D. L. Hughley
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Darryl Lynn Hughley (; born March 6, 1963) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Hughley is best known as the original host of
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
's ''
ComicView ''ComicView'' is an American stand-up comedy show that aired on BET on Tuesdays and Fridays from September 1992 to December 2008. In May 2014, BET announced the return of ''ComicView''. The show has been the launching pad for such comedians as D. ...
'' from 1992 to 1993, the eponymous character on the ABC/ UPN sitcom ''
The Hughleys ''The Hughleys'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on UPN from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L. Hughley as the main character, Darryl Hughley, and Elise Neal as ...
'', and as one of the "Big Four" comedians in ''
The Original Kings of Comedy ''The Original Kings of Comedy'' is a 2000 American stand-up comedy film directed by Spike Lee and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Filmed in front of a live audience at the Cha ...
''. Additionally, he has been the host of CNN's '' D. L. Hughley Breaks the News'', a correspondent for ''
The Jay Leno Show ''The Jay Leno Show'' is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/ PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late ...
'' on
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, and a local radio personality and interviewer in New York City. In early 2013, D.L. Hughley landed in 9th place on ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
''.


Early life

Hughley was born in Portsmouth, VA, the son of Audrey and Charles Hughley, who was a
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
maintenance worker. He is the second of four children. He stayed in Portsmouth for only two months before his family moved, Hughley grew up in
South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...
. 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 San Pedro High School is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District and is located in the San Pedro portion of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school serves the entirety of San Pedro as well as most of the Eastvie ...
. However, he eventually turned his back on gang life, got his GED, and obtained employment with the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
''.


Career

From 1992 to 1993, Hughley was the original host of ''
ComicView ''ComicView'' is an American stand-up comedy show that aired on BET on Tuesdays and Fridays from September 1992 to December 2008. In May 2014, BET announced the return of ''ComicView''. The show has been the launching pad for such comedians as D. ...
'', the stand-up comedy program on
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
. 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 ''The Hughleys'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on UPN from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L. Hughley as the main character, Darryl Hughley, and Elise Neal as ...
,'' based on his real-life experiences living with his African-American family in an upscale neighborhood. During 2005, he released a stand-up comedy album "D.L. Hughley: Notes From The GED Section" and had a short-lived talk show on Comedy Central called
Weekends at the D.L. ''Weekends at the D.L.'' is a talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Te ...
He is a member of ''
The Original Kings of Comedy ''The Original Kings of Comedy'' is a 2000 American stand-up comedy film directed by Spike Lee and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Filmed in front of a live audience at the Cha ...
'', and has also had roles on ''
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner Br ...
'', and on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's '' Scrubs'' as Turk's brother. In 2008, he was the host of the
BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
. He also attended the funeral of one of his best friends and fellow King of Comedy,
Bernie Mac Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...
where he gave a tearful speech during the eulogy. In June 2010, Hughley served as special guest moderator of ABC's The View for one day. Hughley guest-starred on TBS's '' Glory Daze'' and guest hosted ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...
'' Hughley's first book, ''I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America'', with contributions from
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, was published on July 31, 2012, by Crown Archetype Press. Hughley was a contestant on season 16 of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
''. He was partnered with two-time champion
Cheryl Burke Cheryl Burke (born May 3, 1984) is an American dancer, model, and television host. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars''. She was the first female professional to win the show and the first prof ...
. Hughley's second book, ''Black Man, White House: An Oral History of the Obama Years'', was published on June 6, 2017, by William Morrow. 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. 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. 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.


CNN

Hughley was selected to host and write a comedic news-show on CNN which covers global happenings in politics, entertainment, sports and pop culture, titled '' D. L. Hughley Breaks the News,'' which aired its premiere episode on Saturday, October 25, 2008, at 10 p.m. EDT on CNN. 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.


Radio

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 Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...
station in New York City. His co-hosts included former
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
news correspondent
Jacque Reid Jacqueline Elaine "Jacque" Reid (born January 31, 1975, in Atlanta, Georgia ...
. Airing from 6 to 10 am, the show placed Hughley in direct competition with his fellow "King of Comedy"
Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
, whose nationally syndicated ''
Steve Harvey Morning Show ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'' is a national radio program which is currently broadcast from Los Angeles. The nationally syndicated show features host Steve Harvey and a team of comedians and commentators. The show runs approximately fou ...
'' 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. On August 12, 2013,
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, the syndicator founded by
Tom Joyner Thomas Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American retired radio host, former host of the nationally syndicated ''The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com. Early l ...
, 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 Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which ...
.


Personal life

Hughley and his wife, LaDonna, have two daughters, Ryan and Tyler, and a son, Kyle. Hughley has discussed his son's
Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of beha ...
on several occasions. On November 9, 2017, Hughley gave an interview on
Angela Yee Angela Yee (born January 3, 1976) is an American radio personality. She hosted the nationally syndicated morning show ''The Breakfast Club'' along with DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God. She is on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Fou ...
'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. On June 19, 2020, Hughley collapsed while performing at a club in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
; the reported cause was exhaustion. Subsequent tests revealed he was positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
. Hughley was initiated as an honorary member of
Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty a ...
fraternity on July 30, 2020.Omega Psi Phi Inducts George Clinton, D.L. Hughley, Anthony Anderson, and Ted Ginn, Sr. as Honorary Members
/ref>


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

*
D.L Hughley – Official website of D.L HughleyThe D.L. Hughley Show

D.L. Hughley at the Comedy Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughley, D. L. 1963 births Male actors from Los Angeles American male film actors African-American male actors African-American television producers Television producers from California African-American stand-up comedians African-American television talk show hosts American television talk show hosts Living people American male voice actors American stand-up comedians American male television actors CNN people Former gang members Comedians from California Film producers from California 21st-century American comedians 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people