Hilarious. Smart. Sincere. Incredibly health-conscious. These are all words that describe Darryl Lynn Hughley, more famously known as D.L. Hughley, the popular and talented actor and stand-up comedian whose comedic gifts have been featured on the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys, and as one of the four stars of Spike’s Lee’s The Original Kings of Comedy. Hughley has also hosted CNN’s D.L. Hughley Breaks the News, and has been a correspondent for The Jay Leno Show on NBC.
Even though it was comedy that was his saving grace and led to all these opportunities, it was much different before he started laughing
Long before he was making people around the world laugh and hosting his own radio show, comedian D.L. Hughley was a young husband and father struggling to make ends meet. D.L. says that after marrying his wife, LaDonna, in 1986, they moved into a tiny apartment, and he got a job as a telephone sales rep, making about $3.35 an hour.
Money was tight, and it got even tighter when LaDonna got pregnant with their first child, daughter Ryan. “I work really hard, and I became assistant manager over the telephone sales operation room, and she gets pregnant again,” D.L. says. “I remember once LaDonna had to go to the hospital because this pregnancy was really hard, and me and Ryan came home, and our lights were off, and there was no food.”
That night, D.L. says, he made his daughter mashed bananas by candlelight. He also made her a promise. “She was just laughing and playing, and she had no concept of what was going on,” he says. “I said, ‘I’ll never put you in this situation again.’”
BlackDoctor.org caught up with D.L. to talk with him about the role comedy plays when it comes to health, and whether or not laughter really is the best medicine.
BDO: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us!
DLH: It’s a pleasure.
BDO: Okay, so what health grade would you give yourself?
DLH: Right now, I’d give myself a low B.
BDO: Not bad! Well, you’re well known for looking fit. What are some of your best health habits? And some of the worst?
DLH: I could cut out more preservatives, but I eat red meat only once a week, I portion my food, I watch my calories, I do cardio about 5 times a week, I play golf about 3 days a week so I can get in more Vitamin D, I drink a lot of water, I eat breakfast…and of course I go to the doctor and dentist regularly.
BDO: Sounds like your really doing a great job…and eating right. What’s your favorite healthy food?
DLH: Hmm…I eat egg whites, and many more turkey burgers than regular hamburgers. I like soymilk, oatmeal with blueberries, fish, shrimp. I really like seafood.
BDO: Okay, here’s a tough question for you…what is your favorite not-so-healthy, guilty pleasure food?
DLH: I love pizza. Not with pepperoni or anything like that, though. And I LOVE dessert. One of my favorites would probably be blackberry cobbler.
BDO: So, what’s your favorite way to work that cobbler and pizza off?
DLH: My favorite exercise is a circuit interval training routine I do on the treadmill. I do that for 30-45 minutes, then I do weights for about 20 minutes. I also like jumping rope.
BDO: What’s an exercise you don’t like at all?
DLH: I hate leg workouts.
BDO: You eat right. You work out. All while being a busy celebrity. What are some health challenges you face, especially being someone who’s so successful?
DLH: Being on the road makes it hard. I eat later than I should, and I definitely don’t sleep as much as I should. Actually, sleep bores me! I go ‘til I can’t do it anymore, then I can almost fall asleep in my clothes. I almost have to take a nap just to get the energy to wake up back up and get ready for bed!
BDO: These days it seems like you’re mixing comedy and politics. You’ve appeared on a few political programs, and you’ll be performing at the National Medical Association’s Laughter is Good Medicine event in D.C. this Saturday. How do you feel about the new health care legislation?
DLH: I’m not necessarily an advocate of this or that. I’m not “politics-only.” But I do think that certain things about our society is funny. Humor helps me look at things in a certain way. For example, I think health care needs to be talked about more, covered more. I do believe that the medical system is too privatized, and that you shouldn’t be able to monetize health, or earn bankable profits off of sick people. More celebrities need to be involved. I mean, think of this situation with raising the age that you can start collecting social security. So, people who are already working hard and not necessarily living healthy, especially in the Black community…now they’ll be working harder and dying before they can even reap the benefits of what’s they’ve worked for. This doesn’t make sense to me.
BDO: Speaking of the Black community, there are so many health disparities, so many conditions that we’re suffering from: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure…are there any conditions that run in your family? If so, what are you personally doing to make sure that you either don’t get it or you can better control it?
DLH: My sister has had to deal with breast cancer, and I think about that a lot. High blood pressure is in my family. I met my biological father a little while ago, and I asked him for health records. He mentioned prostate cancer. I’ve been screened for prostate cancer – I was having pain, so I got it checked out. The thought of a biopsy scared me. But how could I not go through it? Prostate cancer has killed so many black men.
BDO: There are so many health problems we’re all dealing with. So, why do you believe that laughter helps heal?
DLH: Humor helps me look at things in a different way. Personally, I think that one of the reasons we have so many health problems today is that pc behavior, especially when it comes to issues like being overweight, has become insidious. Think about what happens when you have an overweight person on a magazine. It sets a certain perception. Lack of health is glorified. People need to not be afraid to talk about this, why this is not the right message. Have you noticed that you don’t see a lot of fat, super old people? Comically, I want people to see this, to understand this. Humor is the last true art form, and has yet to be perverted. Nobody owns the stage. As a comedian, it’s actually your responsibility to express your views, to hold a mirror up to people. It’s the very place that you should be offended.
BDO: Speaking of being on the stage and greater health awareness, you’re one of the Original Kinds of Comedy, alone with Bernie Mac. Did his death affect your own views about your health in any way?
DLH: Naturally, to have someone you love die, you can’t help but become more aware of your own health.
BDO: So, given everything that we’ve talked about regarding health, what’s some of the best piece of health advice you ever received?
DLH: Being on the road so much, you have to exercise. You have to count your calories. You’ll feel better.
BDO: Are there any other inspiring words you’d like to add?
DLH: I was in Miami not too long ago, and while I was walking around, I thought about how we as a society have gained weight because we stopped doing what we used to do. I won’t lie. I grew up on fried eggs and fried spam, spaghetti with hot dogs. Still, my parents were thinner and healthier than many people are now. Know why? They laughed a lot and moved a lot. Look at pictures of entertainers long ago, then look at pictures of entertainers today. Even if they were from the South, you didn’t see rolls on those entertainers from way back. Being big was rare. People today need to get outside and move more!
Don’t forget that D.L. will be performing live in Washington D.C. at the Laughter Is Good Medicine event on Saturday, July 23rd, as part of the National Medical Association’s Annual Conference.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, July 23, 2011
Time: 8pm to 11pm
Where: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC
Get your VIP or General Admission tickets now by calling (202) 347-1895 or visiting www.nmanet.org.
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