-Martin, welcome -- -How's it going, man?
-Martin, welcome back to the show.
-Thank you for having me. -We love having you on.
I got this date correct, I believe.
August 27, 1992, 30 years ago,
you created Martin Lawrence -- you created "Martin."
[ Laughter ] Sorry.
No, you didn't create Martin Lawrence.
You came out as a baby and got your own sitcom.
No, you created "Martin." -Yes.
-30 years later, did you think that it would still be --
have such an impact on pop culture?
-I had no idea. -Yeah.
-I just knew every year we got picked up,
we were just trying to make the show work.
And to know that it's still running 30 years later,
I'm just over the moon, man.
I feel truly blessed.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Yeah.
You know, I was going to ask you, when you're out in public,
what -- you've got so many catchphrases,
but what do people yell at you the most?
-"Whuzzah!" -Yeah! There you go.
-Or they might go, "You go, boy!"
-"You go, boy." Yeah.
-They'll flip the "you go, girl" and go, "you go, boy."
-Yeah. "Damn, Gina." -"Damn, Gina."
-Yeah, you so crazy.
Yeah, and that stuff, oh, yeah.
You know, there's only a handful of people -- I was looking at
a list today -- that have successful sitcoms with
their name in it. -Mm-hmm.
-You know, with "Martin."
When you were selling or creating the show,
did you ever have any other titles?
-Nah, I always wanted it to be "Martin."
I knew other comedians had shows after their name.
So I was like, "I want it to be 'Martin.'"
-Really? -Yeah.
Now y'all know me as Martin. -Yeah, exactly.
-"Martin!" -"Martin!"
Exactly right.
You had a bunch of famous, famous iconic cameos
when you did the show.
I thought it would be fun to maybe show a picture
and you can tell me what you remember
from that scene or that time.
Alright, ready? Check this out. -Alright.
-My man Snoop. -It's Snoop Dogg.
-Yeah. -With Jerome.
-With Jerome, yeah. -With Jerome, yeah.
What do you remember about Snoop Dogg coming on?
-I remember Snoop -- this was his first time on TV.
-It was? -So he was shy.
He was really shy.
But he was just real cool and down-to-earth.
And he kept it real. -Yeah.
-He just kept it Snoop all the way.
-Did he laugh? Did he break?
-He -- He -- In his own way, but it was Snoop style.
-Yeah, exactly. -Snoop style, yeah.
But he was a lot of fun to have on the show.
-Okay. How about this? I like this here.
-Ah, Jackie Chan. Yeah.
-Jackie Chan.
He appears himself. He was a love interest.
Do you remember this?
-To Sheneneh.
[ Laughter ]
-How do you sell him on that?
-We made up that episode.
But see, the reality was me and Jackie Chan
were supposed to do "Rush Hour" together and, you know,
but they didn't have enough money for me.
[ Laughter and applause ]
So that didn't happen.
So Jackie came on the show, you know,
just to come and support the show.
-And when did they film "Rush Hour"?
-When they got Chris Tucker. -Yeah.
A year later. -Yeah, a year later.
-That's wild. Alright, how about this?
We know and love this man.
This is Tracy Morgan.
-Yeah, my man Tracy.
-Hustle Man. -Hustle Man.
-This is before he was on "Saturday Night Live,"
and he always gives you credit for his big break.
-Yeah. What I first saw Tracy on "Def Jam,"
and he pulled up his shirt and he start patting his stomach,
and I just said, "This boy is wild, man."
I said, "If I ever get my show, I gotta put him on the show."
And when I put him on the show, he was just so quick
and so natural and spontaneous and just --
I mean, just a gem to have on the show.
-Right? Yeah, he is. -Really is.
-And this last one. This is just one of the coolest.
I know he's one of your favorites.
Here's you and Richard Pryor.
-Yeah, my idol, Richard Pryor. [ Cheers and applause ]
Yeah. -Wow. Wow.
-Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy are the reasons I do comedy.
-He's the reason I do stand-up comedy.
[ Applause ] -I mean, what was it like?
Did you know him at all off-stage as well?
-I didn't know him off-stage.
This was the first time I got to meet him.
And it was just an honor
and it was lot of fun to have him there.
-That's the coolest thing. Anyway, I just figured it would
be fun to go through that stuff.
I was saying to you backstage
that I was such a fan of the show.
Me and my friends would wear "Martin" T-shirts.
-Yeah. -And you was like, "Yeah, you
can still get them if you go to shopmartinlawrence.com.
-Yes. -You got all sorts of --
-All sorts of stuff you can get,
and I would love to see y'all in them.
[ Laughter ] -Yeah.
Also, the "Martin" swag.
You even have -- I don't know if you know this came out,
but the "Martin" trivia game.
This is a card game you can play with your friends.
And I know that Questlove is a big "Martin" fan.
-And congratulations, Quest on your Oscar, brother.
-Thank you, brother. [ Cheers and applause ]
Thank you.
-"Summer of Soul."
"Summer of Soul," you did your thing, brother.
Did your thing. -That's pretty cool.
Quest, I thought it'd be, if it's okay with you,
maybe I could ask you a few "Martin" trivia questions.
-Okay. -And see how you do. Alright?
-I got this.
-Do you really think you got this?
-I do. I watched the entire canon.
After I won the Oscar, I went on break.
I watched the entire five-season canon in a row.
On vacation. -Gosh!
-I got this. -Wait, wait.
Alright, so you're recently --
you're recently up to date on "Martin."
-I'm addicted to this show. Yes.
-Yeah, me too. I love him too.
Alright, here we go. Ready for this one?
What gift did Gina receive from Martin by mistake
instead of the diamond earrings?
-By mistake? -By mistake.
-Ah, 'cause I knew he got his grandmom's duvet.
I think he gave her Jerome's gold tooth by accident.
[ Ding! ] -That would be it!
That would be it! [ Cheers and applause ]
[ Laughter ]
-And how Jerome's gold tooth --
-We did an episode where they went to the club Shiznit.
[ Laughter ] Shiznit.
-Yes. [ Laughter ]
-Probably couldn't even get away with that now. Oh, my God.
Shiznit.
Oh, my gosh. Alright, that's good.
You're one for one. Alright, ready?
How about this? Which celebrity -- [ Laughs ]
-What, what, what? -I remember this one.
Which celebrity impersonator punched Martin in the face
when they went to Hollywood?
I remember this one.
Yeah, exactly. [ Laughter ]
-"Whoa!" Michael Jackson.
-There you go. That's right. [ Ding! ]
That was funny. [ Cheers and applause ]
Michael Jackson punched you.
Did you ever hang out with Michael?
Did you ever meet Michael?
-I met Mike years ago at an awards show.
And it was the weirdest thing because he wanted to meet me
and they called me and brought me to his dressing room.
And I went in the dressing room.
And when I went in, his mother was in there
and he just looked at me and went --
[ High-pitched laughing ]
-Started laughing.
-That's all he did. -That's all he did?
-That's all he did. -Alright.
-And I felt awkward 'cause I was like --
-What are you going to do? -"I gotta go.
Nice to meet you, Mike."
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
And did he laugh again when you left?
-[ High-pitched laughing ] -Yeah, he did on the way out.
Amazing.
[ Laughter ]
Alright, Quest, last one. Here you go.
What was the name of Martin's restaurant
that opened and closed in the same day?
-Ah! "Rent 'em spoons."
It is Marty Mart's Meatloaf and Waffles Joint.
[ Ding! ] [ Cheers and applause ]
-Meatloaf and waffles.
I want to talk about the "Martin" reunion special
when we come back. More with Martin Lawrence after the break.
The reunion!