Darryl Lynn Hughley (/ˈhjuːɡl/; born March 6, 1963)[1] is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Hughley is best known as the original host of BET's ComicView from 1992 to 1993, the eponymous character on the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys, and as one of the "Big Four" comedians in The Original Kings of Comedy. Additionally, he has been the host of CNN's D. L. Hughley Breaks the News, a correspondent for The Jay Leno Show on NBC, and a local radio personality and interviewer in New York City. In early 2013, D. L. Hughley landed in ninth place on Dancing with the Stars.

D. L. Hughley
Hughley at the 72nd Annual Peabody Awards in May 20, 2013
Born
Darryl Lynn Hughley

(1963-03-06) March 6, 1963 (age 61)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • radio personality
Years active1990–present
Spouse
LaDonna Hughley
(m. 1986)
Children3

Early life

edit

Hughley was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, the son of Audrey and Charles Hughley, who was a Delta Air Lines maintenance worker.[2] He is the second of four children. He stayed in Portsmouth for only two months before his family moved,[3] Hughley grew up in South Central Los Angeles. Hughley's teen years were troubled as he became a member of the notorious street gang, the Bloods, and was expelled from San Pedro High School.[4] However, he eventually turned his back on gang life, got his GED, and obtained employment with the Los Angeles Times.[5][6]

Career

edit

From 1992 to 1993, Hughley was the original host of ComicView, the stand-up comedy program on BET. In 1993, he also appeared in the third season of Fresh Prince of Bel Air as Will's friend Keith Campbell, a comedian from Philadelphia. From 1998 to 2002, he wrote, produced and starred in the television sitcom series, The Hughleys, based on his real-life experiences living with his African-American family in an upscale neighborhood.[7] During 2005, he released a stand-up comedy album "D.L. Hughley: Notes From The GED Section"[8] and had a short-lived talk show on Comedy Central called Weekends at the D.L. He is a member of The Original Kings of Comedy, and has also had roles on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and on NBC's Scrubs as Turk's brother. In 2008, he was the host of the BET Awards. He also attended the funeral of one of his best friends and fellow King of Comedy, Bernie Mac where he gave a tearful speech during the eulogy.[9]

In June 2010, Hughley served as special guest moderator of ABC's The View for one day.[10]

Hughley guest-starred on TBS's Glory Daze[11] and guest hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Hughley's first book, I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America, with contributions from Michael Malice, was published on July 31, 2012, by Crown Archetype Press.[12]

Hughley was a contestant on season 16 of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with two-time champion Cheryl Burke.[13]

Hughley's second book, Black Man, White House: An Oral History of the Obama Years, was published on June 6, 2017, by William Morrow.[14]

Hughley's third book, How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People with contributions from Doug Moe was published on June 26, 2018, by William Morrow.[15]

Hughley's fourth book, Surrender, White People: Our Unconditional Terms for Peace with contributions from Doug Moe was published on June 30, 2020, by HarperCollins.[16]

Hughley's latest book, How to Survive America, was published June 15, 2021, with contributions from Doug Moe was published on June 15, 2021, by Custom House.

He is now hosting a talk show, The D.L. Hughley Show, that premiered on TV One on March 18, 2019.[17][18]

 
Hughley with Robert De Niro in 2009

Hughley was selected to host and write a comedic news-show on CNN which covers global happenings in politics, entertainment, sports and pop culture,[19] titled D. L. Hughley Breaks the News, which aired its premiere episode on Saturday, October 25, 2008, at 10 p.m. EDT on CNN.[20] On March 9, 2009, CNN announced Hughley would be ending the show due to a desire to work in Los Angeles and be closer to his family. He planned to continue his work with CNN as a Los Angeles-based contributor for the network.[21]

