Funny guy Morgan displays ‘Fight’-ing spirit
LOS ANGELES — Tracy Morgan's comedic chops are on full view as a clueless high school athletic coach in Friday's raunchy “Fist Fight.”
The fact that Morgan is physically able to improvise is nothing short of miraculous.
“Have you ever had anyone say these words to you: Traumatic brain damage?” Morgan, 48, asked during a one-on-one interview at the W Westwood hotel.
It was June 7, 2014, that he survived a six-vehicle crash when a Wal-Mart truck rear-ended the Mercedes minibus that Morgan and his entourage occupied.
His friend and fellow comedian James McNair was killed. Morgan, who suffered serious head and body injuries, was comatose and then wheelchairbound.
“To me, it was really terrifying. I didn't know how it was going to be. I took a bump on the head, my femur was broken, my body damaged.
“I've been me my whole life and like if you'd asked me to count to 10, I'd do my ABCs. So it was difficult.
“Thank God I had people around who loved me and wanted to help me, even when I wanted to quit. They helped me get back physically and mentally and cognitively, to still be sane and funny.”
Credit his indomitable spirit. When Morgan says, “I'm a fighter, I'm a survivor,” it's not just talk.
He was raised fatherless when his dad returned from Vietnam a heroin addict and left home. When his father contracted AIDS from contaminated needles, Morgan dropped out of high school four credits short of graduation to care for his dying dad.
He's subsequently battled drug addiction, diabetes and a kidney transplant.
Playing Coach Crawford in “Fist Fight” marked Morgan's return to work 14 months after the accident. Midway through the Atlanta filming he hosted “Saturday Night Live.”
“There was a point when I got on set that I was unsure,” he said. “I didn't know if my comedic instincts were there. I didn't know if my confidence was there.
“But Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Jillian Bell, everyone made me feel comfortable. They all knew about the accident, everyone knew what I was struggling with and they just supported me and made me feel ... really good.
“From there it was on and rocking. Every day felt so good. It was like I was with my family.”