Remember comedian and actor, Mark Curry, from back in the day? Most of his mainstream fans know him as the star of the 90’s sitcom, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper. For those of us, Old Schoolers, who are 80’s hip hop fans, we also remember being first introduced to Curry, when he portrayed that hilarious ‘hater’ on Too Short’s 1989 hit, “I Ain’t Trippin.”
Mark Curry’s work created some great memories throughout the years, but behind the scenes, the brotha has gone THROUGH the fire and back. He endured a strange, frightening accident that left part of his body severely burned and has recently spoken about it. He also revealed which celebs helped him overcome his subsequent suicidal thoughts after the horrific ordeal.
During his VladTV interview, Curry was initially reluctant to discuss his accident, stating “that’s kinda blocked outta my life,” because it’s too painful of a memory. However, he did manage to give some details.
In 2006, 20% of Mark Curry’s body was severely burned while dong laundry at his home. Let him explain…
The Painful Details & Confessions Curry Has Now Given
How Mark Curry’s Accident Happened…
In the video below, Curry explained that while doing his laundry at his residence, an aerosol can was behind the water heater, unbeknownst to Curry. The laundry machine was located near the water heater. The contents of the aerosol can, combined with the water heater’s temperature, etc, suddenly caused an explosion, throwing Curry across the room and ultimately landing him in the burn unit, in bad condition.
The Effects Of His Injuries…
Mark Curry was placed in a medically induced coma, after suffering massive burns on his back, side, and arm…
“I was in the St. Francis burn unit. I was in a coma for a while…and the Lord saved me…he saved me. It was just a [traumatic] event.”
Why Curry Contemplated Suicide…
After awaking from a 3-day coma, Curry explained why he wanted to kill himself, but in true comedic fashion, he still slipped a joke in to lighten the harsh reality of that time:
“It was a bad situation and it prompted me to go into a deep depression…and so, I don’t even deal with that. …and it changed my life.
I thought about suicide, but it’s hard to commit suicide when you’re 6’6” (LOL)…the ceiling’s right here. [So] I can’t hang myself. … It took me so low, into a black valley. People didn’t know what was wrong with me…
Celebrity Friends Helped Curry Get Through…
As Curry spent months in rehabilitation, recovering from his burn wounds, several of his celebrity homies and fellow comedians worked hard at helping him pull himself together emotionally and psychologically. They did so, by doing what they do best- finding the comedy behind the pain. He says they even jokingly compared him to Richard prior after Pryor’s infamous freebasing incident. It was a language Curry understood and still appreciates to this day:
“I’m in the hospital, [Bill] Cosby called me, making jokes. Damon Wayans called me, Chris Tucker [called]..all the comedians called me. All them muthaf**as joked on me,” Curry jokingly recalled.
His Biggest Surprises While In The Burn Unit…
Curry says his biggest surprise during his hospital stay, was his tremendous weight loss, which gave him a clear picture of the depth of his situation. He was typically 230 pounds, but says that because there are no mirrors in the burn unit, he had no idea he’d loss so much weight, until he attempted to wear regular clothes for the first time while there. He recalled, “The pants fell straight off…I started crying, like ‘What is going on?!!!'”
He also recalled taking a bath for the first time in a long while after being burned, which is usually extremely painful for still recovering burn victims…but for Curry, it was “like a baptism,” because he miraculously felt no pain.
These days, Mark Curry’s back to fulfilling his life’s passion as an actor and comedian. His story is a reminder of the old school saying: ‘What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.’ Best wishes to the brotha.