Radio

edit

Hughley also has a career as an on-air radio personality. On July 20, 2009, The D.L. Hughley Morning Show premiered on WRKS (now WEPN), more popularly known at the time as 98.7 Kiss FM, an urban adult contemporary station in New York City. His co-hosts included former BET news correspondent Jacque Reid.[22] Airing from 6 to 10 am, the show placed Hughley in direct competition with his fellow "King of Comedy" Steve Harvey, whose nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show airs in New York on WBLS (Kiss FM's longtime rival). There were plans to take Hughley's show into syndication as well, but a dispute regarding his salary erupted between Kiss FM's parent company and the potential syndication company. In August 2010, Kiss FM dropped the show from its schedule, and Hughley moved on to other endeavors.[23]

On August 12, 2013, REACH Media, the syndicator founded by Tom Joyner, announced it had finalized a deal with D.L. to host a new nationally syndicated afternoon drive show, The D.L. Hughley Show, distributed by Cumulus Media Networks.[24]

Personal life

edit

Hughley and his wife, LaDonna, have two daughters, Ryan and Tyler, and a son, Kyle.[25] Hughley has discussed his son's Asperger syndrome on several occasions.[26]

On November 9, 2017, Hughley gave an interview on Angela Yee's Lipservice podcast in which he described having an affair early in his marriage and career. His mistress had become pregnant and had a son; the infant was shaken to death by the infant's mother's boyfriend.[27]

On June 19, 2020, Hughley collapsed while performing at a club in Nashville, Tennessee; the reported cause was exhaustion.[28] Subsequent tests revealed he was positive for COVID-19.[29]

Hughley was initiated as an honorary member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity on July 30, 2020.[30]

Filmography

edit

Film

edit
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Inspector Gadget Gadgetmobile Voice
2000 The Original Kings of Comedy Himself
2001 The Brothers Derrick West
2003 Inspector Gadget 2 Gadgetmobile Voice/Video
Chasing Papi Rodrigo
Scary Movie 3 John Wilson
2004 Soul Plane Johnny
2005 Shackles Ben Cross
2006 Cloud 9 Tenspot
The Adventures of Brer Rabbit Brer Fox Voice/Video
2007 D.L. Hughley: Unapologetic Host Comedy Special
2008 D. L. Hughley Breaks the News
Spy School Albert
2014 D.L. Hughley: Reset Host Comedy Special
2018 D.L. Hughley: Contrarian

Television

edit
Year Title Role Notes
1992 One Night Stand Himself Comedy Special
1993 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Keith Guest star
1994 HBO Comedy Half-Hour Himself Comedy Special
1995 Double Rush Marlon Main cast (13 episodes)
1997 Sister, Sister Hank Episode: "Slime Party"
1998–2002 The Hughleys Darryl Hughley Lead role
2000 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself Host in several specials
2001 The Parkers Darryl Hughley Crossover appearance
2003 Scrubs Kevin Turk Guest star
Premium Blend Himself Host
2004 The Late Late Show Himself Guest Host
2005 Weekends at the D. L. Himself Host
2006–2007 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Simon Stiles Lead role
2010 Hawaii Five-0 Skeet Guest star
2011 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Guest host
2012 DL Hughley: The Endangered List DL Hughley Executive producer, star,[31] won a Peabody Award[32]
2013 Dancing with the Stars Himself Contestant
Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host Himself Co-host
2016 Heartbeat Dr. Hackett
Match Game Himself Panelist
2017 The Comedy Get Down Himself
2018 The Fix Himself Team Captain
2019 The D.L. Hughley Show Himself Host
2021–2022 Johnson Eugene Johnson
2023 The Daily Show[33] Guest Host 4 episodes (Week of Jan. 30)

