Lawrence’s Condition Improving, Doctors Say

Comedian Martin Lawrence showed signs of improvement Wednesday, said physicians at Cedars Sinai Hospital where he was hospitalized after police detained him for walking into traffic on Ventura Boulevard, yelling curses at passing motorists.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in the city attorney’s office were still deciding whether to file a misdemeanor weapons charge against Lawrence, star of TV’s “Martin” and the film “Bad Boys,” who police said was carrying a loaded pistol in his pocket when he was stopped.

At Cedars Sinai, Dr. William I. Young, Martin’s physician for five years, said Lawrence, 30, was still suffering from exhaustion Wednesday. But he was getting better and would probably be released from the hospital within 24 to 36 hours and return to work next week, the doctor said.

Young added that “substance abuse has nothing to do with this case.”

“He has been given a toxicology screen and no drugs that would contribute to his condition were discovered,” Young said. “All statements made regarding prescribed medication and a seizure were totally erroneous.”

Police had earlier attributed Lawrence’s conduct to failure to take required medication.

Lawrence’s publicist Kim Jones said Wednesday she did not know why he was carrying a handgun, but was not surprised.

“All celebrities carry protection these days,” said Jones. “He was at a carwash at the time and you wouldn’t leave that [gun] in your car, would you? Now he just needs time to chill out.”

Police found Lawrence in the middle of Ventura Boulevard at Tyrone Avenue on Tuesday at about 12:30 p.m., screaming at passing cars. A witness said the comic was screaming, “Fight the establishment.”

Lawrence ran out of the street when police arrived and fought with officers who tried to restrain him, police said.

Lawrence was first taken by police to the Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center, then released to Young’s care at Cedars-Sinai.

Lawrence, who stars in the current movie “A Thin Line Between Love & Hate,” is now filming “Nothing To Lose,” a Touchstone Pictures buddy comedy. The film stars Tim Robbins as an executive who kidnaps an armed robber, played by Lawrence. The two men bond as they seek revenge on the executive’s wife for having an affair with his boss.

Filming continued Tuesday night without Lawrence, and Touchstone executives said work will continue on scenes that do not involve Lawrence until his return.

“We’re taking it day by day,” said Terry Curtin, senior vice president of publicity for the Walt Disney Co., which owns Touchstone Pictures. “Our biggest concern is for Martin Lawrence’s welfare. We understand he will be back imminently, in a matter of days.”

The film is scheduled to wrap at the end of June, and then Lawrence is slated to begin filming “Bad Boys 2,” the sequel to the hit Columbia Pictures action comedy released last year that has grossed more than $65 million domestically.

Lawrence, already a prominent television comic with his Fox show, “Martin,” is rapidly becoming a film star as well. “A Thin Line Between Love & Hate”--which Lawrence directed, co-wrote and starred in--drew crowds when it opened last month, and last year’s “Bad Boys” showed him to be an emerging box-office draw.

He just finished production on this season’s episodes of “Martin,” which is expected to return next year. The series, which premiered in 1992, celebrated its 100th episode earlier this year at a gala West Hollywood celebration. Lawrence circled the huge crowd wearing a big, confident smile and sporting a cane.

Lawrence has often been the subject of controversy. His series was frequently criticized for what many called negative racial stereotypes. His 1994 concert film, “You So Crazy,” was originally rated X because of its off-color language.

But Lawrence said in an interview last year that the anger that surrounded “You So Crazy” and some of his earlier show business experiences dissolved soon after he married his wife, Patricia, in 1994.

“I wanted all these things in my life so that I could learn how to be calm, patient, not just with people but with myself. So I went through everything I had to go through in order to get to this point,” he said last year.