On "30 Rock," Tracy Morgan played a crass, eccentric comedy personality who constantly wore an audacious “TJ” chain.
In real life, he’s a crass, eccentric comedy personality who probably lost the TJ chain when he tossed it into a dancing crowd at an after-party.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for SiriusXM.
He’s also an SNL alum, stand-up comic, and celebrated movie star with a big smile and a heart of gold.
In 2014, Tracy was in a car accident that killed his friend James McNair, and nearly took his life too. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him in a coma for eight days.
Now, he's almost fully recovered. He's doing stand-up shows, he hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live, and he is operating at near-full Tracy capacity. While he's bravely moving forward with his life, he hasn't forgotten to look back and say thank you to those who helped him get this far. In fact, he hasn't stopped saying it.
Tracy Morgan at the Emmys in 2015. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
A year after his crash, Morgan appeared on "Today" and offered a teary-eyed thank you to the doctors and nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital who saved his life.
When he appeared on stage at the Emmys in 2015, after a thunderous standing ovation, he once again said thanks to his doctors as well as his family and friends for staying with him and supporting him.
This past weekend, he thanked the medical staff who saved his life in the best way possible — by performing a private show for them.
The audience at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, was filled with doctors, nurses, and first responders who all lent a hand in saving his life.
"Last night was one of the most special nights of my life," Morgan told People Magazine. "To be standing on stage with the people that saved my life in the audience was an overwhelming experience. I will never fully be able to thank the doctors, nurses, first responders and everyone else that got me back on that stage enough."
If that weren’t a kind enough gesture, Tracy donated all proceeds from the show to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Tracy with his family at the 67th Emmy Awards. Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images.
Over the past two years, Tracy Morgan has gone out of his way to appreciate the professionals who helped save his life, but it’s a good reminder to appreciate doctors, nurses, and first responders who save lives every single day.
They don’t always treat celebrities and they don’t always get thanked on national TV or on stage at a private show, but they all deserve our gratitude.
Should the unthinkable happen and your life depended on the care of medical professionals, you’d certainly be glad they were there for you. Just as Tracy was.
"These people are heroes and I love them all from the bottom of my heart," Tracy said. "The only good thing that happened on that horrible night was that I was close to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital when the accident happened."