References

edit
  1. ^ Associated, The (March 6, 2014). "D.L. Hughley, 50, and other celebrity birthdays for March 6, 2014". nola.com. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  2. ^ French, E. D. (2000). "D.L. Hughley 1964- Comedian, actor". Contemporary Black Biography. 23: 107–109.
  3. ^ Newman, D. (May 31, 2007), "5 things you may not know about D.L. Hughley", Richmond Times-Dispatch, pp. F-4
  4. ^ "D.L. Hughley". IMDb. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "D.L. Hughley Biography". The Biography.com website. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  6. ^ "D.L. HUGHLEY 1981 San Pedro High School Yearbook CA". Ebay. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  7. ^ Brown, J. K. (2000). "Hughley, D.L.". Current Biography. 61 (3): 64–66.
  8. ^ COMEDY CENTRAL® RECORDS RELEASES "D.L. HUGHLEY: NOTES FROM THE GED SECTION" CD HITTING STORES TUESDAY, JUNE 21 Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Comedycentral.com (June 13, 2005). Retrieved on January 1, 2013.
  9. ^ Thousands Attend Service to Celebrate Life of Bernie Mac Archived July 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Chicago Defender
  10. ^ "NBC Orders Game Show Pilot Hosted by D. L. Hughley". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010.
  11. ^ "Exclusive: D.L. Hughley, Gina Gershon Enroll in TBS's Glory Daze". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  12. ^ D.L. Hughley and Michael Malice (2012) I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America, Crown Archetype ISBN 0307986233.
  13. ^ "Dorothy Hamill and Andy Dick among 'Dancing' stars". New York Post. February 26, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  14. ^ D.L. Hughley (2017) Black Man, White House: An Oral History of the Obama Years, William Morrow ISBN 9780062399809.
  15. ^ D.L. Hughley and Doug Moe (2018) How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People, William Morrow ISBN 9780062698544.
  16. ^ D.L. Hughley and Doug Moe (2020) Surrender, White People: Our Unconditional Terms for Peace, HarperCollins ISBN 9780062953704.
  17. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (February 13, 2019). "D.L. Hughley Wants Terry Crews As First Guest On TV One Latenight Show; Blasts Floyd Mayweather – TCA". Deadline.
  18. ^ @tvonetv (March 18, 2019). "The #DLHughley show kicks off tomorrow at 11/10c only on @tvonetv with @RealDLHughley" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "D.L. Hughley Tapped to Host CNN Show". TV Guide. October 15, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  20. ^ "Comedian D.L. Hughley to host CNN show". CNN. October 15, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  21. ^ D. L. Hughley regrets end of 'D. L. Hughley Breaks the News'[permanent dead link] New York Daily News
  22. ^ Hinckley, David (July 15, 2009). "D.L. Hughley to host morning show on New York's Kiss-FM radio". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  23. ^ "D.L. Hughley Morning Show officially off WRKS New York". Radio-Info.com. August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  24. ^ Lance Venta (August 26, 2013). "RadioInsight — D.L. Hughley To Host Syndicated Afternoon Show". Radioinsight.com. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  25. ^ D.L. Hughley: Biography. Tvguide.com. Retrieved on January 1, 2013.
  26. ^ Hughley Discusses Blagojevich and Burris With Congressman Bobby Rush. Transcripts.cnn.com (January 10, 2009). Retrieved on January 1, 2013.
  27. ^ Cummings, Moriba (November 10, 2017). "D.L. Hughley Opens Up About Losing A Child Conceived During An Affair". BET. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  28. ^ "D.L. Hughley collapses onstage at Nashville comedy club". TODAY.com. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  29. ^ "Comedian DL Hughley COVID-19 positive after fainting onstage". ABC News via Associated Press. June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  30. ^ Omega Psi Phi Inducts George Clinton, D.L. Hughley, Anthony Anderson, and Ted Ginn, Sr. as Honorary Members
  31. ^ Comedy Central Premieres DL HUGHLEY: THE ENDANGERED LIST Today, 10/27 – BWWComedyWorld.com Archived October 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Comedy.broadwayworld.com (October 27, 2012). Retrieved on January 1, 2013.
  32. ^ 72nd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2013.
  33. ^ "The Daily Show Guest Host Lineup". Comedy Central. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
edit