Comedian, writer, and actor Dwayne Kennedy is truly a comedian’s comedian. He has appeared on screens and stages since the 80s, getting his start in Chicago at the open mike at Zanies on Wells Street. He’s had guest spots on sitcoms like Seinfeld and Martin, and his TV debut itself wasn’t too shabby: in 1989 he guest starred on the show 227 playing opposite fellow visiting actor Halle Berry.
Kennedy grew up both on the south side and in the south suburbs, and frequently works into his comedy the kind of analysis about the city-state and community development that longtime Chicagoans can relate to. On the new album (a comedy set edited from three live nights at the Punchline in San Francisco in 2018), he talks about summertime in Chicago, a beautiful time but also “shooting season . . . I don’t know what it is about the warm weather.” He continues, “I’m glad when it becomes wintertime in Chicago and gets to like 39 degrees below zero, because all the gangsters got to go in the house . . . which I feel bad for anyone in the house now getting their ass whupped.” He pauses, then jumps in with precise timing, “but at least now I can walk to the grocery store and get that wheat bread that I’ve had my eye on all summer!”
He’s consistent . . . and did I mention he’s hilarious?
