Shawn Wayans performing at the Stress Factory

The secret to the Wayans brothers’ success goes back to their childhood. While growing up in the Chelsea section of Manhattan during the ’70s, the Wayans’ father, Howell, set the alarm at 5 a.m. daily for his sons.

“He made us get out of bed then and get him coffee,” Shawn Wayans said while calling from his Beverly Hills home. “We did that before we went to school and even on weekends. On Sunday we would get him the paper. That made us who we are since we started our days early and worked hard all of our life.”

Wayans’ demanding father set the tone. “Men are made,” Wayans said. “Women are naturally on it but boys have to be molded and our father molded each of us.”

Not a bad job by Papa Wayans, especially considering the hardscrabble existence the 10 Wayans children grew up in on the mean streets of New York. “Some people might find it hard to believe but our neighborhood, which is now prestigious, was like growing up in Beirut,” Wayans said. “We were poor. It was hard.”

That was until Wayans brothers Keenan Ivory and Damon broke out as comic actors. The former won acclaim after co-writing and co-starring in 1987’s “Hollywood Shuffle.” The latter was a featured performer on “Saturday Night Live” in 1985 and 1986.

“When our brothers’ careers took off, we became cool kids,” Wayans said. “We were anything but cool before our brothers became stars.”

Wayans, who will perform tonight through Sunday at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, speaks in the plural due to his relationship with his brother Marlon. “He and I are very close,” Wayans said. “We’ve always been close.”

Shawn and Marlon Wayans are so close that they named their sons after each other. “We promised each other when we were little kids that if we had sons we would name them after each other,” Wayans said.

The younger set of Wayans brothers starred in the 2004 film “White Chicks.” “We loved doing that movie,” Wayans said. “Another ‘White Chicks’ project is on the table.”

Before the tandem focus on that possible film, Shawn Wayans is on the road delivering stand-up. “Performing comedy has always been important to me,” Wayans said. “When I come into New Jersey, I’ll be telling personal stories. I’ll talk about my kids. I love life. It’s so amazing having children.”

Unlike his father, Wayans, who is the ninth of 10 children, stopped at three kids.

“That’s a sensible number,” Wayans said. “That’s all that I can handle.”

Wayans doesn’t get coffee for his father anymore. “He buys it himself,” Wayans said. “The funny thing is that he won’t let me buy coffee for him because I get it at Starbucks. He can’t imagine paying $6 for a cup of coffee. He’s used to paying less than a dollar for a cup.”

There’s no longer a coffee connection for Wayans and his father but their relationship is bigger than a cup of Joe. “My dad is so proud of me and my brothers,” Wayans said. “When you see him, he’s all decked on in Wayans items. He’ll wear an ‘I’m Gonna Git You Sucka’ shirt and a cap from ‘White Chicks.’ We wouldn’t have made those movies without him and he knows it.”

SHAWN WAYANS

WHEN: 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. today and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: The Stress Factory,

90 Church St., New Brunswick

TICKETS: $37 to $46

INFO: 732-545-4242 or www.stressfactory.com