Fess up. There are people you just know you know, but you really don’t know. Come again? Sure, you’re a loyal follower of TMZ, Entertainment Tonight and can recall each episode of Oprah like the alphabet. But come on. Do you really know those folks really? Well, for instance what about Tyler Perry. Sure, he’s known for being buds with Oprah, Will Smith and Janet Jackson. Why he even laid hands on Bishop T.D. Jakes! And then there are his incredible successes across the board like his books (New York Times’ best-selling “Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea’s Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life”), his movies (the Madea’s series, “The Single Moms Club,” ”Good Deeds,” “Temptation: Confesions of a Marriage Counselor,” “The Butler”, etc.), TV productions (“Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”, “The Haves and the Have Nots”) and his advocacies (abuse, homeless, civil rights, hunger).
But he didn’t always have it so sweet. Sure, he looks cool now, but there was a time.
Born in New Orleans, “his father’s answer to everything was to beat it out of you.” According to sources, the young Perry “attempted suicide to escape this father’s beatings.” It was years later that Tyler learned that the man whom he had known as the paternal figure in his life was actually not his “biological father.”
It was in the 1980’s when Tyler was watching Oprah and heard how the “sometimes therapeutic effort the act of writing can have, enabling the author to work out his or her own problems.”
This epiphany led to his writing, producing, acting and becoming a role model for men and women.
So, what does Atlanta-based Tyler have to do with Dallas? Get your calendars out for this one. Gal pals Gina Betts and Nancy Rogers have arranged to have Tyler be the keynoter for the Genesis Women’s Shelter’s Annual Luncheon. Yup, you read that right. The powerhouse Betts/Rogers team is co-chairing the event on Friday, May 6, at the Hilton Anatole.
Here’s a thought. Why not get three tickets? One for your best friend; one for your best fella and one, of course, for yourself. Imagine them as the ultimate Christmas gifts that even Santa couldn’t deliver!
* Photo provided by Genesis Women's Shelter