# is Tracy Morgan an elaborate Kauffman-esque whoosh, or is that just him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598 "2008-12-04T00:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/1 "2008-12-04T00:19:22Z")
I’ve always laughed at Tracy Morgan’s “stoopid” characters - there’s something about the slight speech impediment and the look of honest dumminess that he gets that just totally nails real, earnest stupidity. He’s carried this over into the “Tracy Jordan” character that he portrays on _30 Rock_. But then I realized that I’ve never seen him **not** be that way, even when doing regular interviews on TV and stuff. Is he really just a kind of bumpling, stupid guy, or is it an elaborate persona that he never drops? ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/2 "2008-12-04T01:54:00Z")
Well sometimes he’s pretty normal. Like in this interview: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOhKrL5DB1Y](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOhKrL5DB1Y) ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/3 "2008-12-04T02:06:02Z")
Wow I had never really seen Tracy Morgan in interviews and assumed that the one I linked above was him acting unusually stupid/drunk. I watched a few more on youtube and you’re right, he does act like he’s completely wasted all of the time. He does have some pretty funny lines, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/4 "2008-12-04T02:18:07Z")
He is crazy, but he also has a calm side that must exist. He must show up for rehearsal, memorize his lines, and he does hit his cues. I think it is a mix. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/5 "2008-12-04T02:58:09Z")
This is my favorite Youtube video of him: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz16nqmLPc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz16nqmLPc) Now, here’s a video where he shows his other side: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcy4w39C3m0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcy4w39C3m0) Actually, the latter half of that second video reminds me a lot of a scene from 30 Rock where he’s at a country-club for a diabetes fundraiser and he thinks Jack is racist and embarrased by his behavior. At one point Tracy walks up to a microphone, and Jack is horrified at first, but Tracy makes a heartfelt speech about his daughter who has diabetes, which gets much applause and prompts people to donate. After the speech, Jack tells Tracy that the boss Don Geiss wants to meet his daugter, and and Tracy says “Yeah, I don’t have a daughter.” Who knows what’s real and what isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/6 "2008-12-04T07:02:56Z")
He is soooo funny on the Stern show - I’ve heard 2 different interviews with Howard, and he killed both times. Joe ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/7 "2008-12-04T13:56:46Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > This is my favorite Youtube video of him: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz16nqmLPc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz16nqmLPc) I love the WGN morning show and it’s hilarious watching Robin and Larry try and deal w/ Tracy. Funny and awkward stuff. I saw Tracy do stand-up in NYC a few years ago and he was pretty disappointing. Just weird drunk ramblings about all the NBC pages that he wanted to fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/8 "2008-12-04T17:34:35Z")
I’m Brian Fellow! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/9 "2008-12-04T18:40:23Z")
A lot of performers feel that doing talk show interviews are just an extension of their onstage performances and do them “in character”. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/10 "2008-12-04T18:49:08Z")
This article from the New York Times directly addresses the question: [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/arts/television/02itzk.html?\_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/arts/television/02itzk.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) > [@](#): > > It’s impossible to say for certain if Mr. Morgan’s perpetual clowning is an act or his authentic self. But he says, in moments of calm, that his nonstop absurdity is not just a means of achieving attention and fame; it is a mechanism that saved him from a life that should never have led him here and helps him cope with tragedies past and present. > > If he couldn’t joke around, Mr. Morgan said, “I’d be dead; my heart would be broken and I would die.” He’s not joking when he says this. So it seems that it is both an act and who he is. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/11 "2008-12-04T20:30:42Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I’m Brian Fellow! “That octopus is a liar!” ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/12 "2008-12-04T23:19:11Z")
About a year or so ago, there was an article about him performing at a comedy club in NYC (Caroline’s?)…at any rate, the show was sold out but it bombed big time. People were standing up and leaving in droves. The reviewer said it proved that most of his humor was scripted by the writers of 30 Rock, and that as a stand up, he wasn’t all that great or funny with his own material. Could have just been an off night, or nasty reviewer. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/13 "2008-12-05T01:26:17Z")
If the guy wants to have a career that lasts, he’d better learn from Andrew Dice Clay’s example and know when to break character. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/14 "2008-12-05T01:36:36Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > This is my favorite Youtube video of him: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz16nqmLPc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz16nqmLPc) > > Now, here’s a video where he shows his other side: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcy4w39C3m0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcy4w39C3m0) I think the difference is between _sober_ and _not sober_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/15 "2008-12-05T18:18:16Z")
> [@](#): > > If the guy wants to have a career that lasts, he’d better learn from Andrew Dice Clay’s example and know when to break character. I’m sure most of these performers break character. They just do it during the 99% of their life which is not viewed by the public. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/16 "2008-12-05T19:15:30Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > About a year or so ago, there was an article about him performing at a comedy club in NYC (Caroline’s?)…at any rate, the show was sold out but it bombed big time. People were standing up and leaving in droves. > The reviewer said it proved that most of his humor was scripted by the writers of 30 Rock, and that as a stand up, he wasn’t all that great or funny with his own material. > > Could have just been an off night, or nasty reviewer. There was a Tracy Morgan stand-up special that appeared a few years back on Comedy Central that was pretty damn funny. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/17 "2008-12-05T20:09:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > “That octopus is a liar!” That goat has devil’s eyes! ---
**Author:** ![Amazingrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Amazingrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazingrace)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/18 "2008-12-05T21:28:31Z")
I saw Kathy Griffin doing stand-up recently, and she said that at an event she was seated next to the **30 Rock** crowd - specifically, next to Tracy Morgan. The bit went that as Oprah was on stage, doing some solemn tribute to television, Tracy Morgan turned to Kathy Griffin and shouted stuff like, “Kathy! Look at Oprah being all Oprah!” Kathy indicated that Tina Fey just kind of shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, “Yep, that’s Tracy.” I get it, that it’s stand-up and is probably embellished. But still, it just heightens my suspicions that Tracy Morgan is not living a life of performance art. Warewolf Barmitzvah, spooky scary… ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/19 "2008-12-05T22:36:47Z")
> [@Atomicktom](#): > > I think the difference is between _sober_ and _not sober_ The man does have an alcohol problem he doesn’t seem to be dealing with effectively… couple of DWIs and repeated violations while on probation for them. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tracy-morgan-an-elaborate-kauffman-esque-whoosh-or-is-that-just-him/475598/20 "2008-12-05T22:36:57Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > He is soooo funny on the Stern show - I’ve heard 2 different interviews with Howard, and he killed both times. > > Joe I’ve been listening for over 11 years, and turned the channel maybe 5 times. Two of those times were the two recent Tracy Morgan interviews. Cannot stand this idiot. I do like Artie’s impression of him, though. “I’m en **JOY** in’ mah so **BRI** ety!”