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— CH. 1 · BORN AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE —

Donald Glover

~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
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  • Donald McKinley Glover Jr. arrived at Edwards Air Force Base in California on the 25th of September 1983. His father worked as a postal worker stationed there while his mother Beverly provided daycare services for the community. The family later moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Donald grew up during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He attended Stephenson High School before transferring to the DeKalb School of the Arts. Teachers noted his writing talent early, voting him Most Likely to Write for The Simpsons in his yearbook. This prediction proved accurate when he graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in dramatic writing in 2006.

  • A single document sent through email in 2006 caught the attention of producer David Miner. Donald Glover had written a spec script for The Simpsons without being asked or hired by anyone yet. Tina Fey read the submission and immediately recognized his unique voice within the chaotic landscape of comedy writers. She hired him to join the staff of 30 Rock at age 23 despite his lack of professional television experience. He felt shocked walking into rooms filled with seasoned executives who did not believe he belonged there. From 2006 to 2009, he wrote episodes that earned the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series in 2008. His work on the show included occasional acting appearances as various characters alongside his writing duties.

  • Dan Harmon cast Donald Glover as Troy Barnes on Community when it premiered in September 2009. The character was a former high school jock trying to find his place in college life. Fans noticed his performance and began a viral Twitter campaign in May 2010 urging Sony Pictures to cast him as Peter Parker. The hashtag #donald4spiderman gained traction after Spider-Man creator Stan Lee voiced support for the idea. Despite the public pressure, Glover never auditioned because Sony never contacted him directly. Brian Michael Bendis later created Miles Morales, an African-American version of Spider-Man, crediting Glover's influence on the character's visual design. Glover eventually voiced this incarnation of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series before playing Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017.

  • FX ordered the Atlanta series in December 2014 after developing the concept since August 2013. The show premiered on the 6th of September 2016, with Donald Glover starring as Earnest Marks, a Princeton dropout managing his rapper cousin. He wrote episodes, directed some installments, and served as executive producer throughout its run from 2016 to 2022. His performance earned Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in that category. He became the fifth black person in history to win the acting award at the Globes. Primetime Emmy Awards followed, recognizing Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. This made him the first black person to win an Emmy for directing comedy.

  • Glover released the single Redbone in late 2016 as part of his album Awaken My Love. It peaked at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart while critics praised its psychedelic funk sound. The track won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance during the 59th Annual ceremony. His next major release came in May 2018 when he dropped This Is America while performing on Saturday Night Live. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, marking his first top ten entry in the United States. It won four Grammy categories including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. This achievement made it the first rap song to win those specific awards simultaneously.

  • Donald Glover announced his intention to retire the Childish Gambino stage name during a performance at Governors Ball Music Festival in June 2017. He told the audience he would see them for the last Gambino album before walking off stage. Days after headlining Coachella in April 2019, he premiered Algorythm through an augmented reality app called Pharos AR. During his Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival appearance later that month, he drew the biggest crowd ever recorded for that event. He declared it was the second to last show they would perform before retiring the pseudonym completely. In January 2024, he confirmed the decision was final due to logistics involving film and television obligations alongside family responsibilities.

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Common questions

When and where was Donald Glover born?

Donald McKinley Glover Jr. arrived at Edwards Air Force Base in California on the 25th of September 1983.

How did Donald Glover get hired by Tina Fey for 30 Rock?

A spec script written by Donald Glover for The Simpsons reached producer David Miner in 2006, leading Tina Fey to hire him to join the staff of 30 Rock at age 23 despite his lack of professional television experience.

What role did Donald Glover play in Community and when did it premiere?

Dan Harmon cast Donald Glover as Troy Barnes on Community when it premiered in September 2009.

Which awards did Donald Glover win for his work on Atlanta?

His performance earned Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in that category while Primetime Emmy Awards followed recognizing Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.

Did Donald Glover retire the Childish Gambino name and why?

Donald Glover announced his intention to retire the Childish Gambino stage name during a performance at Governors Ball Music Festival in June 2017 and confirmed the decision was final in January 2024 due to logistics involving film and television obligations alongside family responsibilities.

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