Darryl Lynn "D.L." Hughley
is an African-American actor and comedian and star
of the sitcom The Hughleys which ran from 1998 to 2002
first on ABC and then on UPN.
D.L. Hughley grew up in South Central Los Angeles
and had a rough upbringing, getting kicked out of high
school and becoming a member of the notorious Bloods
gang. After his cousin was shot, D.L. Hughley turned
his life around, got a GED and a job and, after prompting
by his wife, LaDonna, tried his hand at stand-up comedy.
His comedy was a huge success and he was eventually
picked to be the first host of BET's Comicview in 1992.
By 1997, Hughley went on a nationwide stand-up comedy
tour with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and
Bernie Mac as the Kings of Comedy. The comedy act would
later be put into a film by Spike Lee called The Original
Kings of Comedy.
In 1998, Hughley was given his own TV sitcom, The
Hughleys, on ABC. It received high ratings in its first
season, thanks to a lead-in by the popular Home Improvement.
However, by the following season, the show was moved
to the low-rating TGIF segment on Friday nights and
the ratings tanked. In 2000, ABC cancelled the show,
but it was granted a reprieve by UPN, which ran it
for an additional two seasons before being cancelled
again.
During this time, Hughley began working on an acting
career, providing the voice of the Gadgetmobile in
the 1999 movie, Inspector Gadget and performing in
Scary Movie 3. He also stuck with his stand-up comedy
roots, becoming host of Comedy Central's Premium Blend
in 2003. |