Before the Fame · 1990s
Tyler PerrySix years of empty theatres, and one that finally filled
Tyler Perry self-funded plays for years while sleeping in his car.
Tyler Perry has spoken about pouring his own savings into stage plays that nobody came to see, and about periods of homelessness and sleeping in his car in Atlanta.
He kept re-mounting the same work, rewriting, re-promoting and reinvesting, until a late-1990s run finally sold out and started an audience that followed him into film and television.
The audience existed the whole time. Reaching it was the expensive part.
He was paying to be discovered. Discovery should not require a theatre deposit.
Reporting: People.com
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