Class
Reunion”
(2003),
“Madea Goes To Jail”
(2005) - and set the
stage for Tyler’s jump
to the big screen. In
early 2005, Tyler’s
first feature film,
“Diary of a Mad Black
Woman,” debuted at
#1 nationwide.
His ensuing films,
“Madea’s
Family
Reunion,” “Daddy’s
Little Girls,” “Why
Did I Get Married,”
“Meet The Browns,”
at a local church-turned-the- “The Family That Preys,”
atre. This time, the commu- “I Can Do Bad All by
nity came out in droves, and Myself,” and “Why Did I
soon the musical moved to Get Married, Too?” have all
Atlanta’s prestigious Fox met with both critical
Theatre. And Tyler Perry acclaim and commercial
never
looked success, delighting audi-
ences across America and
back.
Thus began an incredible around the world. 2006 saw
run of 13 plays in as many the publication of Tyler’s
years, including “Woman first book, “Don’t Make A
Thou Art Loosed!,” a cele- Black Woman Take Off Her
erful relationship with the
church, and kept writing. In
1998, his perseverance paid
off and a promoter booked
“I Know I’ve Been
Changed” for a limited run
He spent months
sleeping in seedy
motels and his car
but his faith - in
God and, in turn,
himself - only got
stronger
Earrings: Madea’s Uninhib-
ited Commentaries On Life
And Love,” which shot to
the top of the New York
Times nonfiction best-seller
list and remained there for 8
weeks.
The following year, Tyler
expanded his reach to tele-
vision with the TBS series
“House of Payne,” the high-
est-rated first-run syndicat-
ed cable show of all time.
His next TV sitcom, “Meet
the Browns,” was the sec-
ond highest debut ever on
cable - after “House of
Payne.”
Not one to rest on his lau-
rels, in the fall of 2008,
Perry opened his 200,000
square-foot
Studio
in
Atlanta, situated on more
than 30 acres of real estate.
The Studio consists of 5
sound stages, a post produc-
tion facility, a pond, a back
lot, a 400-seat theater, a pri-
vate screening room, and
designated areas for enter-
taining and hosting events.
But listen to Tyler and
you’ll hear a man who has-
n’t forgotten where he came
from or the folks who
helped him reach the show-
biz mountaintop. He has
donated generously to char-
ities that focus on helping
the homeless, such as Feed-
ing America, Covenant
House, Hosea Feed the
Hungry, Project Adventure,
and Perry Place - a 20-home
community that he built for
survivors of Hurricane Kat-
rina.
In July 2009, Tyler spon-
sored a trip to Walt Disney
World for 65 children after
learning that a suburban
swim club had turned them
away because of the color of
their skin. Tyler Perry has
also built 2 churches and
has donated generously to
the NAACP.
In January
2010,
he
pledged
$1,000,000 via The Tyler
Perry Foundation to help
rebuild the lives of those
affected by the recent earth-
quakes in Haiti.
Obviously, Tyler practices
what he preaches, and what
he preaches has endeared
him to millions of fans
drawn by that unique blend
of spiritual hope and down-
home humor that continues
to shape his inspiring life
story and extraordinary
body of work. Here, he talks
about his new film, Good
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