By Ed Condran — Correspondent
Loni Love gets lots of love from D.L. Hughley. The veteran comic gushes when he speaks of his former charge.
“Loni is incredible,” Hughley says. “She is unbelievably funny.”
The charismatic Love was a CNN correspondent for “DL Hughley Breaks The News” four years ago. But that’s just one of many gigs Love has had over the years.
Love has had three different lives. She worked on the General Motors assembly line in Detroit and toiled as an engineer at Xerox in California during the ’90s.
“I’ve done what I had to do,” Love says. “Now I do what I want to do.”
Love is part of a fresh wave of female comics who have broken through. Love, Sarah Silverman, Lisa Lampanelli and Kathy Griffin are each on tour and in demand.
“It’s been a good thing lately,” Love says. “But let me tell you, comedy is hard, especially for women. It took me a long time (three years) to get into a mainstream club. The industry is very cliquish. There was a reason you didn’t see many women stand-ups for awhile. But you can’t deny us. We might be women, but we’re funny.”
Love is a topical humorist, inspired by the news every day. “That’s why no show is the same,” she says.
“There’s always something out there to poke at and have fun with. Somebody is always doing something.”
Many fans know Love from the VH1 shows, “I Love The ’70s” and “I Love The ’80s.”
“I love those shows since they keep repeating them,” Love said. “Also, VH1 was one of the first things I did on television. People got to know who I was since those ‘I Love The’ shows are always on. One of the best things I did was do those shows. I’m so thankful for VH1.”
Love can’t imagine what it would be like if she stayed with the engineering gig and put off comedy. “That is something I can’t even think about,” she says.
“I’d be living with regret and I would probably be fighting for a job now. There is no loyalty in a job like what I had. You could work at a company for 30 years and they boot you out the door the next day.
“What’s great about comedy is that I call the shots. I go where I want. I work when I want and I say what I want to say. I get a lot off of my mind. After I finish (a set), I feel so good, a lot better than how I felt after working a long day on the assembly line.”
Who: Loni Love
When: 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Goodnight’s, 861 Morgan St., Raleigh
Cost: $20, Friday, $22 Saturday and $16 Sunday
Details: 919-828-5233
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/02/2863352/loni-love-went-from-the-assembly.html#storylink=cpy
Read more →