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Tyler Perry

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About Me

Perry was one of four children. His childhood in New Orleans was marked by poverty and physical abuse He was once homeless and lived in his car for three months. After years of intense anger and deep resentment, Perry experienced an awakening. One day while he was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1992, he took some advice — it can be cathartic to put feelings down on paper. So Perry began writing letters to deal with his painful childhood. These letters eventually became his plays. When Perry's work failed at the box office he was left penniless. Perry is now said to have found that because he had allowed so much anger from his turbulent past to build inside of him, he always found a way to self-sabotage his ventures. Perry eventually confronted his abusers and took responsibility for his previous failures. His perception of his own writing changed, and he came to terms with his past.
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Perry's first foray into writing was in 1992, when he began writing a journal, in part to cope with the repercussions of abuse. He was inspired to begin a journal after watching The Oprah Winfrey Show.He developed different characters to voice different ideas in the journal. This work eventually became the musical I Know I've Been Changed, about adult survivors of child abuse.Perry saved $12,000, moved to Atlanta in 1992, and tried to stage the play. It was not a success and over the next six years, he struggled living in Atlanta but he persevered until the play finally had a successful run in 1998, first at the House of Blues and later at the Fox Theatre.His following play, a staging of Bishop T. D. Jakes' book Woman Thou Art Loosed, was an immediate hit, grossing over $5 million in five months. [1] A film version was later created starring Kimberly Elise and Loretta Devine, was released in theaters on October 4, 2004.Perry, whose work is aimed at a primarily African-American audience, ultimately created a successful touring theater company. Recordings of some plays were subsequently sold on video and DVD. As of March 2005, Perry's plays had grossed over $75 million in ticket and DVD sales. Cover of Madea's Class Reunion.Perry stated in a January 2004 interview in Ebony magazine that his theater productions were designed to be a bridge between the traditional urban theater circuit - historically and pejoratively referred to as the "chitlin' circuit" - and a more traditional theater format.Perry's other highly successful plays include Diary of a Mad Black Woman, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Mr. Dr. Professor Patrick, Madea's Family Reunion and Madea's Class Reunion. He also wrote and created the hit plays Why Did I Get Married? featuring R&B singer Cheryl Pepsii Riley and Meet the Browns (Perry did not appear in either production). In 2005, Perry returned to the stage with another successful hit, Madea Goes to Jail.Another play, What's Done in the Dark, which Perry wrote and directed but does not appear in, went on tour beginning in 2006.