Ain’t That a Bitch

From Garrett Morris, the first Black cast member of SNL, an electric memoir on his early jazz and blues days, his substance-fueled Hollywood heyday with comedy royalty, and his time acting during Black entertainment’s rise and renaissance.

Garrett Morris is a TV legend. Plucked out of writers room obscurity by Lorne Michaels himself, Morris was one of Saturday Night Live’s original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players.” Along with Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and Gilda Radner, he delivered nonstop laughs with unforgettable characters and skits like Chico Escuela and News for the Hard of Hearing, and was once even the musical guest. But before he stormed onto the comedy scene, Morris had already had a 17-year career in the entertainment industry. 

Born to a teen mom in New Orleans, Morris had to forge his own path. He packed up his talents, musical prowess, and the love of his grandmother, M’Dear, and hit the road to New York City. First living on the streets and in the YMCA in Harlem, he gained his footing and became a blues singer with Harry Belafonte before hitting the stage as an actor in Off-Broadway plays and musicals. It was only afterwards that he went on to write for TV and comedians, land a spot on the original cast of SNL, and take on roles on movies and shows like Cooley High, Martin, The Jamie Foxx Show, and 2 Broke Girls. 

But it wasn’t all glits and glam. In Ain’t That a Bitch, Morris reveals his decades long cocaine addiction, the mistakes he made because of it, the time he got shot in 1994, the personal and professional relationships he tried and failed at, and how he turned inward to pull it all together to become one of the most beloved actor comedians across generations. Funny, and ultimately rewarding, Ain’t That a B*tch charts it all and captures the spirit of a scrappy, hardworking, and dedicated man, his rise to comedic greatness, and his hopes for the future of Black arts and entertainment.