O
nOctober 17 of last year,
Tracy Morgan took the
stage at
Saturday Night
Live
to host the show that had
launchedhim tostardom.Agenuinely
unique voice—by turns brash,bawdy,
unhinged,coy,sweet,brilliantlyweird,
and prone to taking off his shirt at
inopportune times—Morgan had
cultivatedavast anddevoted fanbase.
On June 7, 2014, those fans reeled
when news broke that he had been
in a horrific collision with a tractor
trailer in New Jersey.The accident
leftMorgan in a coma,andhis friend
James “JimmyMack”McNair dead.
In the year and a half that has
passed since,Morgan has made his
waydownthegruelingroadtorecovery
from significant brain injuries.Hedid
an emotional interview on
Today
.He
started tweeting again: “I amhonored
to be getting aWalk of Fame star. I
hopetheyputmenexttomybiological
fatherCharltonHeston from
Planetof
theApes
!”He did a set at theComedy
Cellar inNewYork.He appeared at
theEmmys.He came home to
SNL
.
And now he’s taking his act back on
the road.Thismonth, inHammond,
Indiana,Morgankicksoffhis“Picking
Up thePiecesTour,”whichwill run for
dozensof dates,through lateMay.
Wespoke toMorgan inNovember,
when he was in the midst of doing
warmup gigs, finding his voice and
his timing,with thehelpof familyand
friends. “A lot of people are pitching
in,”he said. “A lot of people want to
seemecomeoutof this tragic,horrific
thing andbe funny again.”
Hemispheres:
I’m sure you hear
this 20 times a day, but how are you
feeling?
TracyMorgan:
I’mcool,man.I’m
here. I’m alive. I’mdoinggood. I
have my family aroundme. I’m
about todowhat I’mabout todo.
H:
You’ve said how critical your
family was to your recovery. But I
was curious—were you aware of the
outpouringof support by your fans?
TM:
I wasn’t thinking of the fans
at first, because that was a life or
death situation. When you’re in
a life or death situation, you’re
not thinking about your career.
You’re thinking about your life.
You’re thinking about your family.
My daughter, my sons, my wife. I
wanted to get back to doing what
I do, because I miss my fans so
much.But firstIhad tosavemy life.
Because if I don’t have a life, then I
can’tbedoingwhatIdo for the fans.
H:
You said in another interview that
you see lifedifferentlynow.Howhas
it changed?
A year and a half removed from the car
crash that nearly killed him, the celebrated
comedian is ready to get back on the road
The Hemi
Q&A
with
TracyMorgan
“I’mBack…
