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NEED TO KNOW
Garrett Morris celebrates his 89th birthday on Feb. 1
An original member of the Saturday Night Live cast, he appeared on the show from 1975 to 1980
His later credits include regular and recurring roles on the sitcoms The Jeffersons, Martin and 2 Broke Girls
Garrett Morrisis just weeks away from his 89th birthday when he picks up the phone and begins his PEOPLE interview with just one request.
"Ask me what I'll be doing on my birthday," he says in anticipation of the big day on Feb. 1.
His answer: "Regretting the passage of time."
Of course, Morris is only joking — something he's made a living doing for most of his career, from his pioneering run asSNL's first Black cast member (1975-1980) to his time as a TV regular on sitcoms includingThe Jeffersons,Martinand2 Broke Girls. He's also cemented himself in film history, too, thanks to his work in movies such asCooley HighandCar Wash, the latter of which celebrates it's own 50th birthday in October .
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And he's still going. "I just felt if you enjoy your work, why not do it to the best you can in whatever way you are asked to do it until you transform," Morris says, explaining his take on retirement.
"I mean, let's be realistic, there are less roles for an 80-year-old who's got arthritis — but there are roles out there."
For Morris, who just a year ago returned to Studio 8H as part ofSNL50: The Anniversary Special, time doesn't feel like it's passed since then. Or at least he "acts" like it hasn't. "I just act like time has not passed. I just act like there's got to be a role for somebody who's as old as I am," he says.
"And usually I'm right," he adds. "Because every other movie has an old person in it and they'll get a young actor to do it and put on makeup. Why not get old motherf---ers like me to play the role? We don't have to stretch."
Morris' latest television roles have included stints onThe NeighborhoodandHow I Met Your Father, but a big focus for him as of late has been putting together his forthcoming memoir,Ain't That a B*tch.
The autobiography, which Morris says he's penning alongside co-author Chloé Hilliard, is a long time coming. He hopes (jokingly, of course) that "certain people who work for the judicial community do not read it because if they do, I may have to leave the country and become an expat."
"I submitted my own proposal and they said, 'What the f--- is this, Garrett?' So I got with Chloé and she's a brilliant Black woman that I'm happy to say I'm lucky to have her as my partner," he says.
As for why he decided now is the right time to put his story out there, Morris jokes, "I'm a capitalist. I'm looking at making a lot of money."
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