Jim Carrey's crazy, no-holds barred performance in the live-action
version of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", made him an indelible
part of the holiday pop culture landscape. There are families who have
made watching the film a necessary part of their holiday preparations.
From the moment Jim Carrey truly burst onto
the scene in the early 90s with his wild performances on the sketch comedy
"In Living Color", through his work in such popular films as
"Ace Ventura", "Dumb and Dumber", "Lemony Snicket's A
Series of Unfortunate Events", and "Yes Man", he has always
pushed the character envelope for big laughs. His fearlessness earned him
big paychecks, too, and he now has a net worth $150 million.
However, his early years were anything but funny, and his drive to succeed was
partially fueled by a strong desire to never have to relive his childhood
experiences. As Abraham Lincoln said, "I laugh because I must not
cry…". In Jim Carrey's case, that was very true.
Jim Carrey, also known as James
Eugene Carrey, was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada on January 17,
1962. He was the youngest of four, and grew up with a stay-at-home Mom
and a musician father. His father knew that supporting four children as a
musician was going to be difficult, so he found a "real job".
However, he later lost the job, and everything in the Carrey family's life
quickly spiraled out of control. Money had always been tight, but without
his father's salary, they lost their apartment. The family moved into
their van. Then, in order to help support the family, Jim Carrey left
school, and began working as a janitor. He was 15. He was filled
with so much rage that he used to carry a baseball bat around on janitor cart
because he "wanted to beat the heck out of something". The
family eventually relocated to Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, where he was able
to enroll in school again briefly. However, he eventually had to drop out
again in order to continue supporting his family. His mother also
suffered from a chronic illness that required constant care, and he split his
energy between working full-time and caring for her.
During all of this, he attempted to
launch a stand-up comedy career. His father drove him to his first
professional gig at Toronto's "Yuk Yuk's" comedy club. He
received a dismal reception, and between his family's financial issues and his
lack of success, he put his performance aspirations on hold. However, in
the late 70s his family was able to get back on track financially. He
decided to give comedy another try. This time, he was much more
successful. The critical raves started rolling in. His career took
a distinct upswing when Rodney Dangerfield invited the young comedian to open
for him on tour. From there, he went on to perform in Las Vegas, and then
made the move to Hollywood. By the early 80s, he was a popular regular at
The Comedy Store, and appeared on "The Tonight Show" in 1982.
His stand-up routine, which featured his amazing facility with impressions, was
packing houses each night, but he knew he wanted a career in television and
film more. Throughout the 80s, he slowly built up a resume of
increasingly high-profile roles in such film and television projects as
"Rubberface", "Copper Mountain", "The Duck
Factory", "Once Bitten", "Peggy Sue Got Married",
"The Dead Pool", and "Earth Girls Are Easy". In 1990,
he began working his friend and "Earth Girls…" cast mate, Damon
Wayans, on a show called, "In Living Color". The sketch comedy,
which had been created by Damon's brother Keenen, made household names of all
of the cast members. In 1994, Jim Carrey took his career to the next
level, starring in the comedy, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective".
The film was a massive hit worldwide, and catapulted him into the spotlight.
He has since gone on to release an
astounding number of very popular features. At the height of his
popularity, he was earning $20 million per feature. While not all
of his films have been critical darlings, he has managed to connect with
audiences around the world. His films have made incredible amounts of
money for the producing studios, and are regularly included on "best
of", "greatest" and "favorite lists". Some of
his projects include "The Mask", "Dumb and Dumber",
"Batman Forever", "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls",
"Liar, Liar", "The Truman Show", "Man on the
Moon", "Me, Myself, & Irene", "How the Grinch Stole
Christmas", "Bruce Almighty", "Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind", "Fun with Dick and Jane", "Yes Man",
"I Love You Phillip Morris", and "Kick-Ass 2″. He has won
two Golden Globe Awards, and been nominated for multiple Golden Globe, SAG,
BAFTA, and Saturn Awards, among many other honors. He also recently made
a foray into writing, and penned his first children's book, "How Roland
Rolls". The story was a 2013 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Honoree.
When Jim Carrey was working as a
teenage janitor to support his homeless family and his ill mother, he probably
never imagined how far he would come. The dream was there, but it must
have looked very nearly impossible to achieve. However, he stuck to his
goals, and now, thirty-five years later, he has accomplished what he set out to
do, and more. He chose to laugh rather than cry. More importantly,
he chose to make those around him laugh, as well. That decision spawned
one of the most successful and prolific comic careers in Hollywood history.
